kbyeeeee!

WARNING: THIS IS LONG

I am done teaching dance until the next school year! yayyyyy... and at the same time not so yayyyyy D: Because...
1. I won't be making anymore money for the rest of the summer. I won't be able to get a part time job until I'm done all my shows AND I'm going away to a couple of places over the summer so I probably won't get hired anyway
2. Around May, I started to hate teaching there. Not because of the kids, but because of the owner of the studio who is an old lady that only wears the colour pink (...literally.)

When I first started, Mrs. Tylor (pink old lady) was very nice to me and everything. She always thanked me for being responsible and always paid me on time at the end of each month.

Then competition time came for me and so I would have to be away for every weekend that I had a competition. And this girl Ashley would cover for me. When I got back from my first competition, Mrs. Tylor asked me how it went. And I told her that I did well and I got third overall for one my solos in the age 17 & over solo division. Instead of saying Congratulations, she said "And what does that get you?" That really shocked me when she said that. I know that she is against dance competitions because she believes it's just a "ruckus" but still she should at least have some respect for someone that does them. Well, I told her that I didn't get any money or anything because at that competition they only gave money to people that won first overall and if any of my large groups won, my teacher's would keep the money since they choreographed it and everything. So then she accuses my teachers of stealing, saying that they should give the money to the dancers and that I should be spending my money on something more productive like more dance classes and then go on So You Think You Can Dance.
First of all, I do not do dance competitions for money. I do them because I love performing. It is also a learning experience from all the dancers you see that come from different places. You do not need to just take dance classes over and over again in order to improve and it's not like I'm not taking dance classes at my studio in the first place. AND my dance teachers are NOT stealing from us. They deserve to keep any money that their routines win. They really do put so much work into choreographing as well as cleaning our dances. Another thing, most of the contemporary dancers on SYTYCD come from competitive studios so blah! =]

So with my competitions, I would be coming in to teach every other week and this other teacher Ashley, who I had never met before, would cover for me. She would just do a regular class with the kids and also run their routines that I was still working on. Obviously, while I am away I do think about their routines and plan what to do next so I can get a lot done since I'm not there that often.
I was also apparently responsible to get their costumes for their dance. And who told me that? The girls -_-. Not the owner of the studio who is supposed to tell me these things. It took me forever to get everything. In the younger class there was a wide mix of ages and sizes so I couldn't exactly buy the same things for each person. I just decided to buy all white outfits for all of them and I had to go to stores from Urban Behavior to freaking Siblings! At the same time I had to make sure that their costumes in total weren't too expensive. My sister told me that anything over $20 is too expensive. So I had to go to outlet stores which had sales and stuff. My other class only had three girls and they were all about the same size, so buying for them was fine.

So one day I come back to teach, having everything prepared. I had everything planned to finish their routine and I had all their costumes organized as well as their prices. All of them were under $20 =]. I ask one of the girls I teach how last week went and if they ran their routine. And she was like "Yeah, the dance is done now." I was just like Whaaaat? Apparently, Ashley finished it. I was wondering why she would even touch my routine in the first place without permission or anything. Then the pink old lady came into the dance studio and was like "Ashley finished the dance last week, so you don't have to worry about anything." Okay. Whatever. That was very disrespectful, but the dance is done. So that's good right?
I had the younger class first so I asked them to run the dance once just to show me what she did. Everything I had choreographed before was all good. It was clean because I had gone over it many times with them before. Then it finally got to the part where Ashley started choreogrpahing... It was horrible. Not just because the girls weren't exactly sure of what they were doing, it was the choreography. It was as if she just got whatever lame moves she thought of and put them together. Not choreographing to the music or their level. Like actually, you don't have to be a dancer in order to do her choreography. I didn't know what to say after they ran the routine once. They didn't even finish actually because they started arguing half way through. I really wasn't in the mood to try and fix everything. I actually didn't know where to start. So I just decided to let them try on their outfits.

