When Nicholas McLain became the new director of Young Artists’ Community Ballet Academy of Dance in 2016, he had to find a way to manage the work. The Arizona studio’s original founder had used a paper system that, as McLain puts it, “worked really well for her, but for me, it was time-consuming and tedious.” […]
Small businesses across the U.S. are keeping careful tabs on their states’ reopening schedules and making changes to their business models accordingly. As pandemic-related guidelines and timelines evolve, it’s important that you have a multilayered plan for the gradual reopening of your studio—one that prioritizes your dancers’ and staff’s health, reassures families that it’s safe […]
On Wednesday, March 11—two weeks ahead of a statewide stay-at-home mandate—Colorado Conservatory of Dance executive director Richard Cowden and artistic director Julia Wilkinson Manley made the difficult decision to take all of CCD’s classes online. As you’d expect, it wasn’t easy. “This chapter in our future book will be called ‘The 96 Hours From Hell,’” […]
When Genevieve Weeks opened her children’s dance studio, Tutu School, in San Francisco in 2008, she quickly figured out that she’d hit on something good. “By 2009, I’d opened a second location, and that one also did quite well,” says Weeks. “I realized that this studio could thrive in a lot of communities.” At the […]
Plan Ahead Marketing Idea: Boost Boys’ Class Enrollment How many little (or big) brothers are going to fall in love with dance once they decide to join in or watch an older sibling take virtual class? Strategize now how you’re going to get those cuties into the physical classroom! Plan Ahead Marketing Idea: Upgrade Your […]
“Keeping agile” has taken on a whole new meaning for every studio owner and dance instructor since the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily shuttered studio doors for safety’s sake in March. Now is the time to show parents how you bring normalcy and positivity to their children’s lives so you can retain tuition revenue until your doors […]
Q: What tips do you have for beginning studio owners on recruiting students? I’m just starting out and am not sure where to begin. A: When we first opened we didn’t have a lot of cash for advertising, so during the summer we approached several preschools about conducting a 30-minute intro-to-dance class, free of charge. […]
Jessica Kubat’s path to becoming a studio owner wasn’t typical or glamorous or the product of a family business, handed down. When she opened MJ’s House of Dance in Lindenhurst, New York, this past summer, she had just turned 40, was a mom of three, and had worked at two different studios long-term. Over the […]
Dance teachers aren’t dummies. As in every other industry, the importance of social media for growing a business is not lost on any of us. It’s in knowing exactly how to use it effectively that’s the challenge. For a group of artists who work within the confines of centuries-old techniques, it’s no wonder we start […]
If you’re a studio owner, the thought of raising your rates most likely makes you cringe. Despite ever-increasing overhead expenses you can’t avoid—rent, salaries, insurance—you’re probably wary of alienating your customers, losing students or inviting confrontation if you increase the price of your tuition or registration and recital fees. DT spoke with three veteran studio […]