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 Travel Thrills
& Chills
By
Diane Gudat
How
to make trips with students a pleasure, not a pain
Summer
travel and dance students! Combining the two can be a recipe
for disaster or lead to a lifetime of wonderful memories. How
do you make sure it is the latter? Here is my advice, along
with input from several seasoned travelers.
Selecting events
You must
select an event that is appropriate for the students’ age
group and ability level. Weigh the educational benefit of the
event with the cost. When planning to attend an event like a
national competition, research whether respected teachers will
be offering classes that your students
could attend. If it is purely a performance opportunity, try
to locate a reputable dance studio in the area and schedule
classes or a workshop with their staff that will benefit your
students. It is also a plus if students can attend a dance
performance as part of the itinerary, whether it is a Broadway
show, a dance company’s performance, or even another studio’s
recital.
Deb Collier
from Warsaw, IN, chooses conventions that have age-appropriate
classes for all the students who will attend, along with the
chance to compete and see performances by professional dancers
from the area. For others, like Angie Haver from Westerville,
OH, distance is one of the deciding factors. Her school
alternates events within easy driving range with those that
require more extensive travel arrangements from year to year.
Terri Newman from Waterford, MI, alternates yearly between
national competitions and trips designed purely for study
purposes.
Cost is not
a deciding factor for most teachers; instead, quality and
age-appropriate experiences in a fun family location
take priority.
An important question to ask yourself is “Will this trip cause
these families to forfeit their
normal vacations—and will it be worth it?”
It’s a
difficult question to answer. I had a revealing conversation
with a couple who were attending their two daughters’ final
college performances as dance majors. They reflected on a
lifetime of dance education and travel. The father expressed
disappointment that often the girls had to be sent on trips
without them or with only their mother, while he stayed at
home because of money concerns. He was still questioning
whether these trips enhanced the girls’ talents or robbed his
family of valuable family vacation time.
My husband
stopped traveling to summer dance events when he realized that
my dancing daughter and I were, in his words, “held hostage”
inside a theater while he was in charge of our non-dancing
daughter for the entire stay. Not a very relaxing way to spend
his summer vacation, regardless of the destination.
Paying
for events
Some
studios offer fund-raising activities to defray costs for
those dancers who need financial help. (Those who choose not
to fund-raise have the option to pay in full.) Another school
owner simply bills each family and requires that the fees be
paid by a strict deadline.
Fund-raising
can be sticky business and must be organized and monitored
closely. Often questions arise about how the funds will be
used, such as whether they will go into a general fund to
benefit all the dancers
or into separate accounts for those who participated in the
fund-raising activity. In some cases, state law s
affect how the funds can be distributed. Make sure everyone
knows where the proceeds will go before embarking on any
fund-raising activity.
Although
some teachers take on fund-raising responsibilities
themselves, most studios that travel have a parents’ support
group that plans and carries out these activities. It is
important to make it clear that the booster club’s sole
purpose is to support the school owner’s decisions and raise
funds to make those goals possible for all members of the
group. Don’t set yourself up for the kind of nasty power
struggle my parents’ group and I ended up in regarding the
unauthorized revision of an itinerary I had developed. School
owners must remain in charge and make decisions based on what
would be best for the dancers.
At Terri
Newman’s Dance Shoppe parents take part in year-round
fund-raising activities that allow them to work at a local
arena as well as an outdoor concert venue to fuel individual
competition and travel accounts for their dancers. Parents
bank their work hours, and the monies earned are divided by
those who participated and then deposited into individual
accounts. One elected parent volunteer meticulously oversees
this process.
Getting
and staying organized
Developing
and sticking to a strict itinerary is vital to a successful
trip. Never alter an itinerary unless an emergency makes it
necessary.
Knowing
where your students are at any given time, and when they are
supposed to be there, is an important safety factor in
traveling with a group. Assign parents to handle
responsibilities such as supervising lunch on a particular
day, checking makeup, supplying water, waking dancers on time,
and dealing with costume emergencies and hair problems. This
allows everyone to feel needed and important.
Parents’
meetings are an absolute must! Communication is key before and
during the trip. April Nelson from Surprise, AZ, finds it
helpful to assign a dance captain for each performance group,
have daily meetings with the entire travel group, and ensure
that everyone receives and understands the rules before they
leave home.
Prepare a
written travel agreement that states the rules, behavioral
expectations for both parents and students, consequences for
infringements, and general travel information. Each student
and their parent(s) must sign the form before each major trip.
This information should include the rules of the competition,
convention, or workshop you are attending. Hold a meeting to
go over these points, listen to parents’ concerns, and share
as much information as possible about the trip. Tell them how
to safely handle money, reach your cell phone, and protect
their belongings, and explain what to do if they are separated
from the group or become sick. Parents must be made to
understand that the teacher is in charge of their children
while the group is out of town and that it is their
responsibility to assist the teacher in making the experience
safe and enjoyable for all. Include travel information about
the location you are visiting and have detailed safety
discussions with the students based on the particulars of that
location.
Finally,
develop a phone tree to keep parents who are not traveling
with the group as informed as possible.
Chaperones
Most
studios expect each dancer to be accompanied by one of their
parents or a volunteer. Some assign chaperones to travel and
stay with the students, in which case parents are simply
spectators. The chaperones’ expenses are figured into the
overall cost for each student.
Dancers who
are traveling without their
parent should always have a notarized medical release form,
copy of their medical insurance
card, and list of any allergies they have or medications they
take on a regular basis. If a student is on medication, a
detailed description of their needs must be kept on hand and
strictly adhered to.
