H1N1 and your dance school

H1N1 presents many challenges for dance teachers. We have all had ill children attend class from time to time. Stuffy, runny noses are normal in the dead of winter (at least in Wisconsin where we operate). So, how can we control the spread of H1N1?

Tips:

• Place hand sanitizer outside your class rooms, encourage students to wash before they enter. (TV tray tables make a quick small table for this purpose.)
  
• Buy facial tissues for each room and waiting area. Supply a waste basket and more sanitizer by each tissue station.
  
• Spray down waiting areas and play areas for siblings frequently.
  
• Have sanitizing wipes on hand for quick clean ups.
  
• Post signs to remind parents not to bring sick children (or siblings) into the school.
  
• Update your student policy manual to include how to deal with sickness.
  
• Remove activities from your curriculum that include holding hands or dancing close/face to face.
  
• Disinfect your barre' after EACH use, not just each night. Consider adding it to the dancer's role in the class room just like you spray down equipment at the gym. (there's also a cool product from Gypsy Wraps in Calif. that provides each dancer their own barre' wrap.)
  
• Be careful when you teach not to touch children, if you don't have to. I know this is a sad one for me. I love being with the kids and correcting arms and hands. Or if you do, just keep a bottle of anti-bacteria gel/wipes close by.
  
• Consider getting a H1N1 vaccine yourself/staff to help you fight off any exposures.
  
• If you or a staff member get sick - get a sub or cancel class. Don't work when you are sick. (I know this is easier said than done, but it's just not worth it.)
  
• Consult with your local doctor/clinic to ask if they have advice or supplies you could use such as those small face masks. And buy your other supplies now before they sell out.

Know what your plan will be if the schools close or an outbreak occurs locally, what will that mean for your business?

The CDC is predicting this flu season to be really bad. It's time for us to read up on it and stay informed to keep our kids safe and dancing. Sign up for alerts from the CDC and ask your local clinic/school to report any H1N1 outbreaks to you too.

Stay well.

SCORE a business plan for your school

Do you have a working business plan for your dance school or retail shop? If you are like most small business people the answer is yes and no. Yes- I have one (or should we say HAD one), when we started, but we haven't looked at it in a while. If it has dust on it you really can't say you have a business plan now can you?

The Small Business Administration has a very helpful website at www.sba.gov on it you can spend hours finding resources you may have never known you had available. One I'm excited about is SCORE. It's a group of retired, executives that will sit with you and build a business plan, or simply just talk through your most recent trials and tribulations. And I know as independent-minded dance teachers we often feel we are alone or maybe afraid to ask for help. Well, here's help and it's FREE. Recently, I visited our local SCORE office in Wisconsin to talk about my Releve' Dance Poster business and they were very helpful, so tomorrow I'm going back to talk about my dance academy.

You'd be shocked at how quick they can get to the root of your problem. Business is business and these people know the business of it all. I go tomorrow to review my "old" plan and make a new financial plan with a specialist in that area. Did I mention this service is FREE! If you are thinking of expanding, contracting or even selling your business I think they are worth a step on your to do list before the dance season goes back into full swing.

Another option is to certify your business as a women owned business, check for that on the SBA site too. Find your state's resources and use them, that's what your tax dollars have been funding you may as well get your money's worth.

Does your school have a Facebook page?

Everyone's on Facebook! This summer I'm watching my own two children keep in touch with friends and grow their fan base on Facebook at lightning speed. So, how do you maximize Facebook for your dance school? Well, you have two audiences, Moms and Kids. The Mom category is the fastest growing Facebook user category on line.

Consider these facts about Facebook from the Internet Strategies Group.
1. 7/8th of its members are older than 24 years old.
2. The fastest growing age bracket is 35 and older
3. The average person is spending 15 minutes per session and accessing Facebook 5-6 times per day!

Your Dance Mom's are on Facebook. Your dancers are on Facebook. They need to be FANS of your business.

Rhee' Gold this month in Dance Studio Life Magazine has a great list of ideas for marketing your business too, go read it! One of his ideas is that people like to belong to a "dance family" so make your business a "place to belong." Facebook can do that easily for you. He had other suggestions but I say Facebook is the way to go!

Create a page for your business. If you have Facebook account already you can add a business page. If not, get online and spend a couple of hours playing on Facebook. It only takes minutes to set up your page, but you'll get lost in the content (trust me on that one).

I'm considering letting my 12 yr. old manage our Facebook account for the Dance Studio... I know scary right? But she knows more than I do and she would learn a lot too. Who do you know that is a huge Facebook user? Call them ask them to help.

Once you are on, join groups, add to discussions, make comments and be social. The key to success on Facebook is acting like a human being, not just a stale business. Have fun. Get creative. You can even add video clips and photos of your recitals!

Dance Correlation to Higher Grades

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending our local elementary school's final assembly to honor students for grades, attendance and civic duties. I am always a local celebrity when I enter the school - I get lots of waves, smiles and "there's Miss DeAnne" when I visit. It sure is fun. We have the majority of our Brodhead Dance Academy students attending this elementary school, so it's a good place for me to make the following observation/correlation.

Of the top academic students in the school (for girls) ALL but two were dancers at our Academy! These kids were the top in their grade and scored the highest on the State Tests in Math and Reading - to be in the top 25% in the state. I was amazed when dancer after dancer arrived on stage to accept their certificates.

