It’s easy to characterize parents as the perpetual thorn in the side of studio owners—they can be demanding, and annoyingly free with their opinions on dance education. But they’re also your customers. They deserve not just excellent customer service but an exceptional customer experience, says Annette Franz, head of a customer-experience strategy firm. “What’s the […]
Q: My tween is begging me to go to a faraway summer intensive, claiming “all my friends are going.” How do I know if she’s ready? A: It can feel like a rite of passage for serious dancers to attend an intensive at a major ballet school. They dance all day and often explore the […]
Q: What policies do you put in place to encourage parents of competition dancers to pay their bills in a timely manner? A: After many years of feeling the pinch of not being paid on time, we set clear guidelines in our team agreements and made a payment schedule that requires all expenses to be […]
Most parents start off pretty clueless when it comes to doing their dancer’s hair. If you don’t want your students coming in with elastic-wrapped bird’s nests on their heads, you may want to give them some guidance. But who has time to teach each individual parent how to do their child’s hair? Not you! So, […]
“I don’t want to enroll my son in dance class because I’m scared/worried/convinced it will make him gay.” We’ve all heard some variation on this one, right? Someone we’d never expect to hear it from: television personality and Hollywood gossip columnist Perez Hilton. Wait, you might be saying. Isn’t he gay? Yes. Which makes this […]
There’s more to private lessons than one-on-one instruction. Consider these practical issues as you plan for your next session. Outside Coaching Giphy Some schools discourage private lessons and outside coaching for fear that these might contradict their training methods and confuse the student. Deciding a Rate Giphy Rates range anywhere from $40 to $100 or […]
Let’s hear it for dance dads! Especially those who aren’t afraid to bust a move. Just watch this father and daughter costar in a peppy, hip-swinging dance routine in their living room to Ariana Grande’s “Problem.” Get this man in the recital, please.
Q: How do you handle class placement policies? I try to factor in both age and talent level, but I often have to deal with irate parents when their kids aren’t placed in the level they want them in. How do you deal with this? A: We do not hold auditions. When a dancer comes […]