How to run a dance team

How to Start a Competition Dance Team

March 31, 2015 Dance Competitions Eric Housh

When you’ve been running a successful recreational dance studio for a couple years and have some amazingly talented students in your classrooms, you might start to think about ways to show the world how great your dancers are. What better way to do that than start a competitive dance team at your studio? If you’re wondering how to start a competition dance team, follow these easy steps.

Gauge Interest

Before you jump head-on into planning, it’s a good idea to see how many of your students would be interested in joining a competition team. Some may be too busy with other sports or extracurriculars to dedicate enough practice time, and others might not be able to afford the additional costs of competitions. You can gauge interest by talking to parents and students or sending out a survey to everyone. Make sure you have a solid group of students on board before making any definitive decisions.

Hold Tryouts

Once you’ve determined that your dancers are ready and able to take their dancing to the next level, you’ll want to hold tryouts for your new competition team. There are a number of different ways that you can structure tryouts – your needs will dictate which method works best in your studio. Varsity.com explained that some studios hold open tryouts where any student can apply to be on the team. In this type of situation, you’ll likely have to make cuts, so be prepared to give your dancers honest feedback.

Another common method of recruiting dancers is to have “invitation only” tryouts. This strategy ensures that only dancers who are advanced enough for the rigors of competition will be considered. It can help spare your novice dancers the rejection of being cut and makes your job easier, as you’ll likely have fewer students to consider.

Whichever method you choose, it’s best to hold a meeting with parents before or during tryouts to explain the expected costs and time commitments that come along with competitive dance. The last thing you want is to select the perfect team only to have half drop out because of the price.

Schedule Practices and Outline Expectations

After you have a great group of dancers on your new team, you’ll need to create a practice schedule that works for all parties involved. Ideally, it shouldn’t interfere with their other dance classes or outside activities. However, the reality is that you may not be able to find a time that works for everyone. Do the best you can and make compromises whenever possible.

You’ll also need to outline your expectations for this new group. How many practices are they able to miss? What happens when they show up late? How far in advance do you need costume payments? Are there certain behaviors you expect dancers to uphold as representatives of your team? These are all important considerations to take into account. Competition teams generally have strict guidelines for dancers because if just one person is missing, the whole practice can be thrown off and the team may suffer.

Hone Your Skills

Once the paperwork is filled out and expectations are set, it’s time to do what you do best – practice! Start creating routines, building team bonds and preparing your dancers for competition life. You may want to bring in guest speakers who have experience in competitive dance or attend a local competition to see what the atmosphere is like. Some competitive teams also require their students to attend certain camps to work on skills and technique, but this should depend on whether your students are willing and able to do so.

When you think your team is ready, pick your first competition and go for it! Whether you win or lose, you’ll be on your way to creating a strong, covetable competition dance team.

How to Start a Dance Team in 2022 [21-Step Plan]

Do you want to start a dance team? If YES, here is a complete guide to starting a dance team with NO money and no experience plus a sample dance team business plan template. Are you a professional dancer? Do you have what it takes to entertain people of different class and background with your dance? Can you work with a team? If you have answered a yes to all these questions, then you might be on your way to becoming a celebrity and making mega bucks as the owner of a dance team.

There are many business opportunities in the entertainment industry and if you are interested in this industry, you can consider starting your own dance team. Depending on the part of the world you live in, establishing a dance team whether for western dance or traditional dance means that you stand the chance of making good fortune from the business. In other words, starting a dance team with a well – equipped dance studio can be capital intensive but it is indeed a profitable venture especially if your dance studio is well equipped and furnished and if it is located in the entertainment hub of your city or state.

If you have decided to start a dance team, then you should make sure that you carry out thorough feasibility studies and market survey on the business. This will enable you properly locate the dance team in a community or city with the right demography; a location that can readily accepts your services.

So, if you have done the required feasibility studies and market research, then you might want to venture into this business. If you have been pondering on starting your own dance team, but do not know how to go about it, then you should consider going through this article; it will sure give you the needed guide and direction.

