The Casual Dance Teacher's Podcast

Welcome to the Casual Dance Teachers Podcast. This is your host, Maia. Today I'm kind of breaking one of my own rules.

When I first started the podcast, I was really adamant that being the Casual Dance Teachers Podcast, this isn't a platform for business coaching for studio owners to try to enroll more students or get more income. But when today's guest reached out to me and I looked into her background and the things that she's done with her own studio, I really felt called to have her on the show to share with us about how she has grown from really teeny tiny grassroots into a thriving studio and also offering coaching for fellow studio owners. I feel like there are a lot of dance teachers out there who probably have what it takes to start their own studio or their own private freelance business or do their own thing in their own way, but are intimidated and scared of all of the business and administrative things and even just handling the culture and the mental struggles that come with that added layer of responsibility besides just being a dance teacher that shows up and follows the framework that's already set by someone else.

So whether you're already a studio owner and you just feel like maybe you could use a little bit of help improving your own processes, if you're currently toying with the idea of opening your own studio or starting your own program in any capacity and would like some insight on what that's like, this would be a great episode for you. And if you're just curious, I promise you, even if you have no plans to be a dance business owner or a dance studio owner, there's a definitely going to be some nuggets in here that will apply to you and help you too. I am actually just going to read the first person bio that today's guest sent to me.

I think it's really great to share with you her own words about her background, and we'll give you a great idea of all of the knowledge and experience going into today's conversation. Today's guest is Alison Foster Jones, who sent me the following. I help dance studio owners who love their students, but are stressed, tired, and desperate for help to make their dance school easier to run.

I opened my dance business in 2005 with five students and a stereo and have grown it to having three locations, our own premises and a full time team. Over the years, I've learned plenty the hard way, and even more by investing in the region of 50,000 pounds in my own business education. In parentheses, no, I didn't have the money sat in the bank I scrimmed, saved, grafted and hustled.

I'm just like you and parentheses. I've worked with Urban Strides delivering the sales and marketing business practice and co host the business mentoring on the UK's only government accredited street dance teacher training qualification. I've hosted tutorials and sessions at global retreats for studio owners around the world, including Australia and the United States.

I've guested on the dance studio owner podcast alongside the lovely Suzanne Black Garrity, have had numerous articles published, including for dance advantage and have been a guest on many business webinars. I led my studio to be the first UK studio to take classes online at the beginning of COVID-19, a full week ahead of the government mandated lockdown and have won numerous business awards, including the prestigious Yes, business can Lloyd's Bank Award, where I got to meet Joe Wicks. I want to save you the stress and worry of learning the hard way and benefit from what I've invested in my learning in a way that's much more affordable to hardworking dance teachers who typically have a heart full of love, a to do list like an encyclopedia, and not nearly enough money in the bank.

So that's the bio that Allison sent me that really spoke to me and I wanted to give her the opportunity to connect with and chat with all of you. So without further ado, let's talk to Allison. Allison, thank you so much for joining me today.

Alison
Oh, thank you for having me. I'm really excited to chat to you.

Maia
Yeah, me too! So I know there's a lot that you do. You have a lot of history with your studio and teaching dance and business coaching and all of that. So before we really launch into more pointed questions, can you give me a little bit of background of your own training and kind of leading up to the point of starting your own dance studio?

Alison
Yeah, of course. So I trained locally and kind of a typical grassroots dance studio, realized that dance was what I wanted to do. And then kind of I went home from class and said to my mom, well, this is what I want to do. And she said, well, we need to tell your teacher. She'll be able to tell you what to do next. And I remember being terrified about having that conversation, because what if she says, darling, there's absolutely no way. But she didn't. She didn't. She said, OK, here's here's kind of a tick list of your next steps. So continued training up to the amount of training I was doing locally and then eventually went off to train at Itali Quanti Academy of Theatre Arts in London, which is where I did my professional training.

And while I was there, I thought, oh, do you know what? I'm loving this and I want to do this. But actually, teaching just seems so much more rewarding. So I worked as a professional dancer for a couple of years and I did enjoy it.

