How Big Apple Ballroom Cha-Cha-Changed Class Scheduling With Acuity

Big Apple Ballroom, a boutique ballroom dancing studio, offers dance experiences for students that are authentic, creative, and fun. When many independent dance studios closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the founders decided to open up a space of their own and bring their nearly 25 years of dance experience to New York City. Big Apple Ballroom was the first ballroom studio to open up when restrictions eased in 2021, and has since become a vibrant hub for everyone, from complete beginners to professionals seeking certification, to explore the joy of dancing.

Finding their rhythm amidst business growth

As Big Apple Ballroom gained popularity within the dance community, the studio needed a reliable way to organize and keep track of their growing class offerings and expanding team. “Moving from a single and then two-person business to having several staff, we needed a way to track bookings and client packages,” Michael Choi, co-owner of Big Apple Ballroom explains.

The traditional method of booking appointments via phone calls was inefficient, and they wanted to make it as easy as possible to attract new students and allow them to schedule in the way that they prefer. “Many ballroom studios rely exclusively on taking phone calls to book appointments and new students,” Choi says, “but many people in today’s era prefer to make an appointment by booking online by themselves.”

Discovering a dance partner in Acuity Scheduling

Big Apple Ballroom began exploring software to get their schedule on point and maximize time for teaching and student relations. They identified several key requirements for their ideal solution:

• Intuitive and easy to use for staff, helping to minimize administrative tasks

• Seamless integration with the studio’s website

• Packages and lesson tracking compatible with their business structure

Acuity Scheduling met all these criteria and more. “Acuity Scheduling was easy to use and integrate with our website,” Choi notes.

Choreographing success with Acuity’s key features

At Big Apple Ballroom, Acuity is now an essential part of daily operations. “It’s the first page we have open on our desktop,” Choi says. “Each day we go over bookings for the upcoming day and later in the week to check payments due and the traffic in the studio.”

Interested dancers can visit Big Apple Ballroom’s website and use the scheduling page to book lessons and classes effortlessly. The options range from personalized instruction and dance evaluations to special events like date night dances, as well as group classes in styles like Swing, Ballroom, and Latin. When booking, students can select a preferred instructor, view their availability, choose the time that’s best for them, and even submit payment.

For first-time, introductory classes, students provide important details such as their dance style interests, goals, and how they discovered Big Apple Ballroom through a custom client intake form. Agreeing to the studio’s policies and health attestation is simple through the checkbox functionality.

One of Big Apple Ballroom’s favorite features is the ability to bundle classes and offer them as packages for purchase. With Acuity, students can purchase any combination of 5 group classes for the price of 3, incentivizing bookings and increasing the studio’s revenue.

“Acuity made tracking packages much easier,” says Choi.

“In the new environment of managing more students (we grew from a nuclear clientele to having many more people use the space and take lessons), we needed a way for all our staff to see what was going on at any moment.”

A leap forward for dance studios and instructors

Acuity Scheduling has provided a customizable yet user-friendly way for Big Apple Ballroom to manage their growing studio, helping them waltz through the hassles of admin work so they can spend more time dancing and accelerate their students’ progress.

For other studios and instructors still searching for the perfect fit for their schedule, Choi says, “Give Acuity a go. It’s got a lot of flexibility and the simplicity is great.”