Table of Content

1. Understand the Industry

2. Conduct Market Research and Feasibility Studies
3. Decide What Niche to Concentrate On
4. Know the Major Competitors in the Industry
5. Decide Whether to Buy a Franchise or Start from Scratch
- 6. Know the Possible Threats and Challenges You Will Face
- 8. Choose a Catchy Business Name from the ideas Below
- 9. Discuss With an Agent to Know the Best Insurance Policies for You
10. Protect your Intellectual Property With Trademark, Copyrights, Patents
11. Get the Necessary Professional Certification
12. Get the Necessary Legal Documents You Need to Operate
13. Raise the Needed Startup Capital
14. Choose a Suitable Location for your Business
15. Hire Employees for your Technical and Manpower Needs
16. Write a Marketing Plan Packed With ideas & Strategies
17. Work Out a Reasonable Pricing for your Services & Products
18. Develop Iron-clad Competitive Strategies to Help You Win
19. Brainstorm Possible Ways to Retain Clients & Customers
20. Develop Strategies to Boost Brand Awareness and Create a Corporate Identity

1. Understand the Industry

The dance team business belongs to the music and theater production industry and players in this industry produce live theatrical or musical performances including concerts, opera, ballet and drama plays et al. Establishments within the Music and Theater Production industry vary significantly. Traditional performing arts production establishments rely heavily on government funding to remain viable, while contemporary music production establishments run on high profit margins.

The revenue generated in the industry fluctuates according to changes in government funding and industry operators’ ability to stage popular shows. Over the last five years, the number of big-name musicians performing has increased, boosting the share of industry revenue attributable to popular music concerts. While the two markets (traditional and contemporary performing arts) generally appeal to different demographics, growth within the popular music segment has come at the expense of traditional segments such as ballet and classical music concerts.

The Music and Theater Production industry is indeed a large industry and pretty much active in countries such as United States of America, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Holland, Switzerland, Australia and Canada et al. Statistics has it that in the United States of America alone, there are well over 1,263 registered and licensed music and theater production companies scattered all across the United States responsible for employing well over 8,981 people and the industry rakes in well over $13 billion annually.

The industry grew at 0.2 percent annual growth between 2011 and 2016. It is important to state that there are no establishments in this industry that have a lion market share. A recent report released by IBISWorld shows that the industry has recently expanded due to increased demand for popular music events, higher household expenditure on music and theater productions and greater government funding.

Despite this, the industry is expected to be in the mature stage of its life cycle. Industry value added is estimated to increase at an annualized 0.7 percent in the 10 years through 2022-21, which is lower than growth in GDP of 2.6 percent over the same period. The report further shows that most segments of the industry are saturated, with only the popular music segment growing faster than the overall economy over the past five years.

Revenue in some segments has gained more from government financial support than increasing box office ticket sales, particularly for opera, classical music and dance productions. Due to the fact that it is easy to establish a dance team, it is easy to come by a dance team in the United States of America when you search for one. Even though the industry seems to be over-saturated, there is still room big enough for an aspiring entrepreneur who wants to launch his or her own dance team in the United States.

Over and above, starting a dance team requires professionalism and good grasp of both classical and contemporary dance steps and the overall entertainment and performing arts industry. Besides, you would need to get the required certifications and business license to fully launch your dance team.

One good thing about the entertainment industry and the music and theater production industry is that there is readily available market for their services simply because individuals and even organizations naturally would want to hire dance teams for entertainment purposes at their events. So, if you are well positioned and you know how to reach out to your target market, you will always smile to the bank.

2. Conduct Market Research and Feasibility Studies

Demographics and Psychographics

The demographic and psychographic composition of those who require the services of a dance team cut across individuals, corporate organizations, government agencies, event planners, institutions, political parties and religious organizations et al who usually entertain their guests.

So, if you are looking towards defining the demographics for your dance team, then you should make it all encompassing. It should include every individual and organization that can pay for your services.

3. Decide What Niche to Concentrate On

If you have plans of starting a dance team, you just have to carve out niche areas that you need to specialize in. This is so because there are loads of dance teams out there and most of them are invited to perform based on their niche areas.

These are some of the niche ideas a dance team can choose from;

Dance and ballet company operation
Circus operation
Musical theater operation
Musical performances
Opera operation
Orchestra operation
Performing arts operation
Theater operation
Theater restaurant operation

The Level of Competition in the Industry

No matter the line of business you decide to pitch your tent, you are still going to compete with others who are into same area of business and dance team is not an exemption.

The level of competition in the music and theatre production industry depends largely on your area of specialization and how big and organized your dance team is.

The truth is that no matter the level of competition in an industry, if you brand and promote your products or services properly, you will always make headway in the industry. Just ensure you have what it takes to entertain your clients and you know how to reach out to your target market.

4. Know the Major Competitors in the Industry

In every industry, there are always brands that perform better or are better regarded by customers and the general public than others. Some of these brands are those that have been in the industry for a long while and so are known for that, while others are best known for how they conduct their businesses and the results they have achieved over the years.

