Opening abroad – Viennese dance schools fear a ‘waltz monopoly’

Vienna’s dance schools have been thrown into disarray by a draft new state law that will largely open up the industry to candidates from other countries. Sometimes the Christmas holidays are used to ‘hide’ unwanted bills. The period for objections to the new dance school law is also extremely short, from just before Christmas to January 12 – but in this case probably because EU law enforces the change and Vienna actually has no choice.

The barriers for foreigners are becoming lower and lower
Vienna had – see also the interview with dance school owner Thomas Schäfer-Elmayer below – defended itself against competition from abroad for longer than any other federal state: anyone who came from abroad and wanted to open a dance school in Vienna was previously confronted with enormous bureaucratic hurdles and even as a certified dance teacher I had to repeat much of the training in Vienna again. In the future, proof of comparable training abroad will be sufficient.

The industry is still hoping for changes
According to Karin Lemberger, head of the Chamber of Commerce, there is no dance teacher training comparable to that in Vienna. The owner of the Dorner dance school in Favoriten wants to fight to ensure that the law is not passed as planned. She is optimistic that she still has a week to talk to the responsible municipal services. In any case, the draft for the new law is “far from completely open”.

Lemberger points out that there are still major obstacles to setting up a dance school in Vienna, regardless of whether you are a foreign EU citizen or not. The problem is that for dance lessons you don’t necessarily need a dance school with all the state seals. Much less strict requirements apply to providers who only occasionally cross national borders. Dance schools from Vorarlberg and Salzburg have to live with dance teachers who commute every day and then, for example, give lessons in gyms. And in Vienna too, the journey from Bratislava or Hungary is worryingly short and the pressure, especially on smaller dance schools, is likely to be significant in the future, say those in the industry.

Some dance schools are already “fully booked”
For the time being, Viennese dance schools can console themselves with the lively interest in local dance traditions. The shock of the Covid years has been absorbed: “We are drowning in courses and private lessons,” says Lemberger with satisfaction about the influx before the ball season. Many – real Viennese – dance schools are already fully booked. Thomas Schäfer-Elmayer from the traditional Viennese dance school of the same name still fears the smaller competitors in the city.

“Kron”: Mr. Schäfer-Elmayer, are you surprised by the coming changes for Viennese dance schools?
Thomas Schäfer-Elmayer: No, the law, part of which dates from Emperor Joseph II, unfortunately does not comply with the EU principle of free movement. In other states this has long been free by law. In reality, this has already been broken in Vienna.

How?
From salsa courses to Tango Argentino, there are now many providers outside the real dance schools.

Are you now afraid of competition from abroad?
I’m not worried about Elmayer dance school, we have a special position. However, I hear from other states that smaller dance schools from outside state lines are already facing significant competition.

Do you recommend that Viennese people still stay with Viennese dance schools?
Yes absolutely! During the maximum five-year training for dance teachers in Vienna, important subjects are taught that are associated with running a high-quality Viennese dance school, such as pedagogy, ballet, history of ballroom dancing and historical and fashion dancing. aid, prom choreographies, rhetoric, psychology. And above all, in-depth knowledge of dance technique and high-quality teaching therein.