Why Now’s the Time to Make Big Changes at Your Studio

Congrats, you made it through 2020. One bright side of the year: Both you and your studio families have become accustomed to quick pivots, which means now’s the perfect time to make big, bold changes at your studio. Here’s what changes you might want to consider—and how to execute them wisely.

Around 15 teenage students in silver costumes, black tights, jazz shoes and masks pose on an outdoor stage in front of some trees
Students from Chasta Hamilton’s training program, which she started after scrapping her competition team. Courtesy Hamilton

Odds are, you spent the majority of 2020 making lots of big changes at your studio—often in rapid succession—in response to the pandemic.

Now, you and your studio families are primed for any other major changes that come your way. And, you’ve established your ability to pivot quickly and keep your business moving forward.

What does that mean for 2021? As you continue to adapt in response to the ongoing pandemic, you also have the opportunity to revamp your studio in big ways: to finally let go of things you’ve always done but no longer serve you, or to implement new ideas you’ve been curious about but too scared to follow through with.

“Remind yourself: ‘I’m a studio owner, and I pulled 2020 off. I still have a good chunk of my students, and my kids are happy whether we’re virtual or live or both,’” says Rhee Gold, founder of the DanceLife Retreat Center and former studio owner. “Your parents are looking at you, thinking, ‘Look at what this guy did—he pulled this off!’”

So what should you be thinking about changing, and how should you go about it? Gold and Chasta Hamilton, owner of Stage Door Dance Productions in Raleigh, North Carolina, have some ideas.

Don’t worry about what sticks

Hamilton is focused on engineering creative programming as a way to make up for lost revenue—and not worrying too much about what doesn’t last long-term. “Try things you haven’t tried!” says Hamilton. “We’ve been throwing so much at the wall to see what sticks and what doesn’t. In the past, it would always feel like a failure to have to cancel something new, and that fear’s been stripped away now.” If a new programming attempt goes bust, it’s not an indication that your studio is on the brink of failure—families understand, now more than ever, that your flexibility and readiness to adapt to each new phase of the pandemic are powerful assets.

Think beyond dance

Gold encourages owners to use this time to expand beyond dance instruction. “It’s about being a new type of teacher—now you know that a talk with a group of kids is just as important as a one-hour warm-up or progressions,” he says. “Bring in a nutritionist or psychologist who will help these kids deal with issues that are affecting them. This is an opportunity to teach self-esteem.”

Gold, a middle-aged white man wearing a black patterned button down shirt and a jacket, both rolled up to his elbows, stands at a clear podium, speaking
Rhee Gold. Photo courtesy Rhee Gold Company

Survey families often

Talk to your clients frequently to see where their interests lie, and then build programming around that feedback. That’s how Hamilton decided to create a three-day-a-week pre-K experience called Perform, Learn, Play as well as a remote learning center, The Academy at Stage Door Dance, which have served to both meet parent needs and take advantage of daytime studio space to bring in new revenue.

Build on existing programs

You don’t need to start everything from scratch. In the past at Stage Door Dance, studios were available to rent for birthday parties. “We recognize that large birthday parties are something people aren’t comfortable doing right now, so we shifted that to playdates—themed opportunities for pods,” she says. “Those have been very popular.”

Hamilton has also kept a careful pulse on what’s popular and used that as a programming springboard. “When Hamilton came out on Disney+ this summer, we did a Hamilton camp, and that eventually grew into a musical theater ensemble class,” she says. “We just identified a passion that already existed within our student population.”

Be bold in deciding what doesn’t work

When Hamilton decided to dissolve her competition team a few years ago in favor of creating an intensive training program, she expected the fallout—initial enrollment losses, shock from her parents and even doubt from her staff. But she knew that focusing on community and collaboration, without the added pressure of competition fees and a trophy-driven mindset, would ultimately lead to a more meaningful dance experience for her most serious students. Her boldness paid off: “Even now, in the midst of COVID, our training program is larger than our competition team ever was,” she says.

Hamilton, masked, sits an outdoor table, holding her book called "Trash the Trophies" and a sharpie. A young masked student stands on the other side of the table
Hamilton with the book she wrote about dissolving her competition team. Photo courtesy Hamilton

Rethink your pricing structure

Though the thought of raising tuition prices right now might give you pause, consider the added value you’ve generated for your clients over the last 10 months: the option to continue with online instruction until families feel ready to return in person; intensive cleaning and sanitization measures; customized recital experiences; even on-demand makeup classes. You’ve worked tirelessly to make sure your students still have access to dance class, and all of that hard work can serve as a ready-made answer for any parents who question a tuition hike, says Gold.

Communication is key

Every savvy studio owner knows that the way you communicate big changes to your families is perhaps as important as the changes themselves. Gold suggests being confident, up front and decisive about your plans with your clients—don’t pussyfoot or solicit opinions.

“You need to believe in what you’re about to do and tell parents you’re doing it,” he says. “If I go to my parents and say, ‘Geez, I was thinking of bringing in a psychologist to talk to the kids, but I’m not sure—are you all comfortable with that?’, there’s no way it’ll happen. But if I say, ‘I have a friend who is a psychologist who knows dance, and she’s going to come in and talk to the kids—it’ll be good for the soul’, how can a parent argue?”

To avoid encountering resistance from parents, Hamilton encourages owners to always take the time to explain the why behind your decisions. “This helps achieve accountability to your brand standard, too,” she says. If you do receive pushback, she recommends approaching parents with empathy and a willingness to listen but, like Gold, cautions owners not to come across as wishy-washy. “Be confident in the choices you’re making,” says Hamilton. Across the board, she says, a proactive, consistent and calm approach to communication—with your students, families and even staff—will establish trust in your leadership abilities and lead to a decrease in conflict and toxicity.

Hamilton also advises owners to regularly share positive feedback they’ve received with parents, especially if it’s about changes you’ve implemented. “When you get really great feedback, embrace it and share it—it’s good for morale,” she says. “It’s easy to say, ‘I had five kids quit last week,’ but you can also say: ‘I have this other child whose parent says I changed their life forever.” You’ll transmit the message that your studio is here to stay, pandemic or not, and parents will trust that any changes you implement are made with your studio’s future in mind.

Rachel Rizzuto reports on studio business for Dance Teacher and is a third-year MFA student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.