Daughter Wants to Do This But...

Find a dance class at the ywca or a park district first. That will give an idea if it is something she will want to do. You can move up to more formal (read more expensive schools here lol) schools for the next class.

Do you have a YMCA near you? Sometimes they have classes that you can sign up for without paying for a membership. It might be the best way to start out to see if she likes the lessons. It's also probably cheaper, because the really expensive part of dance studios is the expectation that you will buy costumes, pay towards the venue for dance recitals, and even pictures taken by a photography studio. In other words, the cheap part of the deal is the lessons... THIS is what you need to understand before you sign her up anywhere. I doubt that you would have this problem at the Y...

Hello!
I would try maybe with the local parks & rec department. They have likely different opportunities that could fit your schedule and budget. I also like this because it allows you to try this out without committing initially to more than the 6 or 8 week session. This way you can test both your daughter's commitment as well as the school.

When you take your child to a new dance studio you have to decide what sort of lessons you're looking for.

A LOT of studio's are so focused on competition that all the kids that just want to learn how to dance get lost in the shuffle.

It's not bad to do competition but you don't want your child to feel left out due to everyone else being at a much higher level and going to competitions every weekend. While she's left at home.

So ask the owner how this works for them, if they have the beginners in a group with other's that are of a similar skill level. Do they promote kids to do their best and not try to push them too much so they'll get up to that next stage too soon.

And so forth. You should get a good feel for this while talking to the person that is enrolling you and assessing her skills.

She can't wait much longer or her bones will be too formed and she'll have a harder time being able to do the more complex things....like going en pointe. If she has a desire to do that the skills she needs for that a dancer is already building. In basic dance they do stretches and build muscles and bone strength. She's still able to do this at 7 so it's good that you'll be starting her now.

Just be patient with her if she feels like everyone else her age is able to do so much more, she needs to remember that everyone started out at some point and this is "her" time.

Good luck finding the right studio. It can make all the difference.

I have a couple of cousins that go to this studio. They are amazing dancers and not too different in ages from your girl.

It'a about 30 miles from Tempe though. She drives a bit further than this for their lessons.

http://www.adaptiveforce.com/index.php

Driving directions from Tempe.

http://www.mapquest.com/maps?1c=Tempe&1s=AZ&1z=85...

I would look at the Chandler Breaktime magazine or website. The city offers many dance classes and registration just started for fall classes. My kids do karate through the city, it's the only way we could afford to do it. Good luck!

Well, none of us know what you consider "cheap". It makes more sense for you to search in your immediate area and look yourself. When my daughter was younger she took some lessons and liked them but after the first class, decided she didn't want to do them anymore. Good luck.

I did a quick google search and came up with about 40 strong hits.

This is one of the them.

http://www.tempedance.com/index.php/classes/

I googled - Dance Class in Tempe, AZ

SwimKids at Guadalupe and the 101 has good dance lessons that I think might be cheaper than a dance studio.

Updated

SwimKids at Guadalupe and the 101 has good dance lessons that I think might be cheaper than a dance studio. And my sons school offers them after school. Check with your school district.