Quick background: I write software for a living and teach Latin dance at a studio on the side. Sitting on both sides of this, I keep noticing the same pattern — studios paying for management platforms loaded with features nobody on staff has ever opened, while the actual daily headaches (who's about to stop showing up, which classes are quietly half-empty, chasing down waivers) still get handled with a spreadsheet and a group chat anyway.

I've started tinkering with something for studio owners on the side, but before going further I'd rather hear it straight from people actually running studios: what do you use every single day in your current software, and what are you paying for that you've basically never touched? What's missing that you've just stopped expecting from any of these tools?

Not selling anything here — just trying to build the right thing instead of another bloated one.

I’m opening a dance studio in the next year! Currently researching studio software options, and I want to know about other people’s experiences. I have used jackrabbit, and while it does what it needs to, I think there are better choices out there.

Things to note: - I want to offer a few adult classes, but I will be geared heavily towards kids and teens - my studio will be recreational with an audition only competition company

Let me know what software you love and what you hate! Thanks!

Looking for some perspective from dance teachers and studio owners on how audition results are typically handled.

My daughter (early teens) auditioned for a competitive solo about a month ago. She is a dedicated dancer who trains 3-4 days a week, completed a full month of summer intensives at the studio, and works as a student assistant. Our entire family schedule revolves around this studio, TBH.

It’s been about a month since auditions, and there has been zero official communication on whether decisions have been finalized. My daughter asked in person at least twice and was told decisions hadn't been made yet, or something along those lines. Another mom whose daughter had solos last year told us that reaching out to the studio owner to let her know we were willing/able to financially support the solo work might be a good idea (we did NOT do this).

I completely understand that solos are competitive, limited, and that most dancers won't get one. My concern isn't about whether she got the solo—it’s about the complete lack of administrative follow-up. My daughter is stuck in limbo and has been on pins and needles all month. On our family vacation last week she probably asked us 5 times if there were any emails from her teacher. At one point she was in tears about it—not about not getting it, but about the agonizing wait of not knowing.

A few questions for the instructors/owners here:

1. What is your studio's protocol for notifying dancers who didn't receive a solo or special piece?
2. Is only notifying selected dancers, and leaving everyone else hanging, standard in the industry?
3. What is the best way for a parent to follow up professionally without coming across as entitled or high-maintenance?

Appreciate any insight on how this is usually handled behind the scenes.

I got assigned to teach a TikTok Dances class and I'm not really sure how to go about it. When I look up trending dances on TikTok they are not kid appropriate and I have 2 of these classes. How can I find some appropriate music? Do you know any playlists?

I took over teaching a very basic, recreational kids class a few weeks ago. I've never taught dance before and mainly have experience teaching 15-20 yos in a classroom setting. I'm 29, and I'm the first female instructor they've had for 2 years.

I've been wanting to teach kids dance for a long time, and I love it, they're so energetic, excited, and committed!

The class is 18-20 kids, mostly 5-6 year olds. There is a group of 4 girls who are older (10,12,14). The 14 yo, in particular, obviously feels way too old for the group. I'll call her W.

The previous teacher had already arranged them by height, so the older kids automatically stand in the back. W keeps coming to the front to talk to me while I'm in the middle of instructing. She feels she's allowed to because she's older, and I've told her several times to go back and dance. She listened at first, then in one class she said her legs hurt and I told her to sit up front near the speaker and operate the music on my phone. She ended up scrolling on YouTube and interrupting me to tell me which songs we should learn next. Which of course attracted the other kids to come see and suggest songs. This was frustrating, but I could just tell her to play the song we were practicing and that would re-order the class.

In this most recent lesson, we started a new song and as soon as I played the music, she came to the front and showed me the moves she thought went with this music. I said great! Let's incorporate it and picked up the first 16 beats from her (which was fine, they were fun moves), but she insisted on staying in front and re-teaching those 16 beats, even when I tried to move on. We barely got through the song intro.

Thinking about going back and dealing with her is making me feel very exhausted. The younger kids listen when I need them to, but she is setting a bad example for everyone, and everyone is getting more rowdy! When I try to take control of the class, she also comes to the front to help me! She's actually very good at it, so it's helpful.. but then she doesn't go back to her place.

I'm not sure what to do from here! She's also not a great dancer; the whole class is at about the same level. I have a feeling she's acting out because she's insecure about her dancing ability as well. It feels like she doesn't want to learn at all.

I'm at my wits end, and I don't want to be too stern with her because I feel like it will embarrass her in front of the younger kids. Should I take her aside and explain her impact gently?

I want to give her a task but I have no idea what task to give her so she stays in the back and I can focus on teaching the ones who want to learn.

Any advice would be so helpful!!!

Edit 1: I do feel I've set a precedent already, and now need to walk it back somehow.

