Dance studios can be a difficult endeavour. Some cities can have a high number of independent studios, leading to a lot of competition. Whether you’re a studio or a teacher trying to fill up your classes, there are many things you can do to increase enrolment. Here are 5 dance studio ideas to bump up your memberships.

High Quality Instructors

The quality of your lessons will be high on the list of potential students. Make sure your instructors are all still practicing and learning themselves. This will ensure that their teachings are up to date along with their skills. For a lot of more casual dance studios, the teacher’s ability to keep your students engaged and having fun will be paramount. No matter how high the quality of the teaching is, if casual students don’t enjoy their time there, they will go elsewhere.

Public Events

Another great dance studio idea to increase enrollment is performing in public. This can be anything from performing at your local fair and competitions to a flash mob. There tend to be tons of events that host a variety of talented performers. Research when and where they are and see if it makes sense for the target demographic you’re looking for. Keep in mind that you don’t want to perform at very low-level showcases, as this can bring down your brand.

Collaborate

Have your best instructors teach lessons at schools when they travel, while representing your school. Another thing you can do is host other instructors for special workshops and lessons. This collaboration can lead to a ton of cross-promoting, allowing the schools/instructors involved to mutually increase their public awareness. Plus, it’ll keep things fresh for your long-term students. These each work especially well for hip-hop and street style oriented dance studios. 

YouTube

Having a YouTube channel is a great dance studio idea to boost awareness of your school. Posting high quality videos - which you can easily learn how to do by researching online - of the performance part of your classes can be very good, especially if you have some talented students. Have fun with these and keep in mind the most important thing is the entertainment value. If you have some incredibly high-level dancers, you can get millions of views, if you do it well. Here are some great examples from D.Side Dance Studio, Matt Steffanina, and 1MILLION Dance Studio.

Build Community

We’ve frequently talked about the importance of building a community, and dance studio ideas to increase enrollment definitely revolve around this concept. Without a community, your students will treat your school like just a school. With community, your students can view it more as a second family and somewhere they go above and beyond the responsibilities of a student. Building community in this sense is tough to do but, with the right approach, you can build a school full of dedicated longterm students.

As your school grows, so does the need for a dance studio management software. Check out Xplor Recreation’s Dance Studio Software, to see how we can help make your life easier and grow your school. What strategies have worked for you to get new students?