I realize there could be many reasons for this correlation and its been discussed before - parents are more engaged, higher income, thus they can afford dance classes...etc. But for today, I think I will let Dance Class take the credit. The skills we teach help on and off the stage to make a life-long difference. I've always known there was a big tie to Tap and Math, "must be the same side of the brain" has been my assumption over the years. But now I see it first hand in all categories. The brain development and learning skills translate across classrooms, be it in the dance studio or the elementary school.

Kudos to all dance teachers who are making the world a better, smarter place one dancer at a time! Bravo!

Recital Success=Marketing Opportunity

As dance teachers each year we have a huge marketing opportunity- the recital. I'm proud to say mine went great this year. In our town of 3,100 people we had 1,500 people come to see our 3 performances! Now that's what I call community support!

I sent out press releases to all the papers in our town and those nearby to celebrate our sold out shows and highlight our program. We received a lot of press which should help with enrollment this year. In an economic downturn like we have now it's important to keep marketing, more than ever. Don't rest on what you did last year, increase your marketing budgets and get creative with public relations.

Last year two days after our recital I received a tragic call from one of my dance moms. One of our pre-ballet students, Isabella died the Sunday after our show while riding a bike. She had a brain aneurysm. At our first show this year we dedicated the performance to Bella and placed a photo and flowers on the corner of the stage so she could dance with us. There wasn't a dry eye in the place. It felt good to honor her, a bit of closure I guess for all of us.

This year we also did a ballet production which was actually our first in our 8 years because now I have the talent level I need in a variety of dancers to pull off a production number. It was fantastic and actually proved to be a great marketing tool itself. Now, the other dancers who had left ballet for jazz or hip hop want to return to ballet after they saw what the potential was on stage. That is rewarding to me. They love ballet! After years of hip hop getting all the attention it's nice to see ballet demand picking up again. Don't get me wrong, I've always had many ballet students, but mostly because I make them take it until they are 8 before I let them move to the other study areas like jazz, tap or hip hop.

I hope all of you out there also had great shows this spring! Now it's time for a quick breather. Make sure to take a few weeks off to decompress and renew your spirit. Creative work like teaching dance is demanding of the heart and mind- give your soul a break.

But keep a notebook close for those inspired moments when you hear a great song or catch a cool beat-- after all the next recital's less than a year away.

Research shares benefits of early training age 3-4

I know most all dance schools provide pre-ballet/creative movement programs for young children, but until recently I hadn't read research to support WHY parents should select this for their children, other than the traditional, balance, poise, social and rhythm advantages.

Recently, I attended a 4-Kindergarten session from a local school district administrator in Wisconsin. While many schools in our area now offer 4K training in the school systems, many don't. So,they are still out there trying to convince taxpayers of the long term benefits of 4K. While I was listening it occurred to me all the same benefits imply for pre-K dance training too.

The Research they shared...

A child's brain grows 75-90% of it's adult size between age of 3-5.

85% of the child's intellect, personality, and social skills are formed by age 5.

There's more, but I guess I don't need more proof. Use research information like this to ADVERTISE your program. What parent can say no to dance class when they think about it this way? It's not about dance class being a "nice to do" its a MUST do when you look at this data.

As teachers we know this intuitively, we see the children progress in the classroom quickly and we can tell the kids that are in a pre-school program from the ones who are staying at home.

Dance training like 4K schooling is an important part of the development process. Especially for kids who are not in other training programs by age 3 - dance can make a big difference.

Another key differentiator was the income of the parents, and while I agree that dance typically tends to go to children in more affluent homes, there's great opportunity for your studio to reach out to low-income families with options to get their children in the studio too. Or maybe this will motivate you to reach out with efforts to your

Baggy ankles and sequins

It's recital season. Dance teachers don't live by a regular calendar year we live by our business calendars. Registration time, back to school, nutcracker season, recital season and summer school... gee, when is it time for vacation season? I need another vacation. Recently I was lucky enough to travel to Las Vegas to the Dance Retailer News Expo for Releve' it was a good show. And I did take a mini-vacation for a day before the show. Las Vegas is fun; it's the place where sparkley dance teachers look right at home in thier sequins and high heels. You know what I'm talking about ladies... admit it.

A couple of observations from the show:

I observed there doesn't seem to be anything all that innovative in the dance world, just more of the same. Some new fabrics were kind of neat, and ballroom is still hot. I did run into a new company that makes barre' wraps, it's called Gypsywraps. She doesn't have a website yet, but maybe a distributor will pickup her products and it will be available soon to us. It's a velcro, terry cloth personal attachment for the barre'. I thought it was cool. I think I will approach her about selling with my Releve' posters too, heck I guess I could be a distributor for her.

I also observed that even in a fashion show models/dancers need to wear tights! Rhee Gold talks about this all the time in his commentary and I totally agree, all dancers need tights. Speaking of tights, I'm trying some new ones out this year at my studio, Revolution brand classic pink. They guarantee no baggy ankles, we'll soon see. I hate baggy ankles. I really do. Makes the kids look like 90 year old women. They already look 30 years old with all the make-up hate to make them grow up too fast with baggy ankles too.