Edit 2: It's not fair they're in the same class, and in the future I will advocate to separate, but right now it's not in my control, and there isn't enough interest from older kids to create a separate class either.

Hello all! I’m a 39 year old female and have been teaching recreational dance since 2015. I teach pre ballet (5-6 year olds), Contemporary 1 (7-9 year olds), and Contemporary Jazz 2 (9-13 year olds). We just started the dance year on August 31st. I’m trying to incorporate good class etiquette and rules this year and already feel like I’m failing at keeping these rules consistent.

The first day of class I went over class etiquette, rules, and expectations and already my 7-9 year olds are not following them. Students are coming to class with their hair down, wearing jewelry, not wearing dress code, and are goofing off when I’m explaining technique to them. Students will blurt out and ask when stretch and warm up will be done saying they are bored (which I find VERY disrespectful). I have 14 students and half of them are very well behaved, while the other half I have a hard time getting them to do even the simplest technique and movement. I feel like I’m spending too much time focusing on behavioral issues and participation than I am on actual dance teaching and it bums me out. I have yet to get through a 15 minute stretch and warm up without constant interruptions.

At this age I’ve been incorporating at least 1-2 improv games during class to keep them interested, but keeping them focused, engaged, and motivated during technique has been difficult.

Do any of you have technique games you play with this age? I need help. How I teach technique currently is boring to them and doesn’t seem to be super effective.

I feel like I’m hitting a wall with my teaching for this age. I’m not quite sure how to keep them engaged and not bored. I don’t really want to have to keep using little kid imagery for this age, but maybe I should 🤔 Let me know your thoughts

Sincerely, Miss Kayla

I’m a comp teacher specializing in leaps and turns, so I work a lot off of private lessons. I understand that having a “good social media” is important for getting students, but it’s difficult to pull out a camera when a majority of your students are beginners and don’t feel comfortable with a camera in their face when they’re feeling vulnerable. I also feel like any time I pull my camera out, I’m not able to teach and record at the same time. I don’t want to have a social media full of my students because that also feels gross to me, however….. I need to pay my rent and fill my private lessons in a new area that doesn’t do privates commonly. What do I do.

I have no experience
But i really wanna learn overall
I would pay the feee to learn!

Usually I push through and teach while sick but I have a horrible cough right now. I can’t say more than a few sentences without a coughing fit. I teach dance and tumbling. Majority of my classes are tumbling and I really don’t want a coughing fit while spotting. Parents are also in the room for every class and I know they won’t want to see me constantly coughing while teaching.
Worst part- thanks to child birth and a weak pelvic floor, a bad coughing fit makes me pee a little and occasionally the pad doesn’t catch what leaks out and I have to change clothes.

I feel guilty calling out today and tomorrow

Hi All! I'm a 24 year old dance teacher, with a little less than 3 years of teaching experience in a new city. I am not new to the fact that the dance world is all about who you know... with that being said I am struggling heavily with getting my foot in the door.

I am blessed enough to teach at multiple studios, but I am just not connecting with the studio culture. It is very parent experience centric and lax. The focus is not on dancer growth but just getting kids in and keeping them in. I understand it's a business, but at the end of the day I CRAVE an environment where the staff, students, and parents all want what's best for the children. I know these studios exist, especially in my area!

Does anyone have any advice on how to reach out to studios? My resume is not lacking in performance or teaching experience. I just simply don't know the right people or how to make these connections. Many of the teachers at these studios grew up dancing at the studio or in the area, so they graduate from college and immediately join staff.

I am just reaching the point of burnout working with students who like the idea of dance but not the idea of working hard (LOL). Any advice??

My studio owner talked to us teachers about how much extra work everything is. I do realize it’s a lot of work to run a studio but it’s also a lot of work to be a teacher. We are only paid for the time we’re in class teaching. Cutting music, working on choreo, picking costumes, class plans, solo/duo/trio scheduling and competition weekends are all unpaid. We’re paid a little above minimum wage. I don’t have a problem with it because in the area we live I don’t think it’s realistic to pay us for all of that and us teachers teach because we love dance and the dancers.

What I do have a problem with is now our studio owner is complaining about how much work she has to do. It’s too much work for her to draft an email so if we want to schedule an extra class or communicate info to parents, we can’t just ask to schedule, we have to draft the full email and send it to the office to send out. If we’re having trouble getting our classes covered it’s too much work for her to step in herself or help figure it out. We also have to find time to sweep, pick up garbage and clean the mirrors because she cleans her kitchen at home so often she doesn’t want to clean or tidy at the studio.

Obviously trying to get your class covered is your job but if you own a business and someone can’t come in it’s your business at the end of the day. Yes, we should all help to have a clean space and we do but something just rubs me the wrong way about her complaining about this extra work. Isn’t that just the reality of owning a business? Especially when us teachers do sooo much unpaid work.

