dance instructor

administrative assistant

receptionist

front desk agent

front desk receptionist

Arthur Murray Dance Center

What is the best part of working at the company?
I had a wonderful boss, and very friendly colleagues. People came to us just wonderful.

The atmosphere was wonderful

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
I went through all the training and was told to work more, since the boss did not decide to take me or not. Thus, it's free and a full week, I worked for another month, after which I asked to give me an answer about whether they would take me or not, he said I'm good at work in everything, but I have bad English, everyone knew about it from the first day of my work. Why am I working in tension for a month? If everyone understood that my English wouldn't get better in a month.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Very friendly

Trainings are constantly held, everyone is very nice and kind, I fell in love with this atmosphere.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
At 10:30 I left home, my way took an hour and fifteen. At 11:45 a.m.m. I started my working day at 4pm-5:15 pm lunch, (I then found out that lunch is not paid for) and ended the day at 09:15 p.m. Twice a day there was training in dance in psychology, I liked it very much. In the evening, master classes and dancing in groups, the most fun part of the day. In the afternoon I independently studied dance on video. I was on probation, where I was paid badly, and I did not see life, came home, the children were already asleep, I still have the strength to wash, eat and sleep. I want to say I have the best job, in the end I am glad that I had this bad experience. I think they have this The flow plan, they take a person, they pay at least, you work for two months, and they tell you that you don't fit, and the next one, And so on

I felt that they were not honest with me at first. I tried to master all kinds of dance well, and to be friendly. It turned out that my English was bad, which was naturally visible from the first day. I would prefer to be told, "dancing is good, but you also have to improve English," so that I would expect that everything is not smooth on this side. Because I worked in Poti faces, and I was sure that I would be taken, I learned everything correctly in good faith, clients love me and are pleasant to communicate with them. So that's it.

OK, so this is a graeat job if you are doing it as a hobby and not too worried about using it to pay bills. You come in, you teach some people to dance, you enjoy your coworkers for a few hours and you go home. The pay structure for AM is so convoluted and complicated that it makes everyone's jobs more stressful. There's no payroll person or HR handling payroll. The instructors themselves are responsible for logging their lessons for the biweekly payroll event. This means tracking numbers of lesson, different pay scales for different TYPES of lessons, different pay rates for the level of certification each instructor has (which is ALSO on a sliding scale dependent on the NUMBER of lessons they teach). Have a headache yet? If that's not enough, lesson numbers fluctuate from hour to hour, minute to minute because it's dependent on students actually SHOWING up for their lessons and not canceling. 

Cancellations mean you better have a back up plan or you don't get paid. You can be at the studio all day and teach only a handful of lessons and only get paid for those lessons. Wasted time for those keeping track. On top of that, there are often events and training that happen which you do NOT get paid for. These are often on weekends, which means MORE of your time is taken away from you. 

The studio will own your life and unless you are in it for the long haul and motivated by the almighty $, then this is not the right path for you. It's a very "feast or famine' life with no stability.

In terms of culture, management strongly believe in the power of positive thinking - if you can believe it, you can achieve it. it is motivating and inspiring, but when life hits students and people go on vacations, have out of town guests, deaths in family, etc, you are expected to overcome all that and get them in the studio because it feeds your paycheck. The hardest part of the job is not being empathetic and connecting with the people that you are supposed to connect with the most - your students.

It is a really fun job and one of the only widely available jobs in the dance industry with job security.  Pay can vary and at the beginning it feels low relative to how much energy you are spending adjusting to a very physical and social job.  However, if you really enjoy dancing and want to make a living teaching dance, of course it is worth it. There are just no shortcuts. Pay is largely based on performance (teaching time), training (level of certification) and prior experience.

Training is paid to start, but the pay is low b/c you are essentially not earning what you are being paid until you start teaching. Once you start teaching, pay increases.

Because it is such a social and people-centered job - you are working with clients, you are training and working closely with your coworkers on a team and being trained by the franchisee, more experienced staff, coaches and managers - the workplace culture really depends on who you work with.  Dancers are full of energy and like anyone else have good days and bad days.  One toxic person can really effect everyone negatively.

My favorite part of the job is teaching and seeing success and growth in my fellow coworkers.  My least favorite part of the job is watching staff members struggle with pay as they are training and building themselves up to consistent productivity that results in consistently receiving a paycheck that they like.

For some people it will be just a job, others will turn it into a career, regardless of tenure I see a lot of growth in people while they are working for Arthur Murray - not just in their dancing and teaching abilities but in their self-confidence and clarity as to what they want.

