Prices

We charge for annual club membership and for individual classes, practices or other events - with those items being either cheaper for or only available to club members.

Payment Methods

We're expecting to offer a mixture of payment methods:

* on the door in cash at most taught classes
* on the door via QR code or contactless card at some classes
* online bank transfer (eg for DS practices or online classes)

Registration Methods

This year we will mostly be back to in-person registration for club membership at classes - using physical forms & membership cards - instead of requiring people to sign up for specific classes in advance. You can get a membership form from the door-duty person at the class itself if you are unable to print out the PDF version and complete it in advance to bring with you to your first class. It just makes the queues slower if everyone is trying to fill theirs in at the door on the night.

A few advanced dancers may only want to register in order to use the practice spaces and not initially need a membership card with its free class boxes at all. In which case they should get in touch by email to renew/register their membership and make their payment for membership and practice fees via bank transfer. It will be possible to arrange for this subset to pick up a membership card later if it turns out they do need one for any special events.

Membership

Membership is annual and years are synchronised with the university calendar, so no matter what date you join, membership always lasts until the start of the following academic year (ie from October until the next September). The joining fee is typically reduced somewhat in later terms / seasons if some class styles are no longer available to try.

We're keeping the adult rate at £20 but allowing the discount student/benefits rate to remain at £15 throughout the term (in case the ongoing pandemic causes it to take longer than usual for students to return and commit to an activity).

We are returning to the use of physical membership cards. You will need to be able to show your membership card in order to claim any of the free class boxes on it or to prove your membership for the cheaper class fee rate.

To save time in queues at classes, if you already know you want to register as a club member then please consider printing out a membership form in advance. That way you can complete it beforehand and simply hand it to the person on door duty together with payment to get your membership card.

While most members register as singletons rather than arriving as pre-defined couples, our new printable (PDF) page includes 2 copies of the membership form so that anyone who does have their own printer can then bring along the spare half for someone else waiting in the queue to use. The door-duty person will also have spare forms available but that holds up the queue.

Classes

Class fees depend on your membership status and the duration of the class. We're mostly returning to handling cash on the door but will be combining that with prepayment online via bank transfer or the use of QR code or contactless card for those people who prefer that - including the preferences of our hard-working volunteers! We'll try to make it clear in advance what will work for each specific class.

We're still expecting to have significantly lower attendance at classes while energy / heating costs for venues are soaring. So unfortunately our starting prices for in-person events will have to remain at the higher pandemic levels for a while longer to cover our hire costs but we'll offer additional freebies in compensation if things go well.

On the plus side, we should now be able to cope with non-members turning up at indoor venues again and also allow people to randomly swap partners at classes. So:

* non-member classes are £10 each
* 1 hour class (50 minutes teaching time) are £5 for members
* 1.5 hr class (80 minutes teaching time) are £8 for members
* 2 hr workshop (110 minutes teaching time) are £10 for members

Class prices are much cheaper again for anyone who is willing to give up some of their time to help out regularly as a committee volunteer on class door-duties.

Practices

DanceSport practice fees are usually paid up-front on a per-term basis; but this can include signing up online or at the door of the first session you attend or making arrangements to pay through the Cambridge University DanceSport Team accounts.

A DanceSport practice subscription will typically be £30 per normal term for club *members* but that gives you access to any or all of the normal CDC-run sessions that term (with a top-up fee for extending your subscription into the holiday period). Practising does work best if you do it regularly! However, club members can alternatively attend a single session for just £5 - eg if you've booked a lesson with a coach but don't have your own floor-space.

Note that our practice sessions are restricted to members only because the whole club subsidises practices somewhat and we also need people to register and agree to the health and safety policy for insurance purposes.

There can be a slight variability in block price because of the differing length of terms, the number of practices laid on per week and the expected number of attendees. Eg Lent may be slightly longer than Michaelmas whereas Easter is slightly shorter. Meanwhile, Summer is much longer but also sparser in both practices and attendees. Please check for each new term's subscription rate.

See the ongoing list of practice sessions.

Events

Event prices vary significantly, but typically smaller socials and local competitions cost around the £5 mark, workshops with guest teachers around £10-20, and big socials such as end of term events around £20-30.

For some events, such as balls, there may be an online method of booking and payment. Otherwise, for a ticketed event, bring cash or cheques to any normal class in the weeks beforehand to purchase a ticket (especially if you need to book transport). It may also be possible to pay on the door at the event itself. This is the norm for the more casual tea dances held in town.

Competitive training

Unfortunately, training hard in a competitive dance style isn't cheap. For those styles where private lessons are available (in addition to any group class or practice sessions you might be attending), a couple can expect to pay anywhere from £20 to £40 or more for less than an hour, depending on the teacher and venue in use. You can check the exact prices when making bookings for these activities through the team.

Obviously there are also expenses incurred in buying costumes and shoes, and in travelling to and entering the competitions themselves. If you reach this level, it's often a good idea to ask some more experienced dancers for advice.

Membership Benefits

Membership of CDC typically conveys several benefits, including:

  • Some number of free classes after you join;
  • Cheaper prices for all subsequent classes;
  • Free General Dancing sessions on Fridays;
  • Cheaper prices or exclusive access to some club events;
  • Access to members-only competitive training opportunities;
  • Occasional discounts for CDC members at some shops and on-line stores (announced on the home page when they arise).

In recent years, the CDC has had around 600 members per year on average. The majority are connected with Cambridge University in some way (students, staff or ex-students) but also including several hundred residents and some non-residents too. For more about who joins CDC, please see the general information about the club.