These are some of the leading dance teams in the United States of America and also in the globe;

Rhythmic Eagles Dance Team
Salsa Swings Dance Team
Doomsday Panthers Dance Team
Lady Rebels Dance Team
Diamond Dolls Dance Team
Agnes de Mille Dance Theatre
Gangstagroove Dance Team
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Liquid Smoke Dance Team
Dance-versity Dance Team
Top Gun All Stars Dance Team
Rebel Angels Dance Team
Desi Hoppers Dance Team
Jabba WockeeZ Dance Team
Super cr3w Dance Team
Kings United India Dance Team
Fanny Pak Dance Team
SoReal Cru Dance Team
Rated Next Generation Dance Team
Street Kingdom Dance Team

Economic Analysis

When it comes to starting a dance team, you just have to get your feasibility studies and market research right before venturing into the business. It is good to mention that starting a standard dance team can be demanding; it is for professionals who have successfully gathered the required experience and expertise to lead a dance team and to deliver whenever they are invited to perform.

Starting this kind of business entails that you acquire the required skills and build good working relationship with stakeholders in the music and theatre production industry. If you are already a major player in the music and theatre production industry and you are a professional dancer before venturing out to start your own dance team, this might not be an issue.

Depending on the scale at which you want to start from, you might require as much as multiple thousands of dollars to strike this off and at the same time you might need far less than that if you choose to start the dance team on a small scale with friends or family members performing in small community based shows.

5. Decide Whether to Buy a Franchise or Start from Scratch

If you are looking towards starting a dance team, you would have to start from the very scratch simply because you can hardly get a franchise of a dance team to buy. It is a business that is open to all and sundry. Besides starting a dance team from the scratch is less stressful when compared to other small scale businesses in the music and theater production industry which usually requires detailed groundwork before launching the business.

With a dance team, you should just try as much as possible to get professional dancers who are of like-minds, build business relationship with key stakeholders and then leverage on every marketing tool within your disposal, especially the internet when it comes to marketing your services.

Please note that most of the big and successful dance teams around started from the scratch and they were able to build a solid business brand.

6. Know the Possible Threats and Challenges You Will Face

If you decide to start your own dance team today, one of the major challenges you are likely to face is the presence of well – established dance teams and also schools (both high schools and universities) who also have their own dance team. The only way to avoid this challenge is to create your own market.

Some other threats that you are likely going to face as a dance team operating in the United States are unfavorable government policies, the arrival of a competitor within your location of operation and global economic downturn which may affect businesses such as dance team. There is hardly anything you can do as regards this threats other than to be optimistic that things will continue to work for your good.

7. Choose the Most Suitable Legal Entity (LLC, C Corp, S Corp)

Generally, you have the option of either choosing a general partnership or limited liability company which is commonly called an LLC for a business such as a dance team. If your intention is to grow the business and have clients both corporate and individual from all across the United States of America and other countries of the world, then choosing general partnership is not an option for you. Limited Liability Company, LLC will cut it for you.

Setting up an LLC protects you from personal liability. If anything goes wrong in the business, it is only the money that you invested into the limited liability company that will be at risk. It is not so for general partnerships. Limited liability companies are simpler and more flexible to operate and you don’t need a board of directors, shareholders meetings and other managerial formalities.

These are some of the factors you should consider before choosing a legal entity for your dance team; limitation of personal liability, ease of transferability, admission of new owners, investors’ expectation and of course taxes. If you take your time to critically study the various legal entities to use for your dance team, you will agree that limited liability company; an LLC is most suitable. You can start this type of business as limited liability company (LLC) and in future convert it to a ‘C’ corporation or an ‘S’ corporation especially when you have the plans of going public.

8. Choose a Catchy Business Name from the ideas Below

Generally, when it comes to choosing a name for a business, it is expected that you should be creative because whatever name you choose for your business will go a long way to create a perception of what the business represents.

If you are considering starting your own dance team, here are some catchy names that you can choose from;

X – Trims Professional Dance Group
Top Flight Dance Team
Onyx Genders Dance Team
Dennis Gilbert & Co Dance Team
Sonny Star Dance Team
Straight from Eden Dance Team
Prince & Princess Dance Group
Hall of Fame Dance Team
Psalmist Generation Dance Team
Paula Gang Dance Group

9. Discuss With an Agent to Know the Best Insurance Policies for You

In the United States of America and in most countries of the world, you can’t operate a business without having some of the basic insurance policy covers that are required by the industry you want to operate from. So, it is imperative to create a budget for insurance policy covers and perhaps consult an insurance broker to guide you in choosing the best and most appropriate insurance policies for your dance team.

