Dance 101

Five best practices for a studio owner/teacher

By Irene Booth | September 08, 2011

It’s the start of a new dance season which means a fresh new start! Many are coming back from much-needed down time, a summer intensive or are new to the school. Whether it's a teacher, a student or a parent, we all need a little refresher to make it a great year!

Here are five tips to get back into the game:

1) Go over a teacher’s manual
For my instructors, I provide them with a teachers manual. This manual includes all of the requirements that I, as a studio owner, expect from them. It outlines the business side of dance as well as the personal side. Some of the topics include: class preparation; how to deal with conflicts, disgruntled parents and unhappy students; as well as requirements for rehearsals, competititons and general meetings. On the personal side, I like to include what is expected from the teacher as an employee, what is covered under his or her salary,  time off, personal leave, etc.

2) Set guidelines for students
At my studio, a student/ parent handbook is provided at the time of registration. Parents are required to read this manual, and sign a waiver indicating they have read and understood our policies. It is with the upmost importance that once you have established rules and regulations that you follow through with these practices. It is also extremely important that the rules are followed by everyone. If you do not stand by what the guidelines that you have set out, and they are not followed, parents and students will lose the respect for your school.

A manual also keeps the school balanced. Not too many people especially parents like too much change. I find that if you are consistent with your policies and keep them the same from year to year, everyone knows the rules and it becomes the norm and makes the running of the school more efficient. Having a website with your schools information also alllows your parents to do their own checking on information. The phone doesn't ring as much as it use too, but the emails have increased.

3) New students/parents to the studio
My experience with shy students is to take care in how they present themselves. I would not, for example, ask a new child to do something on their own at first or stand at the front of the line or back of the room. In class, I would designate a partner for the child or generally, I like them to be right up at the front so they can hear and see me, and build a relationship with the teacher. Once they feel comfortable they can move around to where they like.

If the student is new to dance, we generally have a look at what they have done in the past. If they have followed a syllabus such as RAD or ISTD, it is easy to accomodate them to the next level of their training.. If a student was in grade two for example they would naturally move up to grade three level. If they do not follow a syllabus, then I ask the child to come in for a private lesson to determine their placement. This is best for the older students. For the younger ones, we would have them go into a class based on their age and ask them to try the classes first to see if it is a good fit.

4) Getting back to studio groove
We hold a one week intensive summer program at the end of August that my students are asked to attend. They get six classes a day, nine hours a day, in all styles of dance. Not only does this gets them conditioned for the start of the season it gets them all revved up for the year. Some students attend this program just to see if they are able to move up a level or if they want to add another class to their schedule. It is fun to see everyone at the end of summer and how much they have grown.

5)  Returning students
Returning parents/students should all be reminded of the policies that are set out by the school. Asking them to sign as proof that they have read the agreements, causes you less stress in the long run. In addition, this is back up protection for the studio when you end up charging them for late fees, or not proving them with a refund when it is over the date required.


Irene Booth has been teaching for over 29 years. From an early age, Irene devoted her time in learning all aspects of the dance world. A mentor and registered teacher with the Royal Academy of Dance, she operates an established dance school on Vancouver Island, British Columbia and enjoys adjudicating competitions and festivals all across Canada


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