Yes, I am a ballet school dropout. I took ballet for  1 ½ years from 10 – 12 and then I quit. I never thought about it much, until now. What I remember most was the atmosphere of the place: the outside of the ballet building was shabby with the word “DANCE” scrawled on the old red bricks. The inside wasn’t much more impressive, as the walls were plastered cheaply with a tacky cream color. There was a row of brown benches lined up to the left as you entered. Inside the four studios, the wood was smooth and light: the bars were a rusty white, and the mirrors were streaked with dried Windex and sweat. First impressions count!

The whole place had a certain aura of drive to it. It was as if just being there, you were immediately and forever a ballerina. The walls were speckled with vivid watercolors of ballerinas and ballet shoes and there were pink ribbons tied and pictures drawn onto each door as if behind each door were something sacred and special.

While others might not be as affected by the physical appearance of the place, I feel that if my studio had offered a more inviting environment, I wouldn’t have quit so easily. There’s something funny about human nature, but the more we feel exceptional and that we exist, the more we care. The more we care, the more we feel like dancing. Therefore, as advice from a ballet school drop- out, it is worth investing in the interior design of the studio: it really is the little things that count. Not only do you want the dancers to dance, but you also want the environment to dance itself.

Some easy and inexpensive ways to spruce up your studio:

  1. A fresh coat of paint, in bright and attractive colors.
  2. Purchase fun chairs for the waiting room. There are great inexpensive places to find fun stuff like Ikea or even Overstock.com
  3. Clean away the cobwebs! Yes, even this makes a big difference.
  4. Paint a mural on a wall, or hang cool dance posters. With the internet, everything is EASY to find!

Even if you end up spending $500 in repairs, it will be worth it even if you save 2 dance school dropouts!