Choosing the right studio for your dancer is a tough call! There are so many factors to consider and there are so many great options to choose from in the area. With any choice, it is really important to do your homework! Dance can be a large investment, you wouldn’t buy a new car without doing some research so why treat dance studios any differently?
We encourage you to start with an online search to check the schedule and class descriptions. If you like what you see on a studio’s website, schedule a studio visit and trial dance class. Because we have just a little experience with dance studios (hehe), we thought we would give you our BEST tips when making this decision. We also thought it may be useful to see where Mellado Dance Elite stands within the criteria.
View the facility. First impressions are everything here. Do you and your dancer walk in and say… “YES!” Or more like: “Get me out of here!” Some studios have a cozy vibe and others are very sleek and modern. The way the space looks can give you a clue into the vibe at the studio and to values of the studio owner. There is no right or wrong way a studio should look or feel but considering that you may be spending many many hours there every week, it should feel good to you and your dancer.
- Mellado Dance Elite Facilities: Upon arrival you will notice the natural light that shines into our clean, brand new, state-of-the-art facility. You will enter through our large front lobby that has comfortable seating, wifi, and toys for younger students to play with while waiting. Our studios themselves are very large (each one is over 1000 square feet), have been fitted with professional flooring, quality sound equipment, and viewing windows for parents. For our dancers, we have our male and female changing rooms along with our student lounge. Dancers enjoy hanging out, doing homework, or heating up a snack in between classes. Our facility is wheelchair accessible and classes run 7 days a week with office hours available 6 days a week. We know our dancers and their families spend a lot of time here so we make it a priority to make our space inviting and welcoming, we consider it a home away from home.
Look at teacher bios. Teachers are a HUGE factor in choosing a studio. That is who your dancers will be spending the most time with so they need to be people you can trust. Questions to ask a studio may be: What are the credentials of the teachers at this studio? Do the teachers understand and respect age appropriateness in music, costumes, and choreography? How long have the teachers been at this studio?
- Mellado Dance Elite teachers: We pride ourselves in having AMAZING teachers! Not only are they phenomenal dancers themselves but most of our teachers have been with us here at MDE for over a decade! Each teacher brings something unique to our team and we all work together to bring a fun, positive, family-friendly atmosphere to our classes.
The student dynamics. In each studio, there are different student dynamics. What are the dancers doing in the lobby? Are they laughing, chatting, keeping to themselves, preparing for class? Observing what is going on when the dancers aren’t in class, may help you gain a sense of the atmosphere. It may be a more competitive environment where dancers keep to themselves in order to focus, stretch, or practice. Or it could be a more relaxed environment where dancers are chatting away, laughing, and not thinking twice about what just happened in dance class. There is no good or bad here, it just has to match what you and your dancer are looking for in a program.
- Mellado Dance Elite environment: We strive to maintain a family-friendly, positive environment at our studio. It is important to us that we foster a professional and approachable atmosphere so that our dancers and families to feel comfortable communicating with us. We host studio wide events along with various team building activities throughout the year. At MDE we like to think we have the best of both worlds: hardworking dancers that accomplish so much in the classroom AND dancers who like to relax and have some fun when class is over.
Do you feel more confident in your process now? We hope so! Our staff at MDE is here to help if you have any more questions. We know there are many other great studios in the area, and we are so thankful our families have chosen MDE as their dance home.
If you feel like Mellado Dance Elite might be the right place for your dancer, we would love to hear from you! It would be our pleasure to show your dancer around and answer any further questions.