Here are some of the basic insurance policy covers that you should consider purchasing if you want to start your own dance team in the United States of America;

General insurance
Risk Insurance
Financial reinsurance
Health insurance
Liability insurance
Workers compensation
Overhead expense disability insurance
Business owner’s policy group insurance
Payment protection insurance

10. Protect your Intellectual Property With Trademark, Copyrights, Patents

If you are considering starting your own dance team, usually you may not have any need to file for intellectual property protection/trademark. This is so because the nature of the business makes it possible for you to successfully run the business without having any cause to challenge anybody in court for illegally making use of your company’s intellectual properties.

11. Get the Necessary Professional Certification

Aside from the performance you produce as it relates to music and performing theater industry, professional certification is one of the main reasons why some professionals stand out. If you want to make impact in the music and performing theater industry, you should work towards acquiring all the needed certifications in your area of specialization. Certification validates your competency and shows that you are highly skilled, committed to your career and up-to-date in this competitive market.

These are some of the certifications you can work towards achieving if you want to run your own dance team;

ASFA® Dance/Hip-hop Aerobics Instructor Certification
Dance Teacher / Instructor Certification
Certificate in Dance Education
Degree or Diploma in Music and Performing Arts Related Courses

Please note that you can successfully run a dance team in the United States and in most countries of the world without necessarily acquiring professional certifications and business license especially if you have adequate experience cum background in the entertainment, music and theater performance industry.

12. Get the Necessary Legal Documents You Need to Operate

These are some of the basic legal documents that you are expected to have in place if you want to legally run your own dance team in the United States of America;

Certificate of Incorporation
Federal Tax Payer’s ID
State Permit
Business License and Certification
Business Plan
Non – disclosure Agreement
Employment Agreement (offer letters)
Operating Agreement for LLCs
Insurance Policy
Contract documents
Online Terms of Use
Online Privacy Policy Document
Apostille (for those who intend operating beyond the United States of America)
Company Bylaws
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

13. Raise the Needed Startup Capital

Asides from the required certifications and hands-on experience, starting a dance team can be cost effective. Securing a standard studio facility in a good business district, equipping the dance studio with the needed dance instruments, equipment and tools and paying your employees are part of what will consume a large chunk of your startup capital.

No doubt when it comes to financing a business, one of the first things and perhaps the major factor that you should consider is to write a good business plan. If you have a good and workable business plan document in place, you may not have to labor yourself before convincing your bank, investors and your friends to invest in your business or to partner with you.

Here are some of the options you can explore when sourcing for startup capital for your dance school;

Raising money from personal savings and sale of personal stocks and properties
Raising money from investors and business partners
Sell of shares to interested investors
Applying for loan from your bank
Pitching your business idea and applying for business grants and seed funding from donor organizations and angel investors
Source for soft loans from your family members and your friends.

14. Choose a Suitable Location for your Business

The fact that you can operate your dance team from any part of the world and even in your home does not mean that locations has little influence on the success of a dance team. If you have taken your time to study the music and theater production industry, you will realize that dance teams and related entertainment companies are willing to pay expensive rents in order to stay in a busy entertainment hub; a place where there are loads of socialites.

It cannot be overemphasized that the location you chose to open your dance team business is key to the success of the business, hence entrepreneurs are willing to rent or lease a facility in a visible location; a location where the demography consists of people and businesses with the required purchasing power and lifestyle. If you make the mistake of renting or leasing a facility for dance team cum dance studio in a not too visible or hidden location simply because it is cheap, then you must be prepared to spend more in promoting the business and perhaps giving direction to potential clients.

It is important to note that a business facility in good location does not come cheap hence you should be able to allocate enough fund for leasing/renting in your budget. If you are new to the dynamics of choosing a location for a business such as dance team, then you should feel free to talk to a business consultant or a realtor who has a full grasp of the city and perhaps country you intend starting your dance team.

These are some of the key factors that you should consider before choosing a location for your dance studio;

The demography of the location
The demand for the services of dance teams and other players in the music and theater production industry in the location
The purchasing power of the residents of the location
Accessibility of the location
The number of dance teams and related entertainment companies in the location
The local laws and regulations in the community/state
Traffic, parking and security et al

15. Hire Employees for your Technical and Manpower Needs

On the average, there are no special technologies or equipment needed to run a dance team except for the needed studio equipment and technology, but you will definitely need computers/laptops, internet facility, telephone, fax machine and office furniture (chairs, tables, and shelves). These machines, equipment, tools and instrument can be purchased as fairly used especially if you have limited finance to meet your budget.