But it felt quite kind of transactional, like go on stage, do a great job, enjoy the applause. And then we're exactly back where we started. It's just rinse and repeat to do the same thing again the next day, which felt a little bit a little bit kind of surface level, I guess.

And then the more I looked into teaching, the more I thought, no, this is something where in one sense, it's rinse and repeat. You know, you come in and taking ballet as an example, you start with the barre and then you come into the centre. So in that sense, it is.

But no class is the same. No students are the same, even though one student is the same week to week. And you kind of you get to sort of the end of one sort of little project, if you will.

Like, yes, brilliant. They're doing that thing correctly now. OK, great.

Here's the development. Here's the next thing. And it just felt so much more in depth and rewarding and expansive.

So, yeah, then I did my teacher qualifications, worked for someone else for a short time and then thought, I don't think she's doing a very good job of running this dance school. How hard can it be? And then we all laughed because, of course, it is really hard to run a dance school. And yeah, that's what that's what took me to open the doors.

And then I started really learning.

Maia
Yeah. Out of curiosity, what were some of the things that you didn't love when you were working for another studio owner?

Alison
Oh, great question, which I'm going to try and answer in a way that is transparent, but doesn't sound like I'm being unkind.

Yeah, it seemed very kind of hit and miss. So there wasn't really a system or a process for anything, which I think was because, A, because I don't think she realised that that was an option and B, because I think she was a very heart led dance teacher and she just wanted it to be wonderful and full of love and about the kids. So it was.

But in that, there was a huge amount of inconsistency, which actually meant that the kids that she so wanted to serve actually got a very inconsistent experience because it wasn't process driven and systemised. So I think in her desire to keep the love in, it actually kind of pushed the love out a little bit and it just all felt very kind of frantic and no one knew whether they were coming or going. And at one point she asked me to oversee the business for her while she went away for a couple of months.

And I was like, yeah, sure. What do I need to know? Expecting, you know, I mean, this is a long time ago, so I was expecting a folder and there was literally nothing. She's like, yeah, you just order uniform and do billing.

And I'm like, how? Where is the how? I don't understand. And yeah, so I think if I had to sum it up, a lack of systems and processes which were coming from her heart but resulted in a really kind of iffy experience for everyone, myself included.

Maia
It's so funny you say that because I really feel like that's why I started the podcast, because I see so many dance teachers that are like, I love to dance and I'm really good at dancing, so therefore I can be a dance teacher.

And they just go in guns a blazing and they don't have a plan. And that's kind of something that I wanted to tackle because, you know, I have no heart, just plans. Not true.

I do love my students and I love what I do, but I'm very like process driven, analytical, and I'm able to detach myself from the kind of emotional aspect of it. I think in a lot of ways that some teachers struggle with that are more just passion and heart driven, which is a huge strength that I can learn from. But being able to have that balance and train those heart driven teachers to have processes in place is amazing. Thank you so much for doing that.

Now, I'm going to backtrack a little bit before we get into those processes. And I'm really curious about hearing about the formation of your studio, because I saw on your website how it said the studio started with five students and a boombox. So what was that like? And then can you talk a little bit about the development of it?

Alison
Yeah, of course. So off the back of having this experience with this other school, I kind of got a normal job as much as it was. It was it was working in a dancewear shop, funnily enough, selling ballet tights and pointe shoes and whatnot, which was great because at least it was something I was interested in.

It was with people who I instantly had something in common with. And at least it was kind of loosely allied to what I was hoping to do. And I thought, you know, if I've got that, then I can just gradually start teaching my own classes and build them up.

And the rest, as they say, is history. So, yeah, I had this idea about we're going to do this one day and it's going to have different age groups and everyone's going to come along. And I can't even remember if we charge.

I think we did charge for it, but not very much. So it was very much a let's just get people in the door. They'll realize that I'm lovely and that they'll want to learn to dance with me.

