Running a Successful Dance Studio

Teachers Are Your Best Asset

Every craftsman knows how important it is to invest in good tools. For a dance studio it’s no different. Investing in good teachers not only promotes good dance instruction but it should also instill a passion for dance that will last a lifetime.

Good Dancer / Good Teacher ?
Training Keeps Teachers Fresh
Rewards and Thank You’s
Pass Along Student / Parent Compliments
Filter Students / Parents Negative Comments and Take Positive Action
Staff Meetings
Annual Review

Good Dancer / Good Teacher ?
An excellent dancer does not necessarily make a good dance instructor. Just because someone has an impressive dance resume does not necessarily mean that they have the ability to transfer their knowledge and love of dance. Depending on the type of atmosphere at your studio, a moderate dancer with excellent people skills may be more effective.

If you run a dance studio that is geared towards more serious or professional instruction, then obviously a high degree of technique is also required from teachers.

Training Keeps Teachers Fresh
Dance instruction and training is what made your dance instructor good in the first place and continued dance instruction will keep them fresh. Even the best dance teachers will learn from taking classes. New teaching techniques, new dance techniques, and encourage them to push themselves.

Rewards and Thank You’s
Everyone likes to feel appreciated so showing that you appreciate your teachers is very important. A thank you note, a gift certificate or a night out for all the teachers has a remarkable psychological effect. In fact, neglecting the little thank you’s in passing can leave teachers feeling disgruntled.

Rewards don’t have to be expensive but if they’re personal and meaningful, it shows the teacher that you really thought about them and went out of your way to show your appreciation.

One point about rewards is that you should be very careful not to make it a competition otherwise you make one person feel happy but a dozen other teachers feel jilted. It’s also easy to forget the excellent teacher who constantly performs well.

Pass Along Student / Parent Compliments
If a parent pays you a compliment, you should pass along the compliment to the teacher. They’ll feel good about it.

Filter Students / Parents Negative Comments and Take Positive Action
Often, complaints get delivered to the reception desk or left on the voicemail, but don’t just pass them along to the teacher as is. Listen to the message, try to understand what might have caused the problem. Only if it was a direct result of something the teacher did should you contact the teacher.

Anticipate how the teacher might react to the news and think about ways that you might turn the comment into something constructive. Nobody likes to hear that they did something wrong so suggest ways that they might do things differently if a similar situation presents itself again.

Staff Meetings
Staff meetings are an important part of making your teachers feel like part of a family rather than as independent units. You can also make staff meetings fun by holding them at a diner or other off site location. Be considerate of people’s time and unless you really need to, hold them once a semester.

Staff meetings give you the ideal opportunity to review the current semester. Review the upcoming semester. Discuss any problems that occurred that could possibly have been prevented. Discuss new procedures etc. Most of all you should listen to your teachers and address any concerns they may have.

Annual Review
Staff meetings should be used to review generic things that apply to everyone but you should also hold a personal review with your teachers each year. Hold it in a private room so they will feel more comfortable talking without fear of anyone else hearing and without the distractions of phones ringing etc.

You should discuss the good the bad and the ugly then the good again. Talk about everything that was good. If they improved, if they took on more responsibility, if they handled a difficult situation well, if they filled in for missing teachers, if they ran extra classes or workshops, if they received compliments from parents / students.

The bad and the ugly. Don’t dwell too much on this subject but address things that have occurred multiple times or that go against the your policies. Anticipate their reactions and use constructive language to turn the negative into a learning experience for them.

Before finishing, re-affirm the good things they did and what it is that makes them a valuable part of your staff.