I recieved a message from a woman claiming to be a representative for Peter Sklar and that he would be in my area and would like to speak at my studio for free to my teen dancers about health and nutrition as a publicity type thing that would be covered by some news medias.

Looked him up online and he looked legitamite by what I found, but the whole for free part and the benefit I would receieve as having the media there screams scam, beware! in the back of my head.

Anyone had any experience with him, or recieved the same messages?

There have been talks of him before on here, I think more so in the Studio Owner section. Apparently he is legit. The dealings others have had with him though, were not health and wellness type stuff, but how to break into showbusiness or something (he was basically scouting to find people to come to his summer workshop?) I believe the general consensus was that it wasn't worth it/he was rude, ect. Hopefully someone with actual experience will chime in...

I know there have been several past posts about Peter Sklar here a year ago, but for some reason, they're not coming up when I use the SEARCH box above. I commented extensively myself, and don't have time right now to recap all of it.

In summary, his staff contacted me over a year ago, with the same pitch, and I had him present early December 2010. He is legit, but there really wasn't any publicity put out by his staff. They sent me a package of 3-fold flyers (black ink on gray paper) and then kept demanding to know how big of a response I got, as he won't show without a minimum number (20?) guaranteed. I did have some of my families who signed on, so I didn't want him to cancel on me either; it became very nerve-racking for me, plus his behavior was somewhat imperious. He has a list of demands: NO ONE LATE (he publicly kicked out a little girl who tried to slip in late when her mom was already there on time}; EVERY STUDENT MUST HAVE THEIR PARENT PRESENT TOO, etc.

His talk didn't draw anyone new to my studio, and those who sat through it didn't think there was enough substance. Afterwards, he tells some to stay for private interviews as candidates for his summer drama camp. He rejected those too, except for one little girl who's mother thought she was too young to go away to upstate New York on her own, for his coaching camp.

I won't do it again, although he contacted me a year later for a return trip - so I guess he's still looking for leads (despite his staff saying otherwise.)

Hi Folks,

I just received a Google alert that my name was posted here. I have read the above responses, and of course I respect people's right to express them. Unfortunately, as is the nature of most of these type of boards, they do not represent a valid consensus of opinion, and almost without exception attract people who are unhappy! I give approximately one hundred (100)free lectures, primarily at dance studios, every year. The vast majority of these owners would strongly disagree with the negativity posted here. To provide substance to this, I offer to anyone who would like to email me: petersklar@aol.com, the names and numbers of dozens of owners and directors of dance studios, performing arts schools, public schools, and other such venues who have hosted my talk. I am certain these directors would be pleased to share their opinions with you in a private telephone or email conversation, or perhaps have you visit and speak in person if they're in your area. Only when one gets off these boards and asks for LOTS of references- not simply a hand-picked few- can one gain a cross-section of objective opinion. Otherwise, you are subject to a small handful of people who are often unhappy about, well, lots of things! Please see "the real scoop" at petersklarscamfighter.org. Thank you. Peter Sklar

petersklar wrote:

Unfortunately, as is the nature of most of these type of boards, they do not represent a valid consensus of opinion, and almost without exception attract people who are unhappy!

I do believe that millysmommy made her original post in order to get just that — opinions! — from people who had experiences with you. To dismiss them and write them off as just a few unhappy people is rude, particularly when the members who responded are respected on these boards and you sir have only made 44 posts in 8 years.

And truthfully, you should have waited to respond because the thread is only a few hours old and you may have had some positive responses had you not jumped into "damage control" mode so quickly.

People have the right to get opinions from anyone, anywhere, any time.

I'm simply suggesting a better way to do it.

Perhaps I did leap into "damage control" a bit soon, as per “snot 85” above. That said, the thrust of my talks has to do with self-worth, confidence, independence, positive eating and health habits, and maturity. I try to discuss these things in a fun, interactive way with kids and parents for about 90 minutes. Overall, I do my best to have an impact on personal lives and professional careers, based on the insight that the two are inextricably linked. After observing thousands of kids, parents, and studio owners laugh, enjoy, and benefit from this message over the past 30 years, it is frankly hurtful that there may now be people whose opinion of my work will be based on "he had a list of demands" or "he was rude", or "I didn't get any new students from this", etc.