And then that will be it. And it was one of those I'm so glad that I didn't know then what I know now. Otherwise, I never would have done it.

So, yes, I'm grateful for my naivety. I was only 23 at the time. So, yeah, very green as grass.

And yeah, so we did this dance and I think we had maybe 15 or 20 people come to it across the different age groups. And I didn't know anything about sales or conversion or anything like that. So I kind of thought, well, they're going to come along, they're going to love it.

And then they'll keep doing classes in September. And five of them did. Five of them did sign up for classes.

So that was it. We were off and running. And I remember driving to that day and going, you do a good job today.

You're going to drive home owning a dance school. And yeah, I kind of somewhat did. There was only five kids enrolled.

But, you know, you've got to start somewhere. Great oak trees from Little Acorns.

Maia
How long was it kind of at that phase? And did you make some kind of like big change or like a big business plan that leveraged it into more or did it happen organically over time?

Alison
I think it was a little bit of both, to be honest. At that point, social media wasn't a thing. So it was heavily relying on word of mouth and, you know, a poster in the bakers and that kind of thing. It was all very low key and low tech compared to how we might approach things now.

So, yeah, I had my five kids and I think between them, you know, they were probably doing two classes maybe. So I think we had a tap class and an Irish class to start with, because that's what they said that they'd enjoyed. I'm like, great, that's the timetable.

Then if that's what you want to do, that's what we'll do. And, you know, gradually those people bought a couple of friends and then we got some people inquired that were much younger. So, OK, right, well, now we've got a baby ballet class.

And I was really lucky with that class, actually, because one of the girls' parents contacted me and then must have told her class at school because I was expecting one or two and I got five or six. And I was like, this is a massive class for me compared to what I used to do. This is wonderful.

So, yeah, it kind of kept growing kind of quasi organically. And then I had my first toe in the water with a little bit of business coaching. And I remember that man so fondly.

He was nothing to do with the dance industry at all. He was ex-IBM. He used to be in charge of budgets down to, you know, no one's allowed to buy any more paperclips, we're over budget.

And, you know, he and I should not have clicked at all, but he was so lovely and he was very respectful of the knowledge that I had in my field. But also, right, let's fill in some of the lack of knowledge you actually have in running a business. And I remember in that conversation going, oh, I've started a business.

Oh, see, I thought I was just running dance classes. And he's like, you are. And that's a business.

OK, and that's when the penny drops that, right, there are actually two parallel skills here that both needs to be grown. And then, yeah, from that first kind of little dipping the toe into business coaching, it became, right, there are two two versions of me that I need to be training simultaneously. And I guess that was the real, you know, it wasn't like opening the floodgates as such, but it was like, OK, right, there's there's a whole other world that I need to start moving in and educating myself in. And that's when things started to grow, because I was I was doing the business of running a dance business as well as the dance of running a dance business.

Maia
That feels really overwhelming to me. I'm not a dance studio owner. And I've always said, like, I'm very happy with that and not having to do the business side of it. And I think a lot of the dance teachers that have that passion and can see themselves going down that path, like I know I could do it better. I have my own vision that doesn't fit in with someone else's. I need to go my own way, but maybe overwhelmed by the business side of things. Obviously, we can't go into everything that they're going to have to learn. But is there a starting point that's not going to be completely overwhelming that you would recommend for someone that's looking at that path?

Alison
Yes, keep it simple.

Most of the people that I speak to come to me because they've got to a stage of either they're quite new and they are in that overwhelm or they've been doing it a long time and unintentionally their tiny little studio has kind of morphed into this Frankenstein's monster that is then controlling them and not the other way around. So I would say keep it simple, keep it simple, keep it simple. And if you're going to do anything more than once, write it down, because I had so many people in my life when I was in that overwhelm that wanted to help me and that offered to help me.

And I couldn't accept the help because it was all in my head. There kind of was a system and a process, but it was all in my head. So no one could help me.

