How Much Does It Cost to Get into Ballroom Dance? Dancing Queens Gives the Shocking Answer
Looking the part and hiring the best professional dancers out there comes at a pretty penny, as Dancing Queens explains. Here's a breakdown of the cost of ballroom dancing.
Get your dancing shoes on because Bravo is taking us into the glamorous and competitive world of ballroom dancing, and it comes with a pretty heavy price tag.
Dancing Queens, where “all is fair in war and ballroom,” features six Pro-Am dancers trying to find a balance between their everyday lives and time on the dance floor, a hobby worth around six figures per year. One of the dancers can be heard saying, “We pay hot men to dance with us, and don’t think twice about sabotaging a friend to win.”
The cast includes Colette Marotto, Donie Burch, Gaëlle Benchetrit, Leonie Biggs, Pooja Mehta, and Sabrina Strasser, all of whom will stop at nothing to fulfill their dreams with their “addictive” hobby … even if it means putting their relationships and responsibilities on the line.
What Are the Costs of Ballroom Dancing? A Breakdown
Each Dancing Queens cast member is an amateur dancer paired with a professional male dancer, leading to the name “Pro-Am” dancing. Each woman must pay for the professional, with one-on-one training costs ranging between $100 and $250 per lesson. And, of course, the women pay top dollar for the best dancer there is.
Some of the women also rehearse outside their dancing partners, including Leonie, who trains with Dancing with the Stars winner and five-time U.S. national ballroom dance champion Karina Smirnoff.
The cost for a Pro to dance in the competition ranges between $1,000 to $5,000.
But the women also cover the expenses for the pro dancer’s flights and hotels during each competition, costing between $3,000 and $6,000. The cost also covers incidentals, including food and in-room services.
“It’s like a hired escort,” Sabrina told producers in the Dancing Queens season premiere.
The women compete nearly every weekend in different cities around America with their eyes fixed on the annual championship title. In the series premiere, the women prepare to go head-to-head at the Tri-State DanceSport championships in Stamford, Connecticut.
How Much Does Hair, Makeup, and Outfits for Ballroom Dancing Cost?
Appearance is also a large part of the competition, quite like pageantry, with hair and makeup costing about $300 per pop. In the first episode of Dancing Queens, the women have their hair and makeup done on-site by Boyko Ivanov, whose premier services have been used by professional dancers nationwide.
According to Sabrina, Boyko is “the god of hair and makeup in ballroom.” Some clients will even wake up at 3 a.m. if it means a chance to fit into the stylist’s busy schedule.
Another $150 is dropped for tanning services as well. According to some dance sites, fake tan can help conceal red faces and beads of sweat caused by vigorous activity. Other reasons include aesthetic purposes, such as contouring to enhance tone while accentuating the movement of the body.
RELATED: Meet The Cast of Dancing Queens
“Ballroom dancing is a very expensive sport,” said Sabrina. “But we have to look the part.”
The price only gets heftier when the women buy specialized dancing shoes, which cost about $1,500 per year. The footwear is essential since the judges’ eyes will largely be drawn to the ladies’ fancy footwork during their performances.
However, one of the higher-priced expenses is the dress, for which the cast will pay between $3,000 and $15,000, depending on the outfit. They are typically custom-tailored and ornate ensembles featuring jewels and fringe — and nearly just as important as the dancing itself, according to the women. (Donie’s nipple rhinestones not included.)
“One year, my dancing costs got into the six figures,” Colette said in the season premiere. “And since then, I’ve stopped looking.
