|
|
Opening a Dance Studio
If you're interested in starting up a dance studio, what you're really talking about is launching a small business. As with any small business, the first requisite is a love for your chosen field or product, and it sounds like regardless of your level of dance experience, you possess an abiding passion for dance. So with that as your basis, you can now apply your business acumen to the challenge of opening a studio. All of your expertise in advertising, business, etc will undoubtedly come in handy -- and as your initial research becomes more specific, you may find that there are additional business courses which may help you in your venture. A B.F.A. in dance (or even a B.A., which tends to be more academic and/or theoretical where a B.F.A. is more artistic and/or practical) is absolutely NOT necessary for such a venture. A good place to start when you are setting up any business is to your local Small Business Association or Chamber of Commerce. Of course, also visit the dance studios in your area to take notes and ask questions! Most will welcome such an interest from an enterprising newcomer, as it is generally recognized that dance begets dance (i.e., the presence of more dance studios encourages the emergence of more new dancers, so you're not really 'competition' per se). I found some interesting-looking Dance Studio Business Plan software when I did a search, and also some good information on starting up a studio at www.dance-teacher.com's "The Business of It" section. Any dance studio needs good dance teachers to succeed, so if this is an area where you are not experienced, it might make the most sense to hire yourself good experienced teachers to start. Many teachers would be thrilled to be in on the initial brainstorming and programming planning as well, so consider including them from the beginning as consultants to draw from their expertise (this will also give you an initial team-building experience that could be invaluable to your studio's sense of mission). If teaching dance is something you're interested in as well, that's a whole different ball of... rosin? My strong advice to you (and others) is to pursue some good teaching training before attempting to teach dance. Sometimes dancers can pick up 'de facto' teacher training from years of taking intensive classes, and emerge to be very good teachers indeed. But more often, an aspiring dance teacher really does need a structured introduction to dance teaching: specifics about teaching your chosen dance styles (ie., teaching creative dance to preschoolers is very different from teaching hip hop to teens) and all the relevant teaching theory and practice, not to mention health and safety concerns. (Remember, because you are dealing with bodies, and often bodies new to intense physical exercise, you have the grave responsibility of knowing enough not to cause injury to your students.) While it is commendable of course to be eager to introduce young ones to the joys of dance, it is so important to consider the qualitative as well as ethical issues inherent in how and what you teach. Again, try www.dance-teacher.com, especially noting their "Teaching Tools" section and their "Resources and Listings" pages, which include a Study Guide of teacher training opportunities. Or if you have found dance teachers with whom you love to study, ask if they ever run teacher training programs! I myself have offered many a teacher training seminar instigated by sheer popular demand. Like me, many experienced teachers find that effectively sharing their pedagogical know-how is one of the most rewarding teaching experiences they can have. As for your second question, I myself am admittedly not very familiar with the world of dance teams and cheerleading. However, I found what looks to be a very informative site at www.dancecheer.net -- note especially their forums (lots of advice from those active in the field), and their Spirit-U 'online campus' of classes and information for coaches, directors and adjudicators. It looks like a great place to start. Good luck! -- Nicole
"this is a manila site 2" "get acrobat" "get quicktime" Copyright 2008 TeachingArts.org |