Don't worry Mom. I got this.

Each summer I hold a registration day, just like many dance schools do. But this year I had a scheduling problem, my youngest daughter was participating in a Miss American Coed pageant the same weekend.

Being the planner that I am -- I had everything under control and people set up to work at the registration, including my oldest daughter, the accountant, and 2 older students to handle shoe fittings. I was scheduled to leave the pageant at 7:30 a.m. to get back to the studio - only an hours drive.

The morning of the event the person I had arranged to do my daughters hair and get her to the pageant interviews drove to the wrong city to assist us. An hour the other direction. So no time for me to leave my daughter and get to the studio. I made the call to my 14 year old daughter (who is wise beyond her years) and her response was "Don't worry Mom. I got this." And she did.

I was so proud of her. She talked with parents, placed students and directed the workers. All at age 15! I always knew she was paying attention to me as I worked, but now I understand fully how much it all matters. And the feedback from parents was wonderful.

I've always said our Dance Academy is a family business. While I started it, it takes our whole family to work for it on occassion, give up time with Mom, and "to be nice to the customers" no matter what click they are in at school.

I'm not sure what our plan for the Academy is long term. But now at least I know that we could have a long future for more generations of dance studio owners in my family.

Dance Mom's TV Show - will it hurt or help your business?

The new reality TV show Dance Mom's has a lot of dance school owners up in arms or laughing, depending on which side of the fence they are sitting on. My Linked in dance studio owners group is a buzz with people saying this is bad for dance and that competition team focused studios are losing busines because of it. "Parents are afraid to get their kids involved..."

I should make a disclaimer that I'm a studio owner that has never, ever supported dance competitions. In fact, my brochures say we don't do competitions, period. When I first opened my studio ten years ago, some asked, why not? My response has always been the same. "It's not that we don't have the talent, we do. It's just that I want my kids to love to dance for the love of dance, not for a trophy." We do a recital instead. It like the art of dance, not the sport.

So, I sort of laughed when I first viewed the show, until I realized that at least 50% of this reality TV show is actually real. Then I get sad. If kids want to be professional dancers, dance on broadway and be big stars can't they can do that without all this fuss and drama of nasty competitions? Where are the exhibitions?

Don't even get me started on the inappropriate costumes, moves and music many choreographers choose for the students. I think the Dance Mom's on the show and around the country need to speak up for their little girls and boy's on what's appropriate for stage. I applaud this reality TV show for showing this, maybe it will help.

Reality TV shows are not real. Well, not totally. So, for that 50% of the show that is real - I see amazing dancers, a nice studio, a teacher that knows her stuff and has successful dancers to prove it. These Dance Mom's have sought out a teacher that they think will make their little dancer famous someday. That's good marketing. They are getting what they pay for, what they ask for. It is for them to decide what winning looks like.

Competitions are what create the difference between dance as art and dance as a sport. My own children compete in sporting tournaments (and yes even in rough sports there is drama.) It's the hair, costume and make up that throw you off at first with dance. This is dance for the sport. Hard core competitons to get your dancer noticed - get the scholarship -- same as a young basketball, fastpitch or volleyball stars. You wouldn't tell those kids in sports not to compete would you?

It's clear that these Dance Mom's who are on the show to be famous themselves. Have you seen their hair and make up, outfits...they are the true performers here. And what a performance it is. I think these Mom's will be embarrassed later in life for exploiting their dancers. Or maybe they will all be rich and famous...the world of reality TV is not rational.

As for competitions - there are good ones and bad ones - so if you are planning to have your dancers compete you may need to set the stage for your dance parents who have watched this show. Tell them why you are competing -- what's the goal? Why did you select this particular competition vs. others? What will be success for all of you?

The dance competition industry is huge. And the dance magazines that could talk about this show might not because much of their revenues are based on dance competiton full page ads.

Lifetime's Dance Mom's TV Show will either make competitions more popular or more scrutinized. Either way, I think all dance teachers will need to become very clear about WHY they do competitions.

So, WHY do you compete?

Anniversary Posters are Ready!

Remember I said I had a cool idea for my 10th anniversary show? Well I did it.

With the help of a parent with graphic design skills, we created a "Growing Up in Dance" poster for our students to customize with 3 photos of themselves growing up as dancers.

The theme of our recitial is of course "Growing up in Dance" with a garden backdrop from Backdrops Fantastic. (I can't wait to see it) So, in keeping with that theme we created a poster with three large flowers with the center of the flower blank (insert photo). When done the dancers will have a keepsake to hang in their bedrooms and remember how much they love to dance.

I wrote a cute little poem that runs up one of the flower stems. It says, "From my first little sprout to my long straight stem. I'm a dancer now and that will never end."

I hope they enjoy customizing their posters. We are going to display all 220 of them at the show in the entrance. I'll take a picture and post when I can.

