Case Study: Alison Foster-Jones: How Class Manager Helps Her Juggle Two Businesses

About Alison Foster-Jones

Alison Foster-Jones, AKA, the powerhouse behind Dancewise Studios and Dance Business Success With Alison Jones.

Since using Class Manager dance studio software to run her dance studio more efficiently, she has been keeping on top of the figures and streamlining admin. (Saving up to 25 hours a week on administrative tasks.)

This has freed her up to spend more time on her second passion: helping other dance studio owners make the most of their businesses, with her business coaching.

Dancewise Studio

Dancewise Studios celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2025, marking two decades since Alison first opened the doors. 

Affectionately known as “Miss A” to her students and their families, Alison has dedicated her career to creating a safe, fun, and welcoming space where children of all ages and abilities can dance, learn, and—most importantly—smile.

Her goal is clear: "Transforming lives through passion and positivity.” 

And they have a lot of dance styles to choose from: 

• Irish Dance

• Street Dance

• Tap

• Ballet

• Contemporary

• Acro

• Their acclaimed Boys’ Programme

Classes take place across multiple locations in Hythe, Whiteley, and the New Forest, as well as online classes—making dance accessible to even more families.

Alison Jones Dance Business Coaching

If that doesn’t sound like enough work to do, Alison also offers dance business coaching to help other dance studio owners make the most out of their business. 

Offering lots of supportive options for all budgets. From 1:1 sessions with Alison to community hubs where other dance studio owners get together to go through anything they are struggling with and help each other. 

As well as offering pricing courses, the £10 a month Dance Business Q&A Coaching membership, an eBook ‘40 ways to bring more money to your dance business’, and a growing library of digital downloadable guides and templates.

Why The Switch To Class Management Software?

About ten years ago, Alison hit a breaking point. She was wearing all the hats—HR manager, marketing manager, teacher, choreographer, therapist, legal team, and everyone in between—and working exhausting hours.

(You dance studio owners know what it’s like, you wear all of the hats around your business, and certainly don’t give yourself enough time off.)

One night, while driving home after another long day, she blacked out at the wheel and crashed into a lamp post, narrowly avoiding a nearby river.

That life-changing moment made Alison realise she needed to make a change. And started investing in her own business education. She knew she had to make a change and start putting herself first. 

Not long after, she started shopping around for a reliable dance studio software. Since then, Alison has tried various software, always looking for certain specifics and features that would help her take her studio to the next level.

She wanted a reliable dance studio software that would:

• Provide quality reporting

• Offer an easy-to-use interface

• Store all her essential data in one place