Fun Tips for Back-to-Dance Week at Your Studio
Our studio, Rhythm Dance Center, used a rainbow theme to kick off our season!
It’s our favorite time of year: #backtodance! And even though, admittedly, the lead up to the first week back to dance class is crazy-busy, chaotic and hectic for dance studio owners and dance teachers…it’s also super fun and exciting to hit that reset button once again!
We are so lucky to be in an industry where we basically get the chance to reinvent ourselves every year–not a lot of industries have the chance to start fresh once a year! And a new season means a clean slate where practically anything is possible…from a creative perspective, a business standpoint and even a new beginning for the dancers, too!
We just kicked off our dance studio’s new season this week and had a blast! So, we wanted to share with you some FUN tips on how you can make a successful start to your new season filled with FUN + COLOR!
Set the Scene
As many of you know, our theme for Confetti this summer was (and still is) all about COLOR (if you don’t know already about this fun theme, join our Confetti Circle and we’ll share lots of COLORFUL inspo with you)! We continued with this theme throughout our studio–which is already full of vibrant color– and created a bright, fun environment for our welcome back party (check out #rhythmrainbowdanceparty + our Insta Story Highlights) and our first day back to dance!
We have a famous photo wall that is changed out every season (#rhythmwallcrawl), and our back-to-dance theme is Over the Rainbow for Rhythm! We created several fun back-to-dance photo props using a cheap plastic frame, some bright duct tape, a super affordable 10-pack of assorted canvas, some cute letter stickers and pom pom balls…all from Hobby Lobby! They were so easy to make, and didn’t take too much time! Side note: After a week of being used A LOT in our highest traffic area with 1,110 students handling them…yes, these fun props have seen better days, but that’s OK because FUN was had, and we’ll create different ones for the next fun season! You can see all our fun back-to-dance pics by checking out our hashtag #rhythmszn26! We also suggest that you create your own hashtag branded with your studio’s name and encourage your dancers to post pics using it throughout the year!
And, if bright colors aren’t your thing, that’s A-OK! This still applies to you! Whatever your image is, you can create and relate this same concept with your brand in mind, using your own look and feel, and still make your students feel special and welcomed back!
Greeter Gang
What better way to welcome your dancers back to class than to literally welcome them!? Position a knowledgeable, energetic, smiling employee in the lobby to assist parents and dancers with all their “first day” questions and to walk them to their class! Whether your studio is large or small, your new students will appreciate a friendly face to help them find their dance class or answer questions about attire and dance shoes.
If you are the studio owner, and you aren’t teaching class, we highly recommend that YOU be the one (or at least one of the ones) positioned as a greeter. For one, your customers likely won’t be expecting it, but they will definitely be pleasantly surprised. We (Becca and Dani) were able to be in our crazyyyy lobby during some of the busiest times this week, and it was so helpful…to our parents, our dancers, our staff and yes, even helpful for us! There’s really nothing like being hands on and meeting and greeting the people who literally help you keep the lights on and the doors open.
Studio Swag
Every kid LOVES knick-knacks and gadgets and whatnots to take home, so give them something with your brand on it so they can show it off to their friends! Pens, tattoos, rubber bracelets, branded beach balls, grocery tote bags…there are so many options out there in so many price ranges!
This is also a great time of year to offer branded logo wear from your studio for sale, like hoodies, warm-ups, t-shirts, bags, etc. Your new students are going to be especially excited (now more than any other time of the year) about being part of your studio, so offer them something to buy to show their studio spirit! Your returning students will love new studio swag, too!
Welcome Back Teacher Videos
We already knew we wanted each of our teachers to do a welcome back video for their classes this year, and with the recent launch of IGTV on Instagram, we decided to make them our first foray into IGTV! (Btw, if you don’t know about this new Instagram feature, read about it here from Jenn’s Trends, our favorite and go-to expert for all things social media!) So, we had each teacher send us a short video providing three tips for succeeding in their dance class, edited them using the app InShot, and then we uploaded them into IGTV. The results and the feedback from our customers have been AMAZING! Your new students will definitely appreciate getting to know their teachers ahead of class, and it also helps to set expectations for the season and kick things off on a positive note. You can watch all our teacher videos, as well as the welcome back video the two of us created on our IGTV channel – it’s the icon to the left of the Insta Story Highlights. Fun fact: We even had one tiny preschooler who loved them all so much that she had her mom film her making her very own teacher video which we LOVED so very much and posted on our Instagram feed. You can and should watch it here! It’s sure to make you smile!
Make Dance Fun!
Look no further if you need more tools and resources to add a little extra flair to your dance season, we have something for everyone here at Confetti on the Dance Floor!
- Reward your amazing dancers’ hard work with a WOW Card at the end of class – our original (Gold) version has a pastel palette with sweet messages perfect for preschoolers but loved by all ages. Our newest V2 (Aqua) version includes bright, vibrant messages great for older dancers, hip hop and boys!
- Plan a fun obstacle course in preschool classes with Twirl Flashie Cards!
- Throw a dance party in class once a month with Twirl or Twirl to Go!
- Take a unique and fun approach to improv with 567cre8 cards for elementary ages or teens!
- Add some fun flair to a drab wall in your hallway, dressing area or dance room with Wall Flair or our Ballet Positions Poster!
- Impress some young dancers with our cool, dance-focused Stick to Fun sticker collection!
- Inspire your staff (or yourself) with spark*source, our creative planner for fun dance teachers, and/or one of our three styles of Confetti FunTags – Make Dance Fun, Chassé All Day or Totes Amazing Dance Teacher!
- Change up your music in preschool classes with our Twirl Dance Day CD featuring ten of our original, silly preschool songs!
- Polish your studio’s image and boost your brand with one of our Confetti Branding FunPacks!
- Dress the part in some of our stylish Confetti apparel!
- Start planning now for Summer … hey, it’s never too early… with Camp Confetti!
We hope you can take some of these ideas, put your own spin on them and make this new season a bright, colorful and successful one! And, no matter what you do to welcome your dancers back, make it fun! Adding a few fun + simple details these first few weeks can go a long way to strengthening your brand, building relationships and earning lifelong customers! Share your pics on Instagram, use the hashtag #backtodance and we can all be inspired by each other! Best of luck on your new season!