When it comes to choosing between renting and leasing a facility for a dance team and dance studio, the size of the dance team you want to build and your entire budget for the dance team should influence your choice. If you have enough capital to run a standard dance team with a well – equipped dance studio, then you should consider the option of leasing a facility.

As regards the number of employees that you are expected to kick start the business with, you would need to consider your finance before making the decision. Averagely, you would need a Chief Executive Officer/Principal Partner, Professional Dancers, Instrumentalists, Technicians, Business Developer/Marketing Executives, Accountant (Bursar), Customer Service Executive/Front Desk Officer.

Over and above, you would need a minimum of 10 to 15 key staff to effectively run a medium scale but standard dance team with a dance studio. Please note that there will be times when you are expected to go out of your way to hire professional dancers to perform with your team.

The Services Delivery Process of the Business

The service delivery as it relates to dance team is simple and almost same amongst dance teams in any part of the world. Basically, when a dance team receives an invite to perform in a show, the invite usually contains the kind of performance that is expected from them and the duration they are expected to perform.

In most cases, especially with big concerts, the dance team would usually carry out the last phase of rehearsals on the stage they are to perform and on the D – Day, they go out there to perform and entertain their guests. As regards performance fees, sometimes the organizers of the event give the dance team honorarium and in some cases the dance team charges performance fees based on their brand name.

It is important to state that a dance team may decide to improvise or adopt any business process and structure that will guarantee them efficiency and flexibility; the above stated dance team business process is not cast on stone.

16. Write a Marketing Plan Packed With ideas & Strategies

As a team, you would have to prove your worth over and over again before attracting corporate organizations and individual clients to hire your services to perform at their events, concerts and shows. So, if you have plans to start your own dance team, it will pay you to build first build a successful career in the music and theater production industry. People and organizations will only hire your services if they know that they are going to get value for their money.

So, when you are drafting your marketing plans and strategies for your dance team, make sure that you create a compelling personal and company profile. Aside from your qualifications and experience, it is important to clearly state in practical terms what you have been able to achieve in time past as it relates to the music and theater production industry and the organizations, concerts, shows and events you have performed for. This will help boost your chances in the market place when sourcing for clients.

Here are some of the platforms you can utilize to market your dance team;

Introduce your business by sending introductory letters alongside your brochure to all the individuals, corporate organizations, government agencies, event planners, institutions, political parties, and religious organizations et al who usually entertain their guests within and outside the city you are operating in, and who have the capacity to pay for your services
Advertise your dance team in relevant magazines, radio and TV stations (make yourself available for music, dance and theater production related talk shows and interactive sessions on TV and Radio)
List your dance team on local directories/yellow pages
Attend international music and theater production expos, seminars and business fairs et al
Create different packages for different category of corporate and individual clients in order to work with their budget
Leverage on the internet to promote your dance team
Join local chambers of commerce and industries around you with the main aim of networking and marketing your services; you are likely going to get referrals from such networks
Engage the services of marketing executives and business developers to carry out direct marketing

17. Work Out a Reasonable Pricing for your Services & Products

One key factor that will help you offer your services at a price that is highly attractive is to ensure that you source your startup capital from sources that won’t put pressure on you. So also, it is important that you purchase your dance studio equipment, tools, instruments and costumes directly from the manufacturers or from wholesale distributors. If need be, you can purchase these dance studio equipment, tools, machines, costumes and instruments from fairly used market. It will still save you some bucks.

Another strategy that will help you offer your dance team services at the right price is to ensure that you cut operational cost to the barest minimum, channel your efforts towards marketing and promoting your brand name. Aside from the fact that this strategy will help you save cost, it will also help you get the right pricing for your products and services.

18. Develop Iron-clad Competitive Strategies to Help You Win

The music and theater production industry is a competitive industry and you must come up with a unique and highly creative strategy to be able to outsmart your competitors in the industry. Part of what you need to do in order to stay competitive in the industry is to continue to deliver top notch performance whenever you are called upon to perform. Organizations and people will always hire your services if they know that you will always entertain their guests far beyond their expectations.

Another strategy that you can adopt is to ensure that your organization is well positioned; key members of your team are highly qualified and certified as it relates to their job roles (professional dancers).

