As a dance studio owner, you know it takes a precarious balancing of logistical considerations, software solutions, and communication templates to keep your studio running. In this guide, we’ll review one of the most important elements of your dance studio management: your dance studio forms.
When you understand the different types of forms your studio may need to use and the best strategies for creating and distributing them, you’ll ensure that you collect the necessary information from members of your dance community. To help you out, we’ll highlight the most important forms and offer a few free templates along the way.
Frequently Asked Questions about Dance Registration Forms
Before we jump into the specific dance studio forms you should use to streamline your operations, let’s review the basics to ensure we’re all on the same page.
What Is a Dance Studio Form?
A dance studio form is any document that dance studio owners use to gather information from their current students, prospective students, students’ caregivers, and staff members. For example, you likely have a dance studio registration form that allows students to enroll and sign up for classes.
Why Are Dance Studio Forms Important?
Dance studio and dance registration forms help you get to know current and prospective audiences, uncovering key details like names, contact information, interests, medical needs, goals, t-shirt sizes, and more. This information allows you to easily contact your dance community members and ensure you’re accommodating their needs.
What Prompts Should I Include on Dance Studio Forms?
The prompts you include on your forms will vary depending on each one's specific purpose. However, there are a few core details you should ask for on all of your forms to easily attribute each submission to the correct individual, such as:
- Name
- Address
- Phone Number
- Email Address
Basic contact information will ensure that you can follow up with the individual afterward with next steps.
How Can I Create Dance Studio Forms?
You have a couple of options for creating your studio’s forms:
- Create your forms from scratch. If you need fully customized forms to fit your studio’s needs, create them from scratch with a platform like Google Forms, which automatically uploads responses to a Google Sheet.
- Download a free template! If you’re busy managing your dance studio, you might not have time to build your forms from scratch. The good news is that you don’t have to! Download DanceStudio-Pro’s free dance studio forms to streamline the process. We offer forms for new student registrations, employee agreements, and more.
While developing your forms from scratch is helpful if you’re creating a specific type of form that not all studios use or want to put your own twist on a traditional form, ready-to-go templates for dance studio forms reduce your staff’s workload, saving you time and resources that you can reinvest into your business’s growth.
How Should I Distribute My Dance Studio Forms?
While your dance studio can distribute printed forms and file them in your office, digitizing the process makes it easier for your community members and your staff. Upload your dance studio forms on your website, where your audience can easily download them, fill out the necessary prompts, add a digital signature, and submit them electronically.
To make it easy for community members to find the forms they’re looking for, make a landing page on your website dedicated to important resources and forms. Additionally, create eye-catching and compelling calls to action (CTAs) throughout your website content that lead your audience to a given form.
Types of Dance Studio Forms
Different forms will fulfill different purposes, so it’s important to understand what goes into creating each form. We’ll start this breakdown with arguably the most important forms for your business: dance studio registration forms.
A dance studio registration form is what your students (or their caregivers) will fill out when signing up for your classes for the first time. It helps you get to know new students and have a record on file in case you ever need to contact their caregivers or reference pertinent information.
DANCE STUDIO REGISTRATION FORM BEST PRACTICES
Your dance class registration form is probably the form you send out most often, so let’s look at how you can make it as effective as possible.
Your dance studio registration form should:
- Ask for students’ preferred names and pronouns. This information helps you address each student correctly.
- Ensure caregivers view and agree to studio policies. These policies may include your class code of conduct, safety policy, or late payment policy.
- Ask for students’ relevant personal information. This includes everything from crucial medical information to their t-shirt size.
- Leave space for caregivers to add additional pertinent information. This includes anything they want you to know about their child’s unique needs, goals, or interests.
Luckily, you don’t have to create this form from scratch—DanceStudio-Pro offers a free template that you can download and customize to your business’s needs!
2. Late Dance Tuition Notice
To stay in business, your dance studio relies on customers paying tuition fees on time. When clients are late with their payments, you may feel awkward reminding them of their commitment. A late dance tuition notice can help make the situation less uncomfortable by allowing you to send a formal, standardized form.
LATE DANCE TUITION NOTICE BEST PRACTICES
To ensure your studio receives tuition payments, incorporate these late tuition notice best practices:
- Remind recipients of your tuition policy. Use your form to remind recipients of your tuition payment policy (including the payment amount and due date) and describe how the individual has violated the policy.
- Notify recipients of the late dance tuition fee or penalty. Let recipients know if the form is a first warning or a notification that they’ll have to pay additional late fees or face another penalty, such as no further classes until the payment is fulfilled.
