The Total You Dance & Pilates

Having paid for dance classes at several different studios, it’s my opinion that dance classes at The Total You Dance (TTYD) is comparatively high-​priced for the level of instruction offered.
Scheduling was also a big problem for us, especially for Company. I actually went through great pains to schedule around Company… classes, activities, and travel… only missing one Company rehearsal (due to my daughter’s participation in another studio’s dance concert). But, it seemed that even if we made several and significant sacrifices throughout the year, there was not much understanding if we had legitimate conflicts (like the funeral of my dearest great-​Auntie) to last-​minute/​extra rehearsals called for Company and my daughter’s regular class before their final performances in May of last year. There was even an email exchange between me and Hillary where she said my daughter might be cut out of certain parts of a dance number after I had simply informed her that my daughter was going to miss ½-​hour of a jazz class due to another class. (Yes, the email said anyone missing class, but since I was the one writing and then receiving the reply, the implication seemed obvious.)
Since my daughter was a part of TTYD Junior Company, there was an unfortunate requirement that we had to purchase a $ 30+ TTYD logo bag as a part of the uniform. The bag might have been okay for a teenager, but my daughter didn’t even weigh 50lbs soaking wet, so to me the bag is way too big. Even though we have participated with several other studios, we have never otherwise been made to buy non-​wearable items as part of a «uniform».
A recent negative experience with TTYD regarding photos causes me to feel the need to warn others: If you might be considering signing your child up for classes at TTYD, I would advise you to give very careful consideration when signing the TTYD photo release (which is, for what’s posted online today and in past, basically a part of the terms of registration). I have asked Hillary to provide me with the copy of the actual release she said I signed, but she’s ignored that request thus far.
I also made heartfelt requests, on behalf of all the parents who had kids dancing at that day, that she release a link to photos from the May 2015 public performance so that we parents might be able to purchase photos for personal use. Hillary refuses to send the link.
In a brief conversation with the photographer (a professional photographer but also from my memory Hillary’s personal friend), I learned the photographer herself was actually under the impression the photos would have been shared with the parents when she took the pictures at the public performance… because the photographer said she’d told several people that day that the link would be forwarded by Hillary later. (Links to purchase photographs by the same photographer had been available several times in the past.)
To be honest, had I been given the photo link, I would have made my print order and been happy at that. Even though I wasn’t happy with our experiences last year, I wouldn’t have felt a need to share anything publicly. If I have a complaint, I usually take my complaint to the source directly.
However, I paid several hundreds of dollars over the course of 2014 – 2015’s dance year (a few thousand over the course of several years). We, as a family, sacrificed so much time and gave up so many other activities. My daughter, even though she’d rehearsed for months, even gave up a ballet recital at another dance school to fulfill her TTYD Company obligations.
It’s not like Hillary had done anything for free to deserve sole rights to my child’s photos… and the release, by the way, says nothing about sole rights. I paid for my daughter’s lessons, the Company fees, the uniforms, the costumes, the bag, the official Company photos (different photographer), the DVD, etc, etc.
I asked Hillary directly four times for the link, and four times she denied my request. I told her that this incident caused me sadness and stress due to the unfairness of not being able to access my own child’s photos. It is my feeling that there is something inherently wrong with the character of a person who won’t share as Hillary hasn’t shared.
So, please, just be aware before you sign anything that might seem so innocuous as Hillary’s photo release.
My daughter danced with Hillary off-​and-​on from 2011 – 2015 from when Hillary taught for Manoa Dance School, then Studio H, then The Total You Dance (TTYD), but we have left the studio.