19. Brainstorm Possible Ways to Retain Clients & Customers

When it comes to business, no matter the industry that you choose to pitch your tent in, one of the easiest ways to increase customer retention and perhaps attract new customers is to produce results and satisfy your customers always. If your customers are satisfied with your service delivery, they can hardly source for alternative service provider or products.

If you can continue to deliver top notch performances whenever you are called upon to perform and your customer service delivery is excellent, then you won’t struggle to maintain loyal clientele base.

Part of what you need to do to achieve this is to track progress, results or outputs with the aim of improving on them quickly as the case demands. When it comes to managing your customers and building loyal clientele base, you should purchase a customized CRM software. With a customized CRM system, you can easily stay in touch with your clients (you can carry out quick survey, introduce new products and prices to them without any hitch, felicitate with them on their birthdays and other anniversaries, keep track of their progress, send bulk sms and customized emails and above all, you can easily receive compliance and feedback from them).

20. Develop Strategies to Boost Brand Awareness and Create a Corporate Identity

If your intention of starting a dance team is to grow the business beyond the city where you are going to be operating from to become a national and international brand, then you must be ready to spend money on the promotion and advertisement of your brand.

In promoting your brand and corporate identity, you should leverage on both print and electronic media and also social media (the internet). As a matter of fact, it is cost effective to use the internet and social media platforms to promote your brand, besides it is pretty much effective and wide reaching.

Below are the platforms you can leverage on to boost your brand and to promote and advertise your dance team;

Place adverts on entertainment related magazines and newspapers, radio and TV stations
Encourage the use of word of mouth publicity from your loyal customers
Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Badoo, Google+ and other platforms to promote your dance team
Ensure that you position your banners and billboards in strategic places all around your city
Distribute your fliers and handbills in target areas in and around our neighborhood

Contact individuals, corporate organizations, government agencies, event planners, institutions, political parties, and religious organizations et al who usually entertain their guests within and outside the city you are operating in, and who have the capacity to pay for your services by calling them up and informing them of your organization and the services you offer
Advertise your dance team in your official website and employ strategies that will help you pull traffic to the site

Brand all your official cars and ensure that all your staff members and management staff wears your branded shirt or cap at regular intervals.

21. Create a Suppliers/Distribution Network

In order to successfully run a dance team, you must establish good business relationship with key players in the entertainment industry, music and theater production industry. It is advisable that you enter into business partnerships with event planners and other key stakeholders in the entertainment industry, and the music and theater production industry; they are in better positions to give you steady invites to perform at shows, concerts, parties and other events. That of course will guarantee your company steady flow of income.

How to Create a Dance Team - Dance Instruction

Creating a dance team requires planning and careful execution. With a little organization and a lot of hard work, you can create a new group that has the potential to be very successful.

Step One: Understand Your Purpose

Before doing anything else, it is important to understand the purpose of creating a dance team. To understand this, ask yourself a few key questions.

Why am I interested in starting a dance team?
Is there a particular population I want to serve?
What unique gifts and talents will my team bring to the community?
How can I see this in real time?

Photos of ballet dancers
Interesting facts about dancing
Dance studio equipment

There are no correct answers to these questions. However, what you write will give you clarity in the future. Examples of team goals can be found in the mission statements of the Kolleens Dance Group, Bloomington, Minnesota, or San Francisco, California Dance Group.

Step Two: Measure Interest

To build a successful team, the community must have a vested interest in supporting its creation and growth. This includes a number of parties.

Dancers
Potential clients
Potential sponsors
Possible team management

Where to watch

Post some local tentacles on online bulletin boards, dancewear shops, coffee shops, flyers, posted in and other places that those who have experience and profession related to dance may stumble upon. Make sure the announcements clearly state your goals and vision for the team. This will help you find people you can contact later for dancers and gigs. Engage with friends, family, and colleagues to see who might be willing to help themselves in some way, as well as those who might recommend themselves in their circles. If there is significant interest, the next steps will be much easier.

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Step Three: Choose Your Offers

There are many options for managing your dance team.

Participate in dance competitions
Recruit
Volunteer at local events
Host solo concerts

The offers you choose depend on your goals and the interests of the community.

Step four: think about costs and benefits

When selecting proposals, be sure to indicate how you will earn funds to pay for practical costs that may arise. You will need to create a budget that includes the following.