So, yeah, keep it simple. And if you're going to do it more than once, write down the how. It will be well worth the time spending 10 minutes writing down what you're doing and how you're doing it, because then you can ask, you can accept help of someone opposite.

Maia
Yeah, that's so great. And I've said the same thing about just teaching class, too. I write everything down because even though it is different, every group of students is different, knowing that a process worked and clicked for a certain set of students, it's so much easier to go back and use that similar process and tweak it to the new students than recreate the wheel every single week. So I see those parallels. Yeah. For strong dance teachers, we can also be super strong business owners. Hooray, we're halfway there.

Alison
Absolutely.

Maia
Now, when the studio does grow, I know a lot of studio owners that I've spoken with, they get very anxious about bringing on a new teacher.

And it's like, I can't teach all these classes myself. You know, we have this wonderful success of having more students than we can handle on our own. What are some things to look for in bringing on a teacher that's going to be under you?

Alison
Such a good question. So for me, most things come back to the studio values. And it's something that a lot of studio owners haven't kind of got locked in. If you talk to them, you could probably work out what their studio values are from the conversation you have, but they might not be clear in their own brain of what those important values are.

And really, this goes for any decision that you're going to make in your studio. Take it back to the values. What are the values? So number one, make sure you actually know what your values are as a studio owner, what's important to you, because that's going to then disseminate out to what's important to the people that are choosing your classes, because they're going to spot it.

Even if they can't articulate it back to you, they're going to go, that studio just felt right. I don't know why, but it did. So they're finding you based on the values that you might not necessarily actually be able to articulate.

And then with that in mind, if you search for a teacher who resonates with those values, you're going to click with them most likely. Your families and students are going to click with them most likely. And then you've got a really simple framework to manage that person vibe.

Well, we know that these five, let's say, these five things are really important. How are you doing against those five values? There's always going to be stuff to tweak and improve. OK, could we do it this way next time? Or it's kind of like it's your true north.

If you know what your values are, you can look for someone that feels like they're going to fit with that to start with. And then everyone's got that as a jumping off point. So, well, this is what we're trying to achieve.

What do we need to do kind of thing? So that's that's what I would say. Always, always, always hire on values. You can improve skill.

Changing values involves therapy. So find someone with the values. You can you can give them more skills if needed, not the other way round.

Maia
Oh, yeah, that's fabulous. And when I was going through your studio's website, another thing that really struck me that I was like, I want to go here because it talked about the values of joy and having a really positive experience, which is so cool. And I do think a lot of studios look past that.

You know, they have like their teachers qualifications, but it doesn't articulate the values of the studio. And so much is done online. You know, people are searching for their next studio through social media and the websites.

So without stepping through the door, I got that right away from your studio. So that's wonderful. And I'm also curious, how do you maintain that positive atmosphere throughout as a business owner when I'm sure you're getting bombarded with issues and complaints and this and that, but not let it spill over to the studio culture?

Alison
It's kind of it's both the question and the answer, really.

So because the values are so central to everything we do and therefore they are plastered all over the website, you can't go to that website and not just go, OK, I get it. I know who this person is. You know, we're not a traditional stand in lines kind of studio.

If that's what you're looking for, we just say that's that's not us. We can make a recommendation for a school that is like that. Go to them.

That immediately solves a lot of the issues, because people who want that are immediately attracted by it. But someone that wants a very traditional, disciplined, I don't like the term because it sounds offensive and I don't mean it to, but old fashioned in the in the good way, very traditional atmosphere to dance in, they get completely turned off by our website. They go, I don't want that.

I don't want that at all. So all of those people that potentially could have caused us a problem, not because there's anything wrong with them, but it's just not a good fit. They would be put off to start with, so they would never even contact us, most likely.

So then we've got all our advertising, all our communication to the world is coming through that filter. So only people that like that are likely to get involved, be that student, family or team member. And then because it's so central to all of our communication, we manage the families and the students to those values as well.

You know, you could go into any of our classes tonight and say, what are the most important values? And they would all like little red flag wafers, passion and positivity. So they all know, even the little ones know that that's what this is here. It's in our terms and conditions that, you know, in all your interactions with the juniors, you're expected to live by the DanceWise values.

