To succeed in the crowded classes and continuing education space, standing out is key. For the dance industry, the scene gets particularly competitive—in the United States, there are over 8,500 dance studios vying for attention. To gain an edge, top studios are turning to technology to attract more students, deliver a seamless experience, and more.
Dance 411 is one of the most famous dance education and entertainment organizations in the country; their exclusive space has been dubbed the “Studio of the Stars”. They’ve hosted auditions and rehearsals for popular shows like ‘So You Think You Can Dance,’ and their dancers and choreographers are involved in everything from national Disney commercials and major motion pictures to the MTV Video Music Awards.
Over the past decade, Dance 411 has grown to over 1,000 walk-in students and 70+ classes per week. But as co-owner Ed Schneider told us, as the studio grew, Dance 411 needed to streamline their system to keep students happy.
Here are the three biggest pain points Dance 411 used technology to solve:
- Managing a packed schedule of drop-in classes
The majority of the classes at Dance 411 are open to the public, so it’s important that people can find and browse classes online. Most dance studios require students to register with their software before they gain access to class offerings. This not only deters sign-ups—it makes it impossible for staff to proactively manage their large number of drop-in students.
- Checking in students at the studio door
In the past, hoards of people would gather at the front desk, waiting to check in. This created a bottleneck at the entrance of the dance studio. First-time students had to wait in line to fill out a waiver at one station before heading to another where staff took payments manually.
- Improving the guest experience at performances and recitals
Several times per year, Dance 411 hosts large dance recitals for adults and kids. At these performances, students show off the moves they’ve learned to family and friends. 200-600 people typically show up for these recitals, and many of these events use assigned seating. Dance 411 wanted to ensure guests had a smooth experience not only in their classes, but also at their seated events.
Interested in finding out how Dance 411 solved these problems and achieved studio stardom? View the full success story here.