Rehearsal room rental - Rates typically range from $20 to $50 per hour if you pay per session, with discounts for those who pay the entire month in advance.
Team uniform and suits. Clothing prices range from $100 to $600 depending on the quality and style you are looking for. What you choose for your team will greatly influence your proposals. For example, evening wear will be different from operational wear.
Dancer Salary (if applicable) - Wages range from a minimum to $60 an hour for smaller events.
Building Your Website - From buying a domain name to hosting services, you'll pay between $20 and $30 per month. Hiring someone to develop the page will cost extra, but your team may look more professional. However, there are plenty of tools to create your own if you want to save some money.

The more you can determine now, the more information you will have to build your squad. You also need to create a fundraising plan to determine how you will cover your budget.

Step Five: Build a Leadership Team

As the old saying goes, there is no "I" in a team. While you can probably build a dance team yourself, it's strategic and wise to build a team of people who can play leadership roles.

Director - team leader
Administrative assistant - takes notes during meetings with administrators, directs customer questions through the appropriate channels, is responsible for general customer service and accounting
Event organizer - responsible for finding venues, suppliers and organizing events.
Head of Marketing - to manage advertising and sponsorships
Digital Media Coordinator - to manage the website, content creation and social media.

Paid or volunteer?

If you plan to make a significant income from your dance team offerings, these roles should be paid in accordance with industry standards as listed on sites such as glassdoor.com. If the team is for community service or will only pay through the competition, find people who are willing to volunteer their time. You can use the same channels listed above to fill these roles. Also, post an ad on Craigslist. Be sure to meet in person or schedule a call to get an idea of the applicant's personality and experience. You'll want to find people who love what you're trying to achieve and are willing to help you build your vision.

Step Six: Hire Dancers

When hiring dancers, know who you are targeting. They can range from people who love to dance in their free time to those who dance professionally full time. Choose one or two dates for open auditions. Place an ad to recruit dancers on a talent or job listing website or in your local newspaper. Include clear listening and waiting rules in the call.

Are you looking for people of a certain age or gender?
Do you want them to prepare their own solo dance program to try out, or are you going to teach them how to dance in a particular style?
Is there a dress code?
Do you have a fixed rehearsal time that they need to fit into their schedule if accepted?
Will the dancers receive money during performances and rehearsals or will they volunteer their time?

The more the dancers know in advance, the closer the potential talent will match the qualities and skills you need. You will also have the opportunity to be more selective about who you accept.

Step Seven: Rent a rehearsal space

Many of the larger dance studios rent out dance spaces to smaller groups for an hourly rate. High school gymnasiums, recreation centers and even warehouses are other options. Pick a location that fits your team's needs and budget. When you have a spot, schedule a time for your team to get together two or three times a week and start dancing!

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Rehearse, perform, compete

Building a dance team is hard work, but once the foundation, leadership and dancers are in place, you begin the exciting task of empowering others to shine through the beauty of artistic movement. Sign up to compete or offer to speak at a local event to give your team something to work on until you get more opportunities.

Promoting a dance school: how a dance studio advertises and promotes services

Promotion of a dance school requires a non-standard approach in marketing due to the specifics of the business area. Dancing is fun, energy and drive, so advertising for a dance studio should evoke the same emotions. The times when new customers could be attracted by distributing leaflets near the subway are long gone. The modern audience wants everything at once. It is necessary to introduce her not only to the services, but also to the people who provide them. In this article, we will tell you what to do before starting to promote a dance studio and how to attract new customers using different types of advertising.

What to do before starting to promote a dance studio

1. How to determine the target audience

As in any other area of marketing, advertising and promotion of a dance school is based on the study of your target audience. At the same time, you need to understand that dance studios have direct and indirect competitors. Fitness clubs, wellness centers, martial arts schools also offer sports and development services. Therefore, the task of your marketing campaign is to convince people that dancing is the most suitable way of leisure.

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You can analyze the target audience using:

• questionnaires or surveys;
• interview;
• focus groups;
• thematic blogs and forums;
• social networks.

The last method is good because with a minimum of money and time spent, you will find out the nature, habits and needs of your target audience. Also in social networks, you can see how and for what audience competitors are promoting their services.

2. How to create a client portrait

After analyzing the target audience, you need to break it into segments and create a portrait or avatar for each. Here is a list of parameters to consider:

• gender;
• age;
• area of residence;
• income level;
• marital status;
• interests;
• problems and pains.

By “running” clients through this list, you will get their psychological portrait. It will help you work out the benefits consumers will receive from your service and identify triggers to influence them.