- Use your dance studio software to send automated tuition reminders and late payment notices. To reduce the chances of sending late payment notices in the first place, invest in dance studio software that allows you to set up automated reminders.
Quickly build your late dance tuition notice form by starting with a free template crafted by DanceStudio-Pro!
3. Competition Team Audition Form
If your dance studio has a competition team, create a competition team audition form. This form allows students to easily sign up for team auditions and keeps their information organized for audition day.
COMPETITION TEAM AUDITION FORM BEST PRACTICES
Besides collecting student and parent contact information, this dance studio form should:
- Ask about prior dance experience. Ask students to note their dance experience, including the styles they’ve trained in and how many years they’ve been dancing. For students coming from other studios, have them explain their experience in a bit more depth and add whether they’ve been on a competitive dance team before.
- Explain what to expect at the audition. Let students know what they can expect during the audition process, including which days and times they’ll need to be available, which skills they should be able to demonstrate, and whether you’ll be teaching an audition combination.
- Emphasize the required commitment if the student makes the team. Sometimes, students sign up to audition, make the team, and then drop out due to other time commitments. Avoid this issue by highlighting the required commitment up front, including team practice, performance, and competition schedules.
Additionally, if you charge an audition fee, make sure to collect parent or guardian payment information on this form.
4. Dance Camp Registration Form
While similar to your general dance studio registration form, your dance camp registration form will be specifically for dance camps and intensives and may be open to students from other studios.
DANCE CAMP REGISTRATION FORM BEST PRACTICES
When creating your dance camp registration form, make sure to:
- Explain the available camp sessions and dates. Lay out the different options, what they entail, and the associated dates. For example, you may have a Leaps and Turns Intensive in the first week of June and a Jazz Funk Dance Camp in the second week.
- Let parents know what you’ll provide students each day. Since campers will be at the studio all day, explain to parents and guardians what you’ll provide throughout the day and what they’ll need to bring. For instance, you may give snacks and water but require campers to pack a lunch.
- Ask how outside students found your camp or intensive. Find out which of your marketing channels is most successful at driving camp sign-ups by asking outside students whether they found your camp or intensive via your website, social media, word of mouth, flyers, or another method.
A dance camp or intensive is a great way to drive new business to your studio. Make a great first impression with a comprehensive dance camp registration form.
5. Recital Program Dedication Form
In addition to sharing your show order, your recital program is a chance for you to increase revenue by allowing students’ families to write messages in exchange for donations. Collect their messages and contributions with a recital program dedication form.
RECITAL PROGRAM DEDICATION FORM BEST PRACTICES
Your recital program dedication form should:
- Explain the different donation tiers. For example, you may charge $15 for a short message, $30 for a half-page message, and $50 for a full-page message.
- Have space to collect messages. Allow people to write out their personalized dedication messages directly on the form. Consider giving examples of past messages so they know what you’re looking for.
- Ask which student they’re dedicating their message to. Lastly, have them list which student they’re dedicating their message to so you can include it in the program and ensure the student sees it.
Assign a deadline for this form so you have enough time to incorporate these messages into your program before it’s time to print and distribute it!
6. Recital Gift and Video Order Form
It’s also common for dance studios to sell gifts and recital recordings during the recital season. That way, they can not only boost revenue but also offer keepsakes that help students and families remember the special day.
RECITAL GIFT AND VIDEO ORDER FORM BEST PRACTICES
Keep the following considerations in mind when creating your recital gift and video order form:
- List all order options. These may include DVDs, flash drives, or digital downloads of the recital performance. Other merchandise you could offer include customized t-shirts, framed recital photos, trophies, and certificates.
- Add a field for calculating the total cost. To simplify the payment process, let parents and guardians tally which items they’re ordering and add up the total cost.
- Specify how and when people will receive their orders. At the end of the form, give an estimate of when families will receive their items and specify whether they’ll be delivered or available for pick-up at the studio.
Similar to your recital program dedication form, include a deadline so you can place bulk orders for each item and distribute them efficiently.
7. Photo and Video Release Form
Naturally, you’ll want to take photos and videos at the studio to advertise your business. A photo and video release form allows you to obtain parent and guardian permission before publicly sharing photos and videos of students.
PHOTO AND VIDEO RELEASE FORM BEST PRACTICES
Your photo and video release form should include the following elements:
- How you intend to use the photos and videos. Let parents and guardians know whether their child will be featured in promotional materials, on your website, on social media, or elsewhere.
- Duration of use. Specify whether your studio can use the photos and videos for a certain period of time or indefinitely.
- Right to withdraw consent. Parents and guardians may change their minds later on. Allow them to do so, and explain the procedure for withdrawing consent.