They sign it. That doesn't always mean that they do the thing, let's be honest. We know we put all sorts in our terms and conditions that people don't necessarily always abide by, but at least we've set the expectation and then everyone gets managed by that.

And, you know, if there is anything that we need to address, we can say, look, the way that we're having this conversation at the moment doesn't feel particularly positive. Remember, that's how we behave here. So let's just draw it back.

And, you know, very happy to have the conversation, but let's just make sure it's still coming through a positive filter. And, you know, normally no one likes getting told off, but normally people go, do you know what? Actually, yeah, fair. I'm upset or I'm angry or whatever.

But yeah, no, you're right. Let's keep it positive. And if they don't, they get sacked.

And, you know, we don't have to do it often. But when you do actually follow through on, no, these are the values. This is how we do things here.

You're absolutely within your right to have a complaint or a discussion about this. You're absolutely within your right to have a complaint or a discussion about something. But it's got to be done in a positive way.

And if it isn't, you'll be exited. And, you know, you only have to do that a couple of times before it gets around the lobby. She's not messing about.

She'll do it with a smile on her face, but she means it. And yes, it's remarkably effective. Yeah.

Maia
Yes. I think not being afraid to let go of the people that don't align with your values, even if the cheques coming in, sometimes it's got to be values over the cheques.

Alison
A hundred percent, because even with the cheques in mind, if you think, OK, well, I spent two hours dealing with that situation. What would I be charging for two hours of private tuition? More than you're paying for your group class for the month. Yeah. No, the maths don't maths.

Maia
No. Yeah, that's good to keep in mind. We have kind of gotten into just dipping our toe in the surface of dance business, giving us some great advice in that area. I know you do a lot more with that. You have programs that you offer, and I want to at this point kind of hand it off and direct people directly to you that are listening. So can you tell us a little bit about where people can reach you and what you have going on?

Alison
Yeah, absolutely. So our signature program is Passion and Profits, subtitled Four Weeks to Fall Back in Love with Your Dance School. We know that dance teachers are in this business because they're passionate about it, and they may or may not choose to use the word positive, but they associate it with being joyful and happy. And even though this is a career for everyone who's listening now, once it was a hobby and we take this hobby that we're passionate about and we turn it into a business.

And then, as I mentioned earlier, sometimes it suddenly feels like the school is running new and it's this stressor and it turns into Frankenstein's monster. And suddenly this thing that you once loved is just a massive drain. So, yeah, we created this program, Passion and Profits, and the idea is that we reignite your passion so you rediscover and reconnect with the why for doing this all in the first place, which is because we love it.

And then it puts the business side of that and profit. I think particularly in heart-led industries, there's a slight ickiness about the fact that we actually need to make some money and just, number one, trying to help people see that you can love it and you can love your students and you can also need to pay your rent and, dare I say it, still have some money spare to go out for lunch at the end of the month. That is OK.

And in fact, it's more than OK because, you know, we see dance schools that aren't profitable and eventually they have to close their doors. So we can only actually keep serving our communities if we're profitable. So, yeah, it's a four-week program to help people reignite their passion, make sure that they're making more than enough profit and fall back in love with their dance school.

We just opened the VIP waiting list. So, yeah, your listeners will be able to join that if they'd like to. But that said, I do believe that this is a heart-led mission for me.

The business side of things is a heart-led mission for me. So if you'd like some free help, then if you go to facebook.com slash inspirational dance teachers, there's lots of free downloads and things there where you can get some help, some templates, some swipe files. There's all sorts of good stuff there that's free that will just kind of take the lid off and, you know, maybe kind of solve one of the pain points that's really driving you crazy at the moment.

You might well find something free there. And then if not, come on over to Passion and Profit, four weeks to fall back in love with your dance school.