Thank god that they all fit well on each dancer. Everyone had shorts, a top (in different styles), and one accessory. It would either be like a headband, gloves, or a scarf. There was just one top that was too small and wouldn't fit anyone in the class so the girl that didn't have one that fit just told me she has a white top at home that she would wear, which was fine with me. The extra top I was able to exchange later. There were two little girls who I bought from siblings who had the same shirt. It was one of those long ones with the lace at the bottom. Those were the only nice ones I found that would actually fit them and they did fit them. The pink lady walked in when they were trying on their outfits and didn't really say anything nice about them, saying things like "Oh that top isn't doing her any justice." Actually it fit her perfectly, it just looked weird because she kept her undershirt on since she wasn't exactly comfortable changing in front of her class. And then the lady was saying how the two little girls' shirts were too long, when they were actually fine because they were able to tuck them in, and they even looked fine not tucked in. Thennnn she tells me I should go to Ardene to get them nicer tops and everything. Really? I have been in every freakin store! Maybe tell me first that I was responsible for getting their costumes before you start criticizing them.

The other class was fine. I just got each girl the same shirt except in three different colours and each a black scarf. They all had their own black shorts from home they could wear. Ashley did add on to their dance also, but she didn't finish it because she felt like she wasn't supposed to. According to the girls, they said that she didn't really want to add on to my routines but she had to because pink old lady told her too -_-. Whatever she added on wasn't as bad. There were a few random moves that she put in that wasn't jazz at all and also again she did not choreograph to the music. Except this time I was able to make a few changes to the choreography so everything was all good.

I talked to the old pink lady about next week and told her that my sister was gonna come in, but then she was like "Oh no, Ashley will come in." But then I told her that my sister has to give them their costumes because they will be paying that week. But still, she kept insisting on Ashley coming in. Like really? Who is she to speak for Ashley? -_- Whatever.

The next week I came, a few of them paid me right away because either they forgot last week or because they knew the money was supposed to come to me. Some of them gave their money to the old pink lady. Before the class starts I see one of my students trying on this white dress. So I just asked "Oh, what is that for?" and she told me, "Ms. Tylor got this for us because the shirts you got us were too long." What the fuck. I went to Ms. Tylor and asked her about it, and she started saying that the dresses are much more nicer than my long shirts. I asked her what I was supposed to do with the outfits I got them and she told me to just return them. But I was like "I can't return them anymore because I got these a while ago." And she just gave me a look that said it's not my problem. I don't exactly remember the price of the dresses she got them but they were way over the price of the shirts, shorts, and accessories I got put together. There was a little bit of commotion afterwards with Ms. Tylor and the girl's mom because she gave Ms. Tylor the money that was supposed to be given to me the week before and she wasn't sure what she paid for. Ms. Tylor didn't even know what was going on. I tried to explain to her that she paid for the outfits that I got them, but I could tell she was barely listening to me. Then she was all like to everyone "Well, then you can just wear her long shirts, and I'll get my money back!"After that, I really had no idea what was going on with the costumes and everything. I just decided to forget it all because I had a class to teach. Towards the end of the class, everything with the costumes was settled. The mom that paid Ms. Tylor got her money back and gave it to me and I eventually got the money from everyone.

Lastly, on the day of their recital I was downtown with my mom and my sister before. My sister asked me if I had their music with me and I was like no. They already have a copy of the music at the studio because I always left a copy in my folder so that whoever covers for me has it. Ms. Tylor definitely knows I have the music there because everytime I left the studio knowing I wouldn't be there the next week, I always told her that I left the music in my folder. Then my sister got mad at me for not having an extra copy of their music and that I am responsible for the kids and blah blah blah. But really? Why are you getting mad at me for not knowing that I was also responsible for bringing their music to their recital when the owner of the freaking studio should be responsible for those type of things? I obviously continued to argue with my sister because I know it's not my fault. She shouldn't be expecting me to know that I am responsible for so many things that teachers at my dance studio are not usually responsible for because the studio owners take care of everything like they're supposed to. Sure, Ms. Tylor is 'old'. But if she can't even be responsible for her own studio or even better, can't pay the dance teachers on time, then she shouldn't be running a dance studio. Yes, she still has to pay me for May and June. When is she gonna pay me? I don't know.

So with the music, we burned an extra copy at my sister's place and went to the theatre for the recital. The music they had there was the wrong one. Each song was like 4 minutes because they had the full version of the songs and not my cut version which was only 2 minutes. Wow.
I didn't stay for the entire recital, but I could tell which routine Ashley choreographed. Barf.

This was a lot longer than expected x_X. I haven't done any major writings like this for a loooong time. But anyways, I am definitely not planning to go back there next school year because I know I can teach at other places that are closer, pay more, and more respectful.

The end.
yayyyyyy...