To be safe, have a legal professional review your photo video and release form to ensure it complies with current relevant laws and regulations.
8. Dance Studio Volunteer Sign-Up Form
From running your dance camps to assisting with fundraisers and events, there are many instances in which you may need volunteers. A dance studio volunteer sign-up form allows you to easily gather volunteer contact information so they can start helping out.
DANCE STUDIO VOLUNTEER SIGN-UP FORM BEST PRACTICES
When developing your dance studio volunteer sign-up form, make sure to:
- Find out their areas of interest. If you’re creating a general volunteer form, determine whether volunteers are interested in helping with dance camps, recitals and performances, fundraising events, or administrative tasks. Otherwise, note the exact event or position you’re looking to fill.
- Have them list any relevant skills or experience. For example, if you’re looking for someone to do your studio’s bookkeeping, have them list their educational background and relevant work experience.
- Ask whether they’d like to hear about future volunteer opportunities. See if volunteers are interested in receiving updates on volunteer opportunities so you know who to stay in touch with.
You may even create a volunteer mailing list that allows you to easily communicate with them to solicit the help you need.
9. Costume Order Form
Recitals and performances typically require costumes. Create a form so instructors can easily submit their costume orders.
COSTUME ORDER FORM BEST PRACTICES
Since this dance studio form is an internal form, it’s a lot more straightforward. However, your form should still:
- Gather all class and student information. Make sure your form asks instructors for their name, class name and time, and the names of their students.
- Indicate the costume style and company. Instructors should have a place to record the costume style name and associated number, as well as the company they’re ordering the costume from.
- Include costume quantity and cost. Lastly, have them indicate how many costumes they’ll need in each size and tally the total cost.
Clearly communicate the deadline for costume orders to your team well in advance so they have plenty of time to find the right costume, measure students, and submit their order forms.
10. Dance Studio Birthday Party Request Form
Maximize your dance studio’s revenue by hosting birthday parties and special events—and create a form to go along with them!
DANCE STUDIO BIRTHDAY PARTY REQUEST FORM BEST PRACTICES
Make sure your dance studio’s birthday party request form does the following:
- Notes the birthday child. Start your form with a section for recording the birthday child’s name, age, and whether they’re a current student at the studio.
- Includes the intended party date and time. Next, have parents give the date and time they’d like to reserve the studio.
- Specifies the number of guests. Additionally, they should give an estimate of how many guests they intend to have.
At the end of the form, include a space for any special requests. For example, a parent may indicate that they want to bring in an outside cake or that their child wants the party to have a certain theme. You can then follow up about whether your studio can meet their requests.
11. Dance Student Medical History Form
Since dance is a physically strenuous activity, it can be helpful to know about students’ medical history to ensure their safety and well-being.
DANCE STUDENT MEDICAL HISTORY FORM BEST PRACTICES
Keep students healthy and safe by doing the following on your dance student medical history form:
- Include a space for noting medical conditions. Parents should list any medical conditions that could affect students at the dance studio. These may include chronic illnesses, previous injuries or surgeries, or allergies.
- Have parents give any necessary medical instructions. For example, a student with asthma may need a reminder to bring their inhaler to class.
- Collect emergency contact information. In addition to parent or guardian contact information, collect an extra emergency contact’s details and the student’s primary care physician’s contact information.
Since this form involves sensitive information, store it in a secure location, like a lock box or protected database.
12. Dance Student Skill Assessment Form
Throughout the year, instructors may evaluate students’ skills and improvements to help them grow. Give them a proper dance student skill assessment form so they can easily keep track of students’ progress.
DANCE STUDENT SKILL ASSESSMENT FORM BEST PRACTICES
Ensure instructors can easily assess and note down their students’ skills by:
- Creating a skill assessment table. Provide a table where instructors can add key skills and mark student progress as of different dates.
- Leaving room for open comments. Include an open-ended section where instructors can note students’ learning styles, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities for growth, and more.
- Allowing instructors to give recommendations. At the end of the form, let instructors give their recommendations for what would best help their students to improve. For example, students who are struggling may need extra technique classes, whereas students who are excelling may benefit from moving up a level.
While these forms are typically for dance instructors only, they may be helpful for students and parents. Decide with your team whether you’ll make the completed forms available to the respective students and parents.
Leverage DanceStudio-Pro's Comprehensive Software
DanceStudio-Pro doesn’t just offer expertly-designed forms that are ready for your business to use. We offer robust dance studio software that makes running your business easier. Conveniently manage everything from online registrations to tuition collection to communications using our robust software.
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