Maia
That's awesome. And I'll put the links for both of those in the show notes for the podcast. And let's share those in the Facebook group to the Casual Dance Teachers Network. I know you've shared a couple things there. We'll keep pushing that out just to make sure people can connect with you. So before we end with our quote, I forgot to do that in my last episode. So I'm not going to forget, but I do again, I feel like, oh my gosh, I've been throwing all these questions at you. We went all over the place super quick. Is there anything else that you want to leave the listeners with or anything that you feel like is really worth mentioning that we just didn't get to yet before we closed?

Alison
Yes, absolutely. So the main question that people come to me to try and solve is, I just need more students. How do I get more students? And what they're hoping that I'm going to do is give them a silver bullet that just fixes it in 10 minutes. And what I'm kind of on a one-woman mission to try and educate the whole of this industry is that it's a machine.

To end up with a steady flow of the right new students, it means having all four parts of that machine working perfectly together. And as with most things, it's not actually that difficult if you know how, but most people are missing the how. When they look at it, the temptation is to go for the silver bullet at the end of the machine, the kind of creative bit, the fun bit, the sexy bit, the, oh, let's put a Facebook ad out there.

And if you know what you're doing, then yes, Facebook ads can be very, very effective. By know what you're doing, we need to know that we've got our targeting dialed in, that the copy that we're writing is going to appeal to the kind of family that we're trying to attract, that the pictures that we're using or the video that we're using match that copy, and it all feels congruent with the kind of place that we're trying to sell places in. But even with all of those things and the correct targeting, that's still the fourth step of the machine.

So even if that's all perfect, you're still not going to get the steady flood of quality students that you need. We need to then go, OK, once we've got them contacting us, what do we need? We need a system for effective follow-up. Do we have that dialed in? When I say a system for follow-up, do we have some things that are automated that are going to make sure that they get contacted in a really timed fashion? Do we also have a way of tracking those leads so that we can then, as a real human, see where those things are going? Do we have a means of tracking the inquiry so we can see, OK, that Facebook ad is actually much more effective than that one? But actually, our website is doing this many inquiries, so we can start to then manipulate the numbers in a way that's going to best serve us.

So if we're getting 80% of our traction is actually coming from one Facebook ad, well, then let's get rid of the other one and put all of the budget behind that one. Or actually, if our website is doing a brilliant job converting us, maybe what we need is a flyer to go into primary schools with that website all over it because it's working. So we need those two pieces.

And then what happens if they contact us and we do all the follow-up and it's all wonderful, but they don't actually sign up for classes? Most people will go, oh, dear, they didn't sign up. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. We then need a system for keeping that relationship going and nurturing that relationship because they're not necessarily saying no.

What they're saying is not now. And if you completely fall off the map when it is the right time, you might be the person they contact or you might not. So we need something that's going to keep us top of mind.

And then we need a means of throwing that net nice and wide. So we're just increasing the amount of leads we're actually getting. And we're working on how well we're converting them, how well we're following up, and then an ongoing nurturing relationship afterwards.

Then the only other piece of the puzzle is, with all of those people that we're nurturing, are we then inviting them often enough and strongly enough? And that is often a place where we fall down of being a bit apologetic for asking people to sign up, or not doing it often enough. And then when we do, it's one email, and then we run away. So we just need to make sure we've got a compelling offer.

We know when we're going to re-invite them. We know what the system is for that. And actually, that sounds huge, but if you've got a plan, and you really knuckle down to it, you can probably get the whole system sorted in a week, which, again, sounds like quite a long time.

But one week to solve your studio marketing process ad infinitum, great use of time.

Maia
Yes. This is all bringing me back to, I used to sell used cars, so proof that I truly don't have a heart. I used to sell used cars, and everything you're saying is exactly the same. Being a dance studio owner, selling used cars, it's the same thing. Just don't be shy is basically what it comes down to. They came to you for a reason. They had a question. Maybe you're not going to be the right fit. Maybe you're not going to have the right studio or the right used car for them. But at the end of the day, if they came to you and said, like, hey, what is Tap all about? My daughter is very active, and I'm curious.