3. How to create a sales funnel

Think about the customer's journey from the moment he sees the ad to the moment he buys the service. If you're promoting with free lessons, your sales funnel might look like this:

• interest in dancing;
• search for a suitable school;
• contact with advertising;
• sign up for a free lesson;
• free lesson;
• receiving an offer.

4. How to form an offer

The offer is formed based on the problems of the audience with the help of its main triggers. This is your promotional offer. “Learn to dance hip-hop in 3 months”, “Sign up for a free trial lesson”, “Become a member of a friendly community of dancers” - these are examples of offers for a dance studio.

5. How to create a landing page structure

The purpose of a landing page is to motivate the client and involve them in the sales funnel. It is important to remember that several advertising banners can be located on such a page at once. The structure of the landing page is based on the pains of customers. For example:

Banner 1: main offer.
Banner 2: Headmaster's video message.
Banner 3: photos of students and teachers.
Banner 4: school facts or regalia.
Banner 5: a unique offer, such as discounted private lessons.
Banner 6: subscription offer.
Banner 7: School FAQ and contacts.

With this approach, advertising and promotion of the dance school is much more likely to resonate with potential customers. After all, you interact immediately with all segments of your target audience and work out objections.

How to promote a dance studio through contextual advertising

The advantage of contextual advertising is that it starts working immediately after launch. In a short time, you can collect a large number of applications and reimburse the costs of promotion. But it will take time to figure out the settings of the advertising account.

There are 3 contextual advertising mechanisms:

Search algorithms. By analyzing the most popular queries for keywords, the system brings you to those who right now are driving into Google or Yandex “dance school record online”. When interacting with such a client, it is important to convince him to conclude a deal as soon as possible, otherwise he will go to competitors.
GMS (display network) Google and YAN (Yandex advertising network). They show ads on affiliate sites for people who are interested in dancing. This method gives a good conversion for a relatively low price, however, the audience received from such an advertisement will be cold.
Retargeting or remarketing. It allows you to make a special offer for those who came to your site, but for some reason did not leave a request.

How to promote through targeted advertising

Targeted advertising is the most suitable option for small dance schools. An advertising account on Facebook and Instagram is much simpler than on Google and Yandex, and the cost of an application is lower. But contextual advertising has a higher conversion rate, as the target leads to a cold audience that your sales team needs to “finish”.

To make targeted advertising more successful, collect enough leads, upload the data to your Facebook ad account, and create a Lookalike Audience. She may be the most responsive.

How to promote a dance school with SEO

Before you start SEO promotion, carefully analyze your competitors. This will help you optimize your strategy and understand what services are in demand. For advertising to be effective, combine related keywords into groups (clusters) and prioritize queries. Then search algorithms will display the site in the TOP results due to natural traffic. You also need to make sure that there are no technical errors on your site.

Advertising with bloggers to promote the dance school

If you want to agree on a barter, use the following algorithm:

• through blogger search services, find those who live in your city and who are interested in the services of a dance studio;
• offer a blogger a free lesson in exchange for advertising;
• agree on cooperation. Be sure to specify how many advertising posts the blogger will publish in his account.

If the blogger does not agree to barter, consider how necessary this type of promotion is.

Other Ways to Attract Customers

To get maximum exposure, try additional promotion methods:

1. Free Lessons

Dancing is one of the most spectacular art forms. If you organize a public performance of teachers and students of the school, the audience will see the result live and receive additional motivation.

2. Promotions and discounts

To interest potential customers, arrange an open day. Workshops, consultations and discounts on subscriptions - showcase all the features of the school to interest visitors.

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3. Participation in competitions

First place in dance competitions is a sure way to increase customer confidence. To increase the conversion, try adding the phrase to the offer: “Do you want to learn dancing with the winners of the international competition?”.

4. Partnership programs with neighbors

The main advantage of such programs is a double budget for promotion, which allows you to organize a large-scale advertising campaign. Anyone can be a partner: a fitness club, a yoga studio or a children's music school. It is important to correctly present information and find common ground with the audience.

5. Offline advertising

Whether this method is needed depends only on the habits of your target audience. If, during its analysis, you found that most potential customers are subscribed to the account of a trendy restaurant, try to negotiate with the administration of the institution to promote your services. It can be both advertising on flyers and street banners.

Conclusion

For a successful advertising campaign that will pay off the investment, it is not enough to use one or two promotion methods. Complex marketing is needed with constant analysis and adjustment of the strategy. By combining various tools and platforms, you will be able to provide the school with a stable flow of students, and business with income and profit.