So, please don't limit your research to this or any other message board. There's a reason I've "only made 44 comments in 8 years". (Apparently, that seems like a small amount to a regular here…?)

If you would like a true sense of the nature and spirit of my visit, and the near-unanimous response to my talks, please feel free to contact my office for lots and lots of references: petersklar@aol.com.

Thank you.

Peter Sklar

I went to one of Peter's workshops in the past. He came to our dance studio and talked about his summer program in NY. His program is an acting workshop. Personally it wasn't my cup of tea.....not enough dance for my taste. It is legit, many people have attended. The one I went two was two weeks in length with a showing at the end. A few casting agents came and went during my time there. There was only one dance class available out of the 6-7 classes per day. If you have any questions, pm me.

Some of my students attended, after Peter came to my studio, and they loved it. Yes, he is legit and if I were a kid, I would have liked to have gone.

Peter is like many show biz people that I know...very straight-forward, and that's fine. I liked what he had to say at the seminar at the studio.

Peter Sklar came to a studio I'm with. I believe he's legit, but seemed perhaps a bit unkind. maybe he's just "all business" and I'm just overly friendly lol. He did choose our most talented children without ever seeing them dance. A few he chose did the camp in NY/Europe.

Peter, do you teach dance?

petersklar wrote:



So, please don't limit your research to this or any other message board. There's a reason I've "only made 44 comments in 8 years". (Apparently, that seems like a small amount to a regular here…?)

Who would that "regular" be?

I do believe that millysmommy made her original post in order to get just that — opinions! — from people who had experiences with you.

And if she wants opinions, why not get some opinions from people that have used him once or twice and have good reviews. He's giving you another avenue to get first hand opinions.

Regardless if he teaches dance....we do allow people to respond about their business here. We have the same policies for costume companies.

Oh, I have no problems with him. I liked his presentation and workshop. I just did not know if he could post here. I have recommended his workshop to anyone who asks. My kids loved it and some of my parents who thought that their kids were going to be the next, big star, who did not listen to me, needed a reality check and he gave it! I loved that!

My experience was not a postive one. He 45 mintues behind to my studio with no apologies or explaination. We spent an hour of "I know what it takes to make it, do you want to know, I don't think you want to know bad enough." Then another hour of selling his camp.

He did take time to interact with everyone in the room and find out why they were there and what they wanted to get out of it.
I was 23 or 24 and he asked me. I responded that I was the owner and was there to find out about his program for the students. (Apprently he did not remember me introducing myself earlier.) His comment was "oh, so you couldn't make it big, so you decided to just teach and run your own studio. Because that's what talent-less people who can't make it in showbusiness do." I was shocked.

I have a rec studio and the majority of the people who attended were not from my studio, but outsiders who responded to an article in the paper. His presentation was not a good fit for my studio. The media attention was nice, however we did not get any new students out of it.

His comment was "oh, so you couldn't make it big, so you decided to just teach and run your own studio. Because that's what talent-less people who can't make it in showbusiness do." I was shocked.

Those who can't teach eh? Well, I actually turned down a professional show in Vegas when I was 22 because I enjoyed teaching more. It's a shame people still think that way. Props for not choking the person that said that to you.

Sounds like something we'll have to pass on...

Petersklar: As my original post states I did check many other online sites - including your own looking to see if you were legit. Then I asked the people at Dance.net whom opinions I also trust. And as you can see reviews are mixed some good, some bad. The fact that you insist on people looking at only your websites for real references I believe insults our intelligence.

Sounds like from opinions your talks range from okay to great - but they are used as a tool for finding students for your own programs and being a schloarship based studio for low income/disavdantaged students, while many of them are extremely talented young dancers, I don't think you would find that with us as none would have the resources to pursue any type of out of state training.

buckeye2: It's so discouraging that teachers are so looked down upon in our society. I too had a professional career, but decided teaching was a better fit for my desire to have a large family. I always think its funny when people see me dance and are amazed because they all had the thought she's teaching because she can't dance. People need to remember behind every great person is a great teacher somewhere.