For you to follow up with them multiple times is not doing them a disservice. It's doing them a disservice not to. So all of that, yes. Whatever you're doing, whether it's owning a studio, selling used cars, or something else, it's the same thing, in my opinion.

Alison
100%. The business of business is running a business, and it doesn't matter if you're selling cars, dance classes, haircuts, cream takes. It's all the same thing.

You know, someone's come in and said, I'm interested in your thing, and you're going to say, I've got a thing. It's a great thing. Do you want to buy the thing? And if you don't, can I keep in contact with you about the thing until such time as you might want to buy the thing? Yes.

And that is service. That's not actually salesy. It's service.

Maia
Yes. Yes. I'm so happy we got to do this. Thank you so much for everything you shared. It's like I'm at an all-you-can-eat buffet, and I'm like, oh, I want more. Like, can I go back for thirds, fourths? But I'm going to leave it at this for now before we get too overstuffed, but let's just close out.

Do you mind sharing your favorite quote about dance with us?

Alison
Yeah, absolutely. So in my studio, I'm known as the queen of passion and positivity. As a business coach, it's about passion and profit.

So I chose a quote that's reflective of both of those things, and that's that great dancers aren't great because of their technique. They're great because of their passion. And that was said by Martha Graham.

Maia
Thank you so much. This has been such a blast.

Alison
Oh, I've had a wonderful time. Thank you so much for having me. It's been really lovely to talk to you.

Maia
Hi, it's Maia following up.

And this time, in addition to, of course, another huge thank you to Alison for that wonderful conversation and sharing with us, and some other thank yous that I'll share in a moment. I also have an update to share. Alison and I were chatting off the air after this conversation that you just heard, and discovered that the passion and profit program is launching today, the day that this episode airs.

So if you're listening to it after the fact, you might be a little bit late, but the program is online to go back and visit at any time. The live portion of the program, however, launches on Friday, February 21st, the same day that today's podcast comes out. So it's a perfect, perfect launch of our conversation and the program that we were talking about.

I just wanted to share that with you because I know in the conversation, Alison does mention pre-registration. Again, you can go on anytime to view and participate in the program. Even if you're listening to this months and months later, there will be additional live opportunities coming in the future.

But if you want to hop right in with the very first live session, you can do that today, Friday, February 21st. Amazing. Thank you again to Alison.

In addition, thank you so much to my newest partner, Dance News Daily. If you're not familiar with Dance News Daily already, you can probably figure out from the name that this is an amazing source to get daily dance news. Dance News Daily.com is the website with tons of up-to-date dance news from all different genres and it's from all over the world.

There's articles about new works being created, classes, the latest literature on dance. It's so amazing. But my favorite feature is the daily email.

So on the website, dancenewsdaily.com, you can sign up for free and you can get a daily email that has links to all these different articles from different news sources telling you what's new in the dance world today. Obviously with the podcast, it's a really helpful for me to stay up to date on what's new in the dance world. But as a teacher, I think it's also so important to steer my dancers towards getting news and reading about what's going on in the dance world.

And it can be really overwhelming. And they might go to sources that I'd rather they not get their information from. Like I don't want them just going on TikTok to get the latest in the dance world.

So to have it all in an email that you can encourage your students to subscribe to, but that you can also just open real quick every morning, scan through, grab what's relevant to you, share it with your students. And it can be like a headline of the week type of tradition that you start with your dance classes and just a really great learning opportunity for everyone. So be sure to check out dancenewsdaily.com and subscribe to the dance news daily email.

Thank you to GB mystical for the theme music. And thank you to everyone in the casual dance teachers network on Facebook and on our Instagram page, the casual dance teachers podcast. It's always a joy to connect with you there.

So if you're not already there, come join us, make sure to leave a review for the podcast wherever it is that you're listening, because it's really important to me to tailor the content to you, what you like, what you don't like, and I need to hear from you. So get with me wherever you're listening, wherever you're online, let's chat. And I'll see you again on the next episode.