PenelopeAnn
Forum Replies Created
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Hey Tigerschic! For me, getting the kids to do boot camp before they’re allowed on the poles helps. A great warm up for them and the poles is getting them to race up the poles to the ceiling. Because I have poles in different finishes and thicknesses, I make them rotate through all the poles. By the time they’re done, both they and the poles are really warm and they love the competition. I always give them 5 minutes of playtime at the end of class which is usually their favourite bit. When you start teaching them anything where they go upside-down, watch them like mad! Kids are fearless, and have little regard for possible consequences. I always insist that they do the more dangerous moves with me or my assistant teacher spotting. And keep a candy jar in the studio for the end of class!
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I teach a kid’s class in my studio (5 x 8/9 yr olds, 1 x 6 yr old, 1 x 4 yr old & sometimes my 3 yr old). They absolutely love it! I’m sure they see classes as fabulous playtime.We started with the kids of adult students and slowly expanded from there. We do still get people making snide remarks about how they’ll always have a way to make money, etc, but the change I see in my students makes it all worthwhile. The non-dancer parents of one of my 8 year olds told me after our last studio show that they’re amazed I got their daughter performing because she’s so shy with everybody else, but she just loves her pole classes.
The picture is of my 9 year old son & his new trick from last week’s class – he calls it the starfish.
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In my studio, I have a range of poles so that hopefully everyone will find one they’re comfortable with – and everyone’s got their favourites which they get seriously possessive over! We’ve got 38mm, 45mm & 50mm; and SS, chrome & PC. My next pole is probably going to be silicone (holding thumbs!)
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Hi Jenn! You paid good money for your stage pole, and they’re not cheap! Why on earth should anybody expect to just borrow your asset (unless you’re ok with that of course)? You’re the one who has to replace the pole when it’s damaged, so it’s perfectly reasonable to charge rental fees for it. I have a dance studio and an entertainment company and we charge rental fees of +-15% of the replacement cost if somebody wants to use our stage pole. Hope that helps!
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I own a studio, specialising in bellydancing, pole dancing & fire dancing. We’ve done an annual student showcase every year since 2004. Our shows are usually in a theatre and the costs of putting on a show are substantially higher than most people would ever guess!
Having said that, I’ve never charged my students to participate in any show – this is their opportunity to show off their hard work and how much they’ve improved. I expect my ladies to sell 5 tickets each, and book our venue based on an audience size of 5 times the number of dancers. Our total expected costs divided by the number of tickets available gives the ticket selling price.
Everyone in the studio takes part in the showcase. All classes learn a choreographed dance during their normal lessons (even the beginners) which they perform, and I invite advanced dancers to do solos/duet, which I work on with them at no extra cost to them. Most of the ladies organise their own costumes, although my pro troupe and some smaller groups/duets design a group costume which they each pay for and keep afterwards.
Our shows are not intended to make money – as long as they cover the costs of putting on a show (which they don’t always do!), I’m happy. I can understand studio owners wanting to make a profit though. Shows are flipping hard work for the producer/promoter/director, and they should get compensated for that!
For me though, it’s far more important that the students get a chance to become the best dancers they can be, and getting a chance to perform really helps them with that!
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I really like that!
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Our poles are mostly stainless steel poles from the local metal centre, which we then had powder coated. My father-in-law made custom brackets to attach them at the top and we have non-slip plates at the bottom. They’re all removable because we also use the studio for bellydancing. They were far, far cheaper than regular poles, but you need to have someone who knows what they’re doing because they need to be 100% safe. Unfortunately they’re all static only, so we use our stage pole in the studio as well so we’ve got access to spiny mode. Our stand alone is an X-stage lite – because it’s not attached at the top, I wasn’t prepared to risk designing something that may not be completely safe.
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I second getting a notification that my subscription will be running out shortly! It always comes as a bit of a shock when suddenly I can’t access the lessons anymore.
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I know this is going to be an unpopular comment, but from a business point of view people value what they pay for and if you run a special too often most people are going to wait for the next special instead of buying the normal price lessons. The special will start to feel like normal price rather than like a special. I subscribe annually and have only actually managed to get the special once, but when it comes time to renew I’ll renew regardless of whether there’s a special running or not. Just be careful that you don’t end up undervaluing yourselves, because if you do, the public will too. Having said that, when I got the special, it felt great & did help my budget tremendously, especially with our really bad exchange rate.
If a person is not prepared to buy the lessons at the current price, they’re probably unlikely to buy them at a lower price. If somebody really wants them, they’ll make a plan. Even at our shocking South African exchange rate, your lessons are phenomenal value already.
I think extending the trial period to a week probably makes a lot of sense. With so many cons out there in the cyber world, people do want to be sure they are getting value for money. When I first joined SV, I bought a month of lessons as a trial, and was hooked by the end of it. I’ve had an annual membership ever since.
Extending the trial membership beyond a month would be counter-productive. If somebody pays little or nothing for 6 months, they’re very unlikely to happily pay after that because they’ve become used to getting it for nothing.
I have to agree on the negative paypal comments – dealing with paypal is the one thing I dread when it comes up to the time to renew my lessons! I’d love to be able to just put it on my credit card. I’m very technically challenged, so dealing with pay pall freaks me out.
Veena’s lessons are brilliant, and the time, resources and energy that you guys put into them is very much appreciated!
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For most of my ladies, if they get sweaty they just slide right off our PC poles. When it’s hot, they usually prefer the chrome or SS poles. I think we need to get a brass one next to help us stick through the hot South African summer!
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Happy birthday & congratulations awesome people!
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My kids love playing on my poles too! I have a kids class “Pole Monkeys” and the kids absolutely love it. My seven year old had to give a speech at school that included his favourite room – he told his teacher and class that his favourite room is my studio because it has poles that he can play on! And he’s actually starting to get a six pack! Now if only I could find mine…
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I own a bachelorette entertainment business, so spend every weekend doing workshops for bachelorette parties. I love love love my job! I also own a dance studio, teaching bellydancing (been a professional bellydancer for 19 years), fire dancing and pole dancing. My students have become an extension of my family. One of my entertainment options is a Ladies’ Toy Party, so I get to educate ladies about their sexual health and provide them with a safe, comfortable place to shop for adult toys and bedroom accessories. I make bellydance costumes, and occasionally pole costumes, in my spare time. My most important job though, is as a mother to two precious boys (1 & 7), both of whom love being on the poles. My 7 year old has been in all my studio shows since he was about 4 and will climb any & every pole he sees, and my 1 year old can do a pole hold! I’m an accountant by qualification – thank goodness that’s not what I have to do every day. I looooooove my jobs!
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Hi Rachel! Congrats on your studio!
My studio was initially a bellydancing only studio and it was huge. I taught 5 days a week (4 evenings and Saturday mornings) in 4 different locations and had over a hundred students. The studio grew by word of mouth only (much to my surprise!) and within about 3 years I was able to live off studio income alone. I closed all my branches when I was pregnant with my 2nd and built a studio at home. We now offer bellydancing, pole dancing and assorted other classes and workshops. It’s far more chilled, and a lot smaller but suits me better for where I am in my life now.
In short – yes you can build your studio up to the point where you can live off the income, but it takes a lot of energy and hard work. Keep learning from others (a teacher’s sanity saver!) and keep loving your students regardless. I know we all have to pay bills, but don’t let the money drive you. Love your students, care about their well being and give your best always, and the money will follow.
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Thanks Aerial Gypsy, your input is appreciated! If my student decides to get one, I'll give you feedback!