Some of us started working professionally as children.

I got my first performing job at the age of 11, by the time I got to my twenties I'd sort of been there and done that and I had also discovered that I preferred teaching. Not to mention that I got married and started a family whilst I was young.


Just because you teach does not mean that you can't or that you haven't, even if you're young. You see some of us like to cram two lifetimes into one, that way we know we'll never be bored.

1. I never said, nor would I ever say, anything as uninformed, insensitive, and inaccurate as the above individual "buckeye2" alleges. Her comment actually made me gasp. I’m not sure how else to put this, but at best, her comments were a very cynical version of whatever conversation we may have had. I hold a Masters degree in Education from Harvard University. My father was an elementary school principal and my mom was a 20-year career school teacher. I myself taught privately for many years, and some of my closest friends and associates do so now. Why on God’s green earth would I EVER denigrate someone who teaches for a living? Contrary to the above message board commentary, apparently fast becoming gospel with the above subsequent responders- I just wouldn’t.

2. I never said, nor would I ever say that my website should be your “only source of information”. Where exactly did I make this “insulting” statement? Please quote me from anything I’ve said above! (My workshop website beginningsworkshop.com is frankly an embarrassment at the moment, in terms of being old and outdated. We are launching a new one in a couple of weeks, as the statement at the top of the Home page states.) What I said, (scroll up and READ please), is that the best source of information is to speak with lots of REFERENCES- people who will identify themselves and speak with you directly. You will also see that I said “LOTS of references- not just a few hand-picked people.” It is disturbing that someone would place more trust in the randomness of whoever happens to stumble upon their posted inquiry, than to speak with dozens of people who could describe their experiences in greater detail, and whose experiences, judging from the above posters, probably were at the very least far more recent.

3. My workshops have nothing whatsoever in the slightest to do with the content of my lectures. Nothing. Perhaps one might watch the many local and national news clips out there on my talks- ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, etc. They contain detailed interviews and coverage of my lectures, and you will quickly observe that there is nothing mentioned about my workshops! For the past three decades, I have given these free 90-minute to two-hour lectures on the topics of self-worth, eating habits, independence, working in an intelligent way toward your goals, and other related topics. There is not a single word mentioned about my workshops during my talk. Not one word. Following the free talk, we take a break and allow people to thank me and leave. Period. That is the bulk of the event. I understand that the “too good to be true” thing is flashing brightly in many people’s heads, but that’s exactly what happens; I do not ever mention or discuss or hint about my workshops during my 90-minute to two-hour free lectures. Ever. After the talk is over, only then are parents informed of my workshops and given the option of having their child stay for an interview, or not. Based on this, yes, they may choose to stay, and then, yes, they will have a personal interview with me to determine whether or not my programs are right for them. (My yearly acceptance average is about 30-40%). There is no pressure, subtle or otherwise, to stay for this. I simply don’t need to do that. The fear of being invited to a workshop is easily alleviated by simply leaving after the lecture. How foolish to miss the benefit of forty years of industry advice and experience because one is given the option of staying afterward for an interview, and (shudder) may receive an invitation to a workshop- after which of course they can go home, think about it, and then accept or decline.

4. Speaking of the workshop. Our tuition for a first-class educational visit to England, including seven days/six nights at a four-star luxury hotel in north London, with all meals provided, 24-hour supervision, professional classes with British writers and directors, guided tours throughout London and Stratford, workshops with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford, tickets to the RSC and a major West End production, and more, is currently $1490 plus airfare. Once again, that includes a week of luxury hotel accommodations, 24-hour supervision, all meals, all classes, and all tours. And we give scholarships and develop all sorts of payment plans for people who need it. And that’s our most expensive workshop. Which, again, has nothing whatsoever to do with my lecture. If any reader would like me to document the above cost, please feel free to email me: petersklar@aol.com.