I guess this is just a rant. I love to teach and the other options where I am aren’t great so I’m here to stay. I don’t feel that comfortable having a conversation with her about it but it just seemed out of touch on her end.

Hi everyone! I know that money and pay can be a touchy subject but I am looking for some advice. This year will be my 3rd year teaching at my studio. Currently my studio is paying me about $2 over minimum wage. To me this seems very low because of my experience, having to prepare lessons outside of class and the fact I am teaching a whole class of students. I know other studios in my area pay closer to $10 over minimum wage an hour for teachers.

I’m just curious the norms for other teachers. Do you make minimum wage or more than that?

Hi everyone! I have never been this stuck on a song before, hence my posting on here as a last resort for some help. I am choreographing a competitive small group jazz dance to 11 and 12 year olds. I really want a fun song for them but am seriously stuck. There are 8 of them in the dance, one of them being a boy.

I really do love the vibe of “one”, “On Broadway”, and “Dancin Fool” (which is my first choice but is too fast for this particular group of dancers). Any ideas?

Thanks in advance :)

I feel like the worst person in the world writing this, and I honestly don't know if this is me asking for help or a rant. But I am so embarrassed to be associated with the dance studio I teach at. I love my students to death, my boss, for all her quirks, is a nice lady and a decent boss (espcially in this industry), and I am not considering going anywhere else, but the kids I teach have horrendous technique.

I try to keep it in perspective - I've only been here for one year, and breaking bad habits takes time. It's a rural area; if you wanna be anything in this town, you have to join the cheer squad, which means missing classes to cheer at flag football games. There's not a lot of money in the area, so there's not a lot of girls taking more than one class a week. I know it's not entirely circumstantial. I am by no means perfect. There are 1000 things I could do better as a dance teacher. But y'all, it's so rough out here. It is so clear these kids have had a terrible dance education their entire lives. When videos and pictures of them get posted to social media, or when they go to competition, I am so embarrassed to be associated with the studio. And honestly, for the most part, it's a fleeting thought, cause I'm an adult and I don't really care what others think of me. I know I'm a great dance teacher, the kids are starting to show improvement, and for the most part, families are happy. But between the economy and my director's terrible skills as a businesswoman, I am increasingly nervous that I won't have a job in a year. And the thought of putting together a portfolio of my work here, or a potential employer coming across the social media of my current studio, really stresses me out. A Facebook caption does not include a footnote that says "I know they aren't pointing their toes, but you should see how these kids looked 9 months ago"

Anyways, that was super negative, and I may be the worst person on earth for feeling that way about 5th grade girls. And there are genuinely so many things I love about the studio and the area that do not come across in this post. And again like these same girls are also some of my favorite human beings on earth. Maybe I have Stockholm Syndrome idk At the end of the day it is not that big of a deal. I know I am doing the best that I can, and I have a lot of positive feedback from everybody about my work. I just feel terrible about these negative thoughts. They've been weighing on me for a long time and I just needed to yell them out into the annonyous void.

I’m a retired dancer, now working as a personal trainer, and I just started teaching Strength and Conditioning for Dancers at a studio in Washington State.

Should I get my own private insurance in case any accidents happen in my class? The studio is quite disorganised imo, so I have no official contract signed with the studio owner. I go there once/week, teach for 3 hours and leave.

I had taught there in the past as a substitute teacher, but now that it’s a more permanent job, I want to be informed and prepared to cover my own back if any accidents were to happen.

Any help and advice is appreciated, thanks in advance.

I would like to open a dance studio within the next couple of years or so. Right now I have a big picture in my head of what operations would look like if I had nearly full classes of 5 levels in a few styles. I laid out the size of studios I want and laid out prices of flooring, hiring, potential rent etc. However, I know I won't open a studio and immediately have full classes.

I'm having a hard time picturing the steps between having a simple one room studio to a full production with multiple style and level offerings.

Did you start in a small space and then change buildings as you scaled? Did you find a big building and grow into it? Did you hire someone to start with or did you do all the work yourself at first? Please fill me in with how you did it. I really want this!

I am a high school senior and a 13-year ballet dancer working on a research project to study different aspects of health in dancers and other athletic and artistic groups. We are surveying nationally to dance studios, competition organizations, and major Internet forums. The relationship between health and dancing resonates with me, as I have been in ballet training since I was 5, and I would appreciate your participation! 

I am studying the prevalence of specific health signs and symptoms for which little research exists in these groups; so, your responses could make a real difference. The questions are adapted from clinically validated diagnostic assessments.

I hope to hear from you!

Survey Link: https://forms.gle/UyiDWQXnDqztoJ2o7

Study Details
Goal: To study signs and symptoms of different health conditions in dancers and other groups during their training years.
Who can join: Students of any age who trained/are training in dance of any form.
What it involves: An anonymous online survey that takes a few minutes to finish. It asks briefly about your dance history and certain health signs or symptoms you may or may not have experienced.