Although
many teachers routinely travel with and act as chaperones to
their older students, keep in mind that you face increased
liability should you have an accident while transporting
students in your personal vehicle. Scott Sisbarro from Old
Greenwich, CT, requires
signed waivers for students who do not travel to an event with
their own parents. His studio is funded by a church; by law,
all volunteers and teachers who work with or accompany
students must attend a
course on child safety.
On longer
trips it’s a good idea to rotate chaperone responsibilities to
give each parent some free time to enjoy the location. The
most important qualifications for a chaperone are kindness,
patience, and a sense of humor.
Make it a
rule as a teacher never to act as a primary chaperone for your
dancers while on the road. This will allow you to rotate
between groups, take some quiet time when tensions pile up,
and enjoy the company of your peers.
According
to Nelson, maintaining a teacher–dancer and
businessperson–parent relationship is important. Trying to be
friends with your students or part of the “party” of parents
only results in them thinking of you as an equal, or worse.
Although traveling, eating, sleeping, and socializing with
your students and their parents can be great fun, once back in
the studio you return to being the teacher/director/ employer.
You do not want to jeopardize the respect they had for you
before the trip.
Although
some teachers specify a minimum age for students to be allowed
to travel, others base that decision on the location and the
event. Among those polled, 9 was the cutoff age for events
that call for prolonged travel.
Handling
travel arrangements
Many school
owners like to leave the details of travel to professionals.
Hiring a travel agent to book flights and hotel accommodations
can remove stress and possible blame from the teacher. For
short trips, let parents make their own travel plans and book
their own accommodations.
Kathi
Halbert from Youngstown, OH, has a secretary whose major
responsibility is making these arrangements. Her students
compete often and travel yearly to national events. Some
studios hire buses to transport the entire studio to and from
major events to ensure that everyone arrives together—and with
their costumes.
When
flying, students should bring their costumes and dance shoes
on board as carry-on luggage. There are many horror stories of
lost luggage that contained irreplaceable costumes.
Teachers’ expenses
Who pays
for the teacher’s travel expenses? Some school owners divide
their own travel and hotel expenses among the dancers who
attend but pay for their own food and other entertainment. A
few make the distinction that while attending a competition
their travel costs were paid as part of the fees, but for
conventions the studio absorbs the cost. Most, however, pay
their own way.
As
professionals, dance teachers are well within their rights to
be compensated for time spent traveling with, coaching, and
maintaining dancers. There is no more stressful job than
overseeing students while out of town. If you have doubts
about your right to be compensated, ask your accountant if he
would leave his family and travel with you for a week at his
own expense to make sure you spend your money appropriately.
You can imagine his response!
Problems
with parents
Although a
few teachers say they have few or no problems with parents
before or during a trip, most say, “Of course!” One had to
deal with a parent who caused a scene at a hotel when the
group arrived early and their rooms were not ready. Such
situations are very embarrassing for the offending parent’s
teenage child.
I remember
one trip when a parent refused to adhere to the itinerary,
stating that I had no right to dictate what she could do with
her child. Unfortunately, her child was immediately released
from the itinerary, the performance, and eventually the
studio.
Tired
students and stressed parents can lead to a wide variety of
problems. April Nelson recalls an episode with an overstressed
group of hungry dancers that was sparked by a disagreement
over donuts. Minor problems can become major drama on the
road, especially with teenage girls.
Keeping a
sense of humor is important, as is building some down time
into the itinerary so that parents can enjoy their children,
the children can enjoy each other, and everyone can simply
rest. Attempt to keep some kind of curfew, especially on
performance and competition nights, and make sure that
everyone is having at least one healthy meal a day with lots
of fluids.
Funny or
not-so-funny events
Halbert
remembers trying to get home in a snowstorm on New Year’s Eve.
When the car broke down, she and her dancers spent two nights
in what she describes as a “dump” until a small rental car was
found. The luggage had to be left behind and was not retrieved
until a week later.
Deb Collier
remembers being left behind by the tour bus on the day of a
big performance at
 Disney World.
While she returned to her room to grab something for the
dancers, the other directors did a head count, determined that
all the dancers were there, and went on their way. When she
found that the bus had left, she called the driver, who said
there was no time to turn around and get her—the dancers would
be late to their performance. After catching the hotel bus,
cutting in line at the park, waiting anxiously inside the gate
for a guide to take her to the dancers (while politely taking
pictures of several groups of tourists), she finally rejoined
the group just in time for the performance.
One of my
dancers swallowed a metal hair clip in a hotel swimming pool,
and we spent all night in a hospital monitoring its trip
through her digestive system. That Halloween she dressed as an
X-ray machine with the actual hair clip on display! On another
trip, a male student made the horrid mistake of falling asleep
while watching TV in the girls’ room. He awoke with bright red
finger- and toenail polish.
Nelson’s
favorite memory was of her dancers’ first trip in 1982. She
and nine dancers took over her brother’s studio apartment on
Hollywood Boulevard. It had one room with a kitchen area, one
bathroom with water enough for two brisk showers, a wooden
elevator, and no TV. She says, “They learned a lot about dance
that week, but the overall experience was one that we never
forgot. We recently had an alumni get-together, and the
biggest topic of discussion was the time Miss April took them
in a van to California! The many journeys we take make them
better people. All in all, we teach them so much more than
dance.”
Photo
captions (top to bottom):
-The
2002 Showdance Team poses for a picture outside the Erdgas
Arena in Riesa, Germany. --Deb Collier’s students perform at
Disney World.
-The
Indianapolis Children’s Dance League at a workshop at James
Dance Center in Kissimmee, Florida.
-Students from the James Dance Center and The Dance Company
enjoy a quick dinner.
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