I see nothing wrong with someone wanting a successful business. They've worked hard and deserve to gain some fruits from their labor. Plus, if the "good" schools no longer worry about the success of the business, they will go out of business. What does this leave? The "bad" schools and hence defeats the whole purpose.

It's a balance, in my opinion. Do I feel that teachers should encourage their students to take from other teachers? Absolutely. But I don't know that encouraging them to go to the neighborhood schools is the way to go... especially if the caliber of dance education is not up to par with what my school is offering. (And as mentioned, there are better options with summer intensives, workshops, ect.) Plus, it is a business decision... why would you want to encourage your customers to go elsewhere? With that said, I also believe that students have the right to attend multiple schools, as long as they are fulfilling all of their obligations with each one. I also think that there are certain situations where I may encourage a student to go elsewhere. If I am offering a very recreational program and I have a student who has dancing as a career in mind, then my program may not offer what he/she is looking for. Or if a student wants to compete and my school doesn't have this. Certainly these may not be the best business decisions, but hopefully it comes back to me in the sense that word gets around that I am a caring and thoughtful teacher in this sense. That I am the start for many successful students... both in my program and others. But I would be weary of encouraging ALL students to take elsewhere... it just doesn't make good business sense.

Although I don't have a problem with attending other shows and have done so, I don't know that I would bring students. For the most part, recitals are a parade of young students just learning about this art form with a few gems sprinkled in. Where I may get ideas or see where my students are comparatively, I don't know what my students would get out of the experience. I think our money/time would be better spent attending professional performances. Rather than seeing "what not to do", one can show them what they can aspire to be. And although in a perfect world, attending other school's show should be a supportive action; it just never turns out that way. Comparisons are made and hostility is created. And this is where alot of the underhanded things starts... from these hostile attitudes. And in a lot of cases, one school is not better than another, it's just different. They are offering different products/services. (But I must admit, that there is crap, too!)

I also want to agree that a show is not necessarily representative of what a school is really teaching. Some work months perfecting their dances and spending tons of money on costuming, scenery, lighting, ect. The outcome is a fantastic show that we may walk away really impressed with! And while the dance education may be satisfactory, it may not as good as the other school who's show looked less impressive, because the dances were not the focus (technique and general dancing skills were) and less money was spent on the show itself. You just can't always tell. Plus, a good teacher can have students who aren't motivated and hence the outcome may not be representative of her work. So, you have to take the show with a grain of salt.