So, as more and more people will hopefully come to realize, these boards are NOT the best sources of information and valid opinion. I am NOT saying they’re pointless. I’m saying they are far too often seen as a quick and easy way to snatch up a few opinions, and mistake them as a valid consensus. (Ex: reaction to my lectures is “mixed”. Only on these boards!) In contrast, the above owner might easily have asked my office for a dozen dance studio directors who have wonderful, successful studios and lots of happy kids and parents, and had hosted my talk, and who may or may not have seen her inquiry on these boards, (or far more likely, don’t visit here at all). She could have questioned a few of these people at length about anything she liked, and then asked me for a dozen more.

Why didn’t she?

Once again, I suggest that the reader please visit: petersklarscamfighter.org.

Please carefully read the section entitled “the real scoop”.

Thank you.
Peter Sklar

petersklar wrote:

It is disturbing that someone would place more trust in the randomness of whoever happens to stumble upon their posted inquiry, than to speak with dozens of people who could describe their experiences in greater detail, and whose experiences, judging from the above posters, probably were at the very least far more recent.

I am sorry Peter Sklar, but do you understand how rude you are coming off as? Dance.net is actually a pretty tight nit community of dancers/teachers/studio owners. Because of this we trust each others opinion immensely and look to others for advice and support. It is quite insulting that you think us teachers are unable to do quality research on our own and that for some reason those of us who use and respond on Dance.net are somehow unqualified to give an opinion. How do you fail to see that someone would want an opinion from someone OTHER than those that you can provide. Of course you are only going to provide people who give you glowing recommendations. The OP here wants opinions from other studio owners who are like her and are not hand picked by your office to provide an opinion. I know you just want to defend the work you do, but the way you have gone about it is quite off-putting. I am pretty sure that the OP gets it that you have a website, I bet she knew that before you posted it several times too. She wants other opinions as well.

Oh wow. That came across as EXTREMELY condescending and rude. Personally, if I wanted opinions on something, I wouldn't go to the person's own website or get references directly from them. Who wouldn't give only good references about themselves. When you go to a job interview and provide references, do you give a reference that says, "Well they weren't great"? Of course not, you give the, "They were AMAZING" references. The OP was asking for opinions, and that's what people on dance.net were giving. Based on your lovely responses, I don't think many people on this site need other opinions. Also, nice plug to your workshops, real subtle.

I agree. We are not taking opinions of people we don't know. We have gotten to know most of these people, over the years, many of have met and even worked together and even if we have not, we all know the same people. The dance world is truly a small world.

We know who, on here, we can trust and who we can't and we are also intelligent enough to know more than just go by other people's opinions. It's okay if everyone does not like me, and it's okay if everyone does not like you.

If they don't like me, I move on because it's never going to happen that all will agree. It's just human nature. Millysmommy, you should now close this thread.

Hello. Many years ago (8?) Peter Sklar gave a talk to my dance school. Only a few of us students attended (my studio was reputable, but more recreational...we aren't a pre-pro school by any means, but many of us, including myself have gone on to dance in other ways)

I am not privy to what kind of benefits the studio receives from having him speak to be honest, but his talk was interesting. He does promote his summer workshop and basically his talk was about what it takes to be a star, including ambition, talent, nutrition, etc. It was a very long time ago that I heard him speak so I can't really recall to be honest. I was selected to attend his summer workshop, but chose not to attend because of expenses and I just didn't really want to pursue dance as a career, to be honest. I DID have a friend attend his workshop multiple times, loved it, and had an enjoyable experience.

So there you go.

I did want to add on to my original post above, which was succinct due to my time constraints.

After being contacted by Peter Sklar's office, I did do extensive research of his website, etc. before having him come speak to my students, and his credentials are impressive. I felt his talk would benefit many of the kids in my town, because Musical Theater here is HUGE. I had my students hand deliver his flyers to their MT friends, and left bundles of them in the schools' lobbies too. (Note that our schools will NOT distribute anyone's flyers to their students, for legal reasons.) I was disappointed at the small turn-out, but to Peter's credit, he did show up even though I did not have the minimum number he required. His talk was completely free, despite his having to come down from NY, and pay his own travel expenses.

