Question: I am 32 year old woman, I have always been interested in dancing as a career, but because of some family problem I was not able to focus on my passion. Now I am thinking of starting my own dance classes for kids as well as for teenagers.
I have won many local awards in dancing and related activities, and I am confident that I can easily tech others.
I have questions for you:
- What is the place requirement, if I want to accommodate 10 people at a time?
- What musical instruments would be required?
- How much investment is required, initially?
- How do I market this newly opened dance classes? Give me some low cost and effective way to advertise?
Answer:
If you are an accomplished dancer, you can always start a dance school of your own to pass on your skill to others as well as make some money out of what took your years of labor and cost to build. The most important thing is that it would give you chance to stay in touch with your passion. As most parents today want their children to pick up this art you can cash in on this demand. And having a studio or school of your own is the best way to go about.
To start a dance school, it is important to develop a good brand name for your school. The name should reflect the dance form in which you specialize. Since most Indians are traditional by it is advisable to go by traditional names unless it happens to be western dance school. Some good traditional names are kathakaliniketan, kuchupudi center of excellence, bharatnatyam Kendra etc. The name should be accompanied with a logo so that your school gets identified by the logo itself. And choose an ideal logo you must come out with an innovative and attractive design concept. Seek the help of an artist to give form to your thoughts.
Location
It’s ideal to have the school locale at a place where it is easy to get students. Residential areas are better than commercial areas. Choosing a locale close to a school or park can also be very useful. If it is near a school parents will get to know about your school soon.
Again like location the layout of your school is also equally important. It has to be a spacious, well ventilated and visually appealing. The walls should be covered with mirrors as it would help you to teach and students to learn effectively.
Advertise
Advertisement will play an important role to promote your school. Besides traditional methods of advertising like distribution of pamphlets with newspapers or advertising through cable networks, a good way would be to offer free introductory classes or arrange for seminars in schools and colleges. These single sessions are the best way to draw everybody’s attention to your dance program. Besides helping you get instant response, such sessions will help you spread awareness in the society.
An excellent way to propagate is to circulate a short video of your dance performances. In the video, you can also showcase the talent of other teachers to show to interested dancers. Make sure the video is created in a professional way to create the necessary impact.
An incentive scheme to draw students can also be a good way to start initially. Discounted class rates can help you attract students from all class groups.
Instruments: As for the instruments you need items that are essential for your kind of dance. For instance, if you wish to teach Indian classical dance, you have to buy traditional items that are integral part of this dance form. For a western dance class, you may require a huge set of items like costumes, musical instruments, electronic gadgets etc.
Like any other business, it would take you some time to set your class running. But once it takes off, you may not have to look back.