Thread: Teaching venue options - please help me decide!

If you were faced with these options for a teaching venue for two ongoing classes (beginner and intermediate), which would you choose?

1. Venue 1 is a one-room dance studio, rents for $15/hr, 1000 sq ft. Sprungwood floor, full-length mirrors on one wall, sound system, key included. Venue 1 is mostly childrens’ dance classes. Kind of feels/smells like a daycare. Available time slots would be after 8pm so can’t teach classes back-to-back, would have to teach on 2-3 days/week instead of 1 day/week. Owner seems very nice but isn’t sure whether she’s going to renew her lease on the building next fall.

2. Venue 2 is essentially an office in a building that leases space to anyone. Owner will sublet for $20/hr but wants a 50/50 cut of class fee for any student beyond seven for marketing fees (essentially, listing class info on Venue 2’s website and including it in a newsletter). Faux-wood floor, no mirrors, small stereo, key included. Owner is willing to give one evening a week to be able to run the classes back-to-back, but it isn’t the best night for me/my students. Would lose a couple of students for sure because of scheduling conflicts. Owner is looking for someone to stay long-term and requires proof of fitness instructor insurance.

3. Venue 3 is a partioned room in a recreation center, owner wants 40(for her)/60 split (no rent fee), space is probably as large as Venue 1, but indoor/outdoor carpet with stripper poles installed across the length of the room, full length mirrors on one wall, not sure about sound system, no key. Owner must lock up but is willing to give a prime-time night so classes can run back-to-back. Owner covers insurance, but is just starting out, so business isn’t well-established yet.

Which of these would you choose and why?

One important question: do you already have a following of students, or are you starting from zero?

If you are starting from zero, I'd suggest Venue 1 because of the low price. That way, you're taking less of a financial risk. The mirrors, sprung floor, sound system, and key are all nice pluses. If the owner doesn't renew her lease, you can then work with your students to figure out which alternate venue would work best for them.

As for Venue 3, those stripper poles can be a real nuisance to work around. I've taught in a yoga studio that had a couple of pillars, and they kept getting in the way. Also, carpeted floor creates a risk of injury from knee torque - if you do end up choosing this studio, you should insist that your students wear dance shoes with smooth soles to protect their knees.

Originally Posted by *Shira*

As for Venue 3, those stripper poles can be a real nuisance to work around. I've taught in a yoga studio that had a couple of pillars, and they kept getting in the way. Also, carpeted floor creates a risk of injury from knee torque - if you do end up choosing this studio, you should insist that your students wear dance shoes with smooth soles to protect their knees.

Hear, hear, at least from the student perspective. The poles mean that some students will have to struggle for visibility. And I have -- and hate -- carpeting at home. I would be really disappointed to pay for a class and find I have to deal with it there too!

I don't teach but I'd go for venue 1. Then venue 3 - but those poles will cause heartache.

Venue 1. I'd be concerned with some of the issues everyone mentioned, myself...

That sounds like a pickle! I'd say either #1 or #3. And, I'd say that #3 wins by a sliver, based on the available time. In the long run, I'd suspect that from a student's perspective, having a very desirable, convenient time slot slightly outweighs the completely annoying floor and poles. #1 sounds like the much nicer studio, of course.

Originally Posted by steffib

That sounds like a pickle! I'd say either #1 or #3. And, I'd say that #3 wins by a sliver, based on the available time. In the long run, I'd suspect that from a student's perspective, having a very desirable, convenient time slot slightly outweighs the completely annoying floor and poles. #1 sounds like the much nicer studio, of course.

I agree with the time slot variant. It is more important, in my opinion, that you have a good time slot. While the poles and the carpet are annoying you can work around them. Just keep everyone rotating spots or keep people moving around the room with combos or just drilling walking and dancing. You can work around room obstacles, you can't work around a crappy schedule.

And while a split is not ideal... it's not the worst thing either, as long as the studio owner is timely with her check to you at the end of the session.

The reason why I would not go with venue #1 as my first choice is because it would be heartbreaking if you worked hard to build up a class large enough to run both beginner and intermediate classes and then the studio owner doesn't renew her lease. Then you are starting from square one. It is hard enough trying the get people to come to regular classes once a week, let alone long enough to move them up a level...