I'm sure his camps are worthwhile, and he is sincere in using his business contacts to get his campers exposure to talent scouts. There's a lot of positives there, and I didn't mean to detract from his life's work of helping others. I was just trying to give other SO's a better picture via my experience, so they could decide for themselves if they wanted to pursue this.

I have one last point.

I believe the problem some of the people here are having with me is that they apparently don't realize something. This is NOT a "tight nit community". This is a PUBLIC forum. That means LOTS of people are reading these posts.

If you want a "tight nit community", then take this stuff out of the public eye, and simply chat with each other.

Otherwise, I believe you should consider two things: a) anonymous false public statements are unfair and can be professionally damaging, and b) the subject of such statements has every right to publicly respond and defend himself in a reasonable manner.

I hold out hope that perhaps there's SOMEONE on this board who doesn't find those assertions "condescending" or "rude" or "insulting".

Thank you for listening.

Peter Sklar

BTW Knit, not nit. Not to insult you, just informative.

Yes, it IS public, but most of us on THIS particular board, have been on here, together for a long time.

If you are not comfortable with that, then it's best not to post on here. You are entitled to your opinion, as am I, and others. I NEVER will tell a person that their opinion is wrong, but have found, over the years, that offering up the facts with some honey, would have gotten you a much better response.

Sadly, you have ruffled some feathers, and that is sad, because I do believe what you have to offer is good. Is it a business for you? Absolutely. But so is the dance business for us.

On top of that, we are not a bunch of hill people with no experience or knowledge of show business. A good deal of us have been in the business of performing in the legitimate theater, television and film and many of us have also, successfully, trained students who went on, or mentored them and made sure that we sent them for proper training. I personally, have done that for 38 years.

You came in here, with guns cocked and ready to shoot down anyone who did not say what you wanted to hear. Rather than reprimanding them, you could have said, "Well, thank you for your response. May I offer an explanation? This is how and I do it and why."

Until I retired, I had a very successful business in dance. My business grew exceedingly fast, and rarely did I have to pull off a confrontation with anyone, and that was only when they were beyond reasonable.

I have been told, by my past students and their parents, that the reason was that I was always fair, always kind but also firm. Just because you are right and they are wrong, and it happens, does not mean that you have to make them feel bad about it.

Maybe you are like Abby Lee, where you are so successful, that you can get away with it, but it does not make it right.

Peter, I have always recommended your workshop, agreed with your assessments and what you teach. I have been a supporter, but this part of you, I have no support.

Take it as you may, I have also had my say.

Firstly, to the above person, I appreciate your wisdom and experience. I have never been skilled at being graceful under public attack. Perhaps if the statements were not quite as outrageous, and again if they weren't being made in public...

Ex: "oh, so you couldn't make it big, so you decided to just teach and run your own studio. Because that's what talent-less people who can't make it in showbusiness do...then he spent another hour selling his camp."

Well, perhaps if I was a camp director, and an evil one, this might have had a more honest feel.

You, "dream_chaser" of course realize that having a business dealing with thousands of kids and parents requires a certain level of sensitivity and diplomacy. I'd like to think my grasp of that is why I'm still around after four decades, and certainly in this economy. But whether it's proper message board etiquette or not, to have the public hear the above nonsense is hard to respond to other than in a direct point-by-point manner. Which is exactly what I feel I did.

As for the whole reference thing. Once again with feeling: we're not waving around a handful of "glowing" references on a website somewhere. We're asking people to TALK with these individuals. THOUSANDS of parents. Speak with them. Ask them questions. It's called a telephone- much more reliable, and provides far greater accountability, than a message board- any message board.

Do people not trust themselves to listen to lots of people speak and decide for themselves if what they're hearing is genuine and valid? What does it say about such skepticism that keeps a person from refusing to speak with even one person, let alone LOTS, trusting only what she hears anonymously on the web? After all, people who are new to this board don't know who YOU are!

And if the fact is that someone IS truly both willing and able to provide you with thousands of people to speak with directly, what does that say about them?

Perhaps that will make sense to someone reading this.

Or not.

(Btw: I was using the spelling "nit" as a direct quote from the poster "hooray4jj" above.)

Thank you.

Peter