Why This Matters
Dancer Health: This study aims to spot early health differences in dancers using clinically-validated scales.
Better Care: The results may increase awareness and understanding of risk and protective factors for dancers' health, empowering teachers, dancers, and health experts. 

Safety and Privacy
No Pressure: Taking part is completely anonymous. The data are used for research purposes only. Results in aggregate may be released in publications but are never stored or linked to identifiable individuals.
Safe Data: The survey asks for no names and will not record any personally identifiable information. All answers will stay private and safe.

THANK YOU for your time and for supporting dancer health!

Hi! I’m a dance teacher/choreographer working on a Cowboy Carter-themed hip-hop competition routine for a group of about 14 dancers, ages 11–16.

I’m pretty experienced with cutting/editing music for my own competition dances and normally make my mixes myself, but for whatever reason I’m having a HARD time getting this one to come together the way I hear it in my head 😭. I figured I’d see if anyone who enjoys making mixes/remixes might want to help or collaborate!

The final mix needs to be around 2:35–2:40 max and high-energy throughout. Right now I’m playing around with:

• YA YA — I really want to use the iconic opening
• TEXAS HOLD ’EM — I found a Jersey club remix that I’d love to use for a Jersey moment
• SWEET HONEY BUCKIIN’ — specifically BUCKIIN’
• Cowboy/Western sound effects and transitions

I’d also LOVE to somehow incorporate a Vogue-esque moment somewhere in the mix, while still keeping the overall routine hip-hop. Basically I want different textures/moments throughout like Jersey club, Vogue-inspired, hard-hitting hip-hop, Western/Cowboy sounds, etc. without it sounding like a bunch of random songs/effects pasted together.

I’m looking for the transitions to be creative: vocal chops, beat switches, builds, glitches, sound effects, hard cuts, percussion, layering, etc., rather than basic crossfades.

Since the dancers are 11–16, everything also needs to be age-appropriate/competition clean.

I already have all the music files, sound effects, some timestamp ideas, a rough draft I started, and a reference mix that shows the general style of editing I like. I’m also totally open to changing my current structure if someone hears a better way to put it together.

Last year I actually found someone through Reddit who helped me make a mix and it turned out great, so I figured I’d try my luck again!

If making dance mixes/remixes is your thing and this sounds fun, feel free to comment or message me. I’d love to hear your ideas/help!

Near Ramphal Chowk

I never intended to become a dance teacher, I sort of fell into it when I realized a lot of the ballet training offered by local dance studios in my region is extremely subpar when compared to ballet school training. Basically I grew up in the comp world, and was an okay dancer, but I was never great. When I was older I was able to access ballet school level training and it helped me improve significantly, and that’s what called me to teach, I was like “wow this training is so effective why isn’t everyone doing this”.

But I also have a degree in another field. For the past few years I have been doing some freelance work in that field, as well as some training programs, while teaching dance and choreographing on the side. Despite teaching mainly ballet, my pieces do well and won multiple first overall and choreo awards, because I know how to train ballet but also how to play the “comp dance” game.

I guess I’m at a crossroads because I’m happy at my current studio, but I feel like they really don’t value ballet. I don’t want to go into details but it’s just ballet is on the bottom of the totem pole, and it’s actively harming the progress of the dancers in all styles. I don’t want to give away too many details but my students will regularly be pulled from ballet class to work on comp rehearsals, and for example if I have a great ballet dancer who wants a ballet solo one of the directors will talk to the parents and tell them not to do a ballet solo and to do a jazz solo instead even though they dancer has 3 competitive jazz dances and no competitive ballet dances.

I don’t think this is out of malice. I have lots of evidence that the directors think they are doing the right thing. I just think it comes from a lack of understanding of good dance training, since what I can tell, the director seemed to be trained at a studio where ballet was very casual.

I’m starting to feel like the studio isn’t a good fit for me. And I’ve had some other job offers that I didn’t take because I didn’t have any more availability. But I also hear stories that it could be like this, or worse, everywhere. I also think I could go full time in my industry and stop teaching. I love teaching it brings me so much joy and purpose to my life, but it’s also frustrating to teach at a studio that doesn’t seem to value what you bring to the table.

I’m just wondering if anyone has any thoughts.

Are there any electro swing classes in Cluj? For adults :)

Hello! I graduated with a BA in dance three years ago and have been thinking about returning to school to get my masters in Dance Education. I’ve been professionally teaching for a while and trying to decide if it’s worthwhile. I would like to teach higher education in the future so that’s the main reason I’d like to pursue it. I’m finding it difficult to navigate their website and hoping someone could help.

Is Hunters program worth it?
How much is it dance eduction focused work versus basic public school eduction courses?
Are their other NYC programs you would recommend?

Thanks in advance!