Finding The Right Studio

Student guide for finding the right studio for yourself

This student guide to finding a dance studio is aimed at students who have enough experience in dance to decide for themselves if they want to become career dancers or just enjoy the thrill and the challenge of dancing.

Assess Your Abilities
Sit back and take a moment to assess your current dance ability. Are you the one who gets all the dance moves the first time the teachers shows you or are you the one that needs to go home and walk through the dance for hours before it becomes fluid? Do you go straight to the front of the class or shy away to the back row? Be honest with yourself.

The other thing to bear in mind is that you’re comparing your abilities with all the other dancers you know. You may be the strongest dancer in your current studio but at another studio you may be average. Or vice versa. So it’s important to look at yourself objectively.

Decide where you fall within the scale of “Fun” and “Serious”.

Decide What You Want to Achieve
Now that you know where you are now, it’s time to think about what you want to achieve. Do you simply enjoy the health and social benefits of dancing or do you want to push your abilities and challenge yourself? Do you dream of becoming a professional dancer? Do you want to go on to a higher education in dance? Do you want to teach dance? Do you want to be a choreographer?

Does the studio offer you those opportunities?

Range of Dance Programs & Future Growth
Now that you know what you want to achieve, does the studio offer the range of classes that will take you from where you are now to where you want to be? Is there a progression of levels and a diverse enough range of dance styles to get you where you’re going?

Decide What Environment Work Best for You
This goes back to the “fun” versus “serious” notion. If you want to achieve great things in dance then you need a school that is going to push you and be harsh on your imperfections. If you want fun then obviously a friendly fun atmosphere is important.

Facilities
The more advanced you get, the facilities at the studio become much more important. The waiting room is the least important space but unless there is a separate warm up room is there enough space for warm ups and cool downs?

Are the dance rooms well lit and well ventilated? Are there mirrors and are they positioned in appropriate places so you can study your form and improve technique. Are there enough warm up bars to avoid crowding and are they the correct height? About 42 inches seems to be the norm for adult ballet bars.

Are the floors in good condition and sprung to help absorb your energy during leaps and kicks? Is there ample space to move around, avoid other dancers and attain speed and distance in leaps?

Location / Convenience
If the studio is convenient to get to, you’re more likely to go even when you’ve had a long day at work or when the weather is less than pleasant. Traffic can be a big issue so check if there are back roads that can get you to the studio if things back up. Ease of parking and well lit parking for evening classes in the winter are all things you should consider.

And remember to factor in where you will be coming from. If the studio offers classes that fit in with your work schedule, you may find it easier to go to a studio close to work to avoid the rush hour traffic and do something you enjoy at the same time.

What Information Can You Find Out
Apart from the studio itself, what other information is available? If the studio has a web site then you have access to a lot of information although remember that it’s not impartial. However, you can still learn a lot about a studio. Look at the number and types of classes they offer. Look at the schedules to see how many classes and what times they’re available. Look at teacher bios to get a sense of what level their teachers are, although remember that an impressive dance resume does not necessarily mean that they’re a good teacher.

Search around online for newspaper articles and press releases about the studios you’re interested in.

Recommendations
Referrals are probably one of the best sources of information as you’ll generally get a sense of that parent’s experience with the studio. A good recommendation is most likely good but a bad recommendation you should take with a pinch of salt. People can have fantastic experiences for years but one bad experience seems to negate all the good.

Trial Classes
Finally after doing all the research, a trial class gives you the opportunity to see for yourself. Most studios offer free trial classes so you have nothing to lose.