Feel free to use this idea in your own studio. I'll let you know how it's received by the parents and students. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

If you need a printer/designer my friends at Kramer Printing in Madison, Wis. can work with you from anywhere in the USA.

Are you on hold with the costume company?

If you've been on hold more than 20 minutes with a costume company this season raise your eyebrows!

I thought so. It's frustrating that after all these years some companies with a long history of costuming still can't get enough people on the phones during recital season. I'm not naming names because I do respect the companies that help us dress our dazzling dancers, but I do hope they read this post!

Being on hold is managable, you put it on speakerphone and do some other work while you wait, but it's really not a great way to do business. There are many phone companies that could work with costume makers to route calls, staff up and give them some advice. So, to all those costume companies reading this --- please call your local phone system provider and get some free advice!

There is a lesson here for all of us business owners. Understand what the phone experience is like from your customers point of view. Do your phones get answerered on time? How does your on hold music sound? What does your voice mail message say? How do people answer the phone? Call yourself and check it out.

Take some time and work with your local phone provider to find out if there are new technologies you can use as a small business owner. There are many new solutions such as VoIP that are affordable and flexible -- call the local phone company for help and free advice.

Getting ready for the big show. Recital time.

It's recital time. Dance teachers across the country are working hard this time of year making sure their year-end recital keeps students (and parents) coming back for more. I know you are all old pro's at this, but it's important to remember to work ahead so you have time at the end for the "little extras" that make the recital work as a marketing tool for you.

Don't forget to do some PR:

Send out a press release to your local paper(s) and local radio station if you have one.

Schedule "Break a Leg" posts on your Facebook page.

Consider inviting media to attend picture night or dress rehearsal to get some good pictures for that press release.

Radio stations are often forgotten, but a pair of tap shoes can make a create audio story. Think about it! Call the station and offer to do an interview about Dance. (National Dance Week makes a good reason as well, but tie in your own show too.)

Take out an ad for special anniversary years to recognize your staff/students/community for their support. Remind your local Chamber of Commerce (hope you are a member) that your event is coming up and to add it to their newsletter.

Write up your comments now, so you don't forget to say all the right things at your show.

Pick out your own outfits/shoes etc. You don't want to look like a tired out dance teacher at the performance. Dress up! Market yourself. (At my school I've made a tradition of getting some "cool shoes" the girls all wait to see which high heels I will wear. )

It's important to remember that the entire recital experience is your opportunity to "sell" your program to your existing parents and also to new ones. That critical word of mouth marketing can only happen if you give them something great to TALK about!

Break a Leg!

SillyBanz and other rewards

Rewarding dancers in the studio is a constant challenge for dance teachers. What's the best way? Praise.

One thing I've learned is the single greatest reward you can give is praise - direct praise with the child's name. "Nice plie' Brooke" or "Great leap Blake", those words go a long way to keeping your dancers motivated. It's easy to start generalizing your praise to the whole group - how many times have you said, "Nice work ladies!" Sorry, but that doesn't cut it for individual motivation. You have to be direct and at the time of implementation. When I have a little one that has really worked hard, I'll walk out to the waiting room with my hand on her shoulder and tell her mom or dad - "Abie worked really hard today, she's doing just great in class." Try that sometime for a huge smile from both parent and dancer.

As teachers, it's easy to get lost in direct corrections and sometimes hard to remember to praise even when they don't get it perfect. Remind yourself often that the words that come out of your mouth are like pieces of sweet candy! The more they hear them the more they want! And the harder they will work to hear it.

For special holidays, I do usually give out candy treats and on most nights a sticker to the little ones- this year for Halloween I ordered the ART themed SillyBanz online and they were a HUGE HIT! I decided that I'd set a healthy eating example and skip the candy, no one complained, they love collecting the SillyBanz.

Back in the Groove - New season start

It's September that means it's time to get back into the studio for me. Many of you may have started classes already but we wait until late Sept. to let the kids get back into the school routine first, then they can add in dance to their busy schedules. Our staff is busy preparing for the classes and selecting recital music and costumes. I love our costume choices this year, Weissmans will really rock it out for us this year!

It's our 10th Anniversary year, so I'm trying to think of cool things we can do all year to celebrate. Does anyone have any ideas? Our "theme" this year is Growing up in Dance. Our recital will be like a garden etc. So, any ideas for monthly things we can do?

One idea I have is a poster at the end of the year. I've traded time for class with a parent who is a graphic designer. I want to have 3 or 4 flowers with blank middle spots and then have the kids add photos of themselves to customize the poster for our 10th anniversary. I envision it to have a lot of green, florals and their cute faces in costumes inserted. I'll let you know how that one turns out! You never know it could be a new idea for our Releve' product line.

I'd love to hear more ideas from you! At 10 years we are still rookies compared to a lot of studios out there!