Teaching dance, and dancing in itself, is the most wonderful thing on the planet. On a typical day, I would teach anywhere from 3-6 couples, and instruct group classes. I learned how to build and maintain a miniature dance community along with other instructors, and how to become an even more self sufficient and independent employee. Working for Arthur Murray, self motivation is a must, and this is where I have found that I have an overflow of just that. The hardest part of the job is giving up actual personal time. Although teaching ballroom dance, and being a part of a dance community sounds like a dream job, it requires a lot of practicing and training- most of which has to be done outside of work hours, and alone, unless you are able to find someone who is working towards a common goal. That being said, the most enjoyable part of the job- the dancing- can be the most difficult part of the job, because you have to learn that dance becomes a little more of a science for you at that point. Unless it is your favorite thing to do, it can be very stressful. Even if it is your favorite thing to do, it still can be trying at times. The assistant managers in the school I was working for were helpful, enthusiastic and encouraging. Franchisees are different depending on the area you work for, and many are very active, while others are hardly present.  But, another enjoyable part of the job is that said Franchisees are involved in lots of events and competitions that can make both your jobs and your student's experiences very enjoyable.

What is the best part of working at the company?
I loved working at the Gaithersburg studio.  The owners/managers were great.  The students were great.  Quality of teachers & training was excellent.   Highly recommend it!!  👍🏽

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Having enough time to do the back office work.  Would love more time working with students, actually dancing. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Family like.  Employees are cared about and well cared for. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Day begins with an all staff meeting, unlees it's Management meeting day.  Managers meet before the all staff meeting that day.  Then I would manage the front desk activity:  taking payments, scheduling lessons, managing accounts.   Often I would backup the New student mgr with signing up students on new programs, as well as the Supervisor with signing up current students on Renewal programs.  Other duties included ordering supplies, organizing studio equipment, light bookkeeping,  onboarding new staff, managing employee files, assisting with payroll preparation, etc.

The employees are great but not much room for advancement if you are looking for a quick advancement.  Advancement is up to you, how many lessons you have, how well you can sell, and how much you study your dances/moves.  Can advance as quick as every 6 months, but only if very determined.  Pay does not increase for at least a year.  Pay is almost minimum wage and definitely below per hour after taxes.  Not a job to have if you are supporting anyone/anything other than yourself.  It is barely enough.  BUT when you are there you can have a ton of fun and good times... I mean, you are dancing all day so that is pretty sweet.
Management is good, but if you want something to change or implemented, don't rely on management, you have to be self driven to fix it/implement something on your own.

The job itself is great. The students and instructors are the highlights of everything. But their organization as a company is a mess and they refuse to allow improvements to systems in place from filing to desk organization. They also frequently add or change your job description without notice or discussion of pay rate. I went from being their admin to their admin and social media manager. They expect you to attend all events which are on weekends and evenings much of the time. As the role, responsibilities grew we disagreed on pay. The management also created an environment that puts me as the admin against the instructors much of the time and would absolve them of decision-making. It's also nepotism-based, the managers were super close long-time friends.

The job is fun and enriching because you’re teaching dance, but it totally depends on the studio you work for and every studio is different. Some invest in constant training of their staff. Others hand you a manual and you are responsible for teaching yourself the syllabus with no real opportunity for development or improvement. Be ready for sales - selling dance lesson packages is the how you earn your paycheck. Becoming a new instructor can mean months with little to no pay until you build up a client list & no benefits (again probably depends on location). Must sign a non-compete. Training material is very outdated.

I loved my job at Arthur Murray Dance Studio. Very supportive team and owners. Always felt heard, and taken care of. They wanted you to succeed no matter what and would consistently try to help you do so. The only complaint I would have were the hours and the work/life balance. 12-10pm was for the majority of the week, and since most jobs are 9-5 it felt like I could never see my friends, and family. Felt a little over worked especially when we had event on the weekends as well. Haven't worked there since before the pandemic so this may have changed. 

You can start out from zero with hands on training to become a great teacher. I was very clear that I wanted to be a professional competitor and my boss made sure to train me while paying me. I have been a finalist several times in both smooth and rhythm and gotten pay increase from doing it. Teaching students does require a commitment to make sure we have them in mind for why they are there. Some people call it sales but they approached us for dancing, why wouldn't we give it to them.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Dance instructor 63 salaries reported	$51,357 per year
Administrative assistant 1 salary reported	$16.00 per hour
Receptionist 6 salaries reported	$18.92 per hour
Front desk agent 3 salaries reported	$15.00 per hour
Front desk receptionist 1 salary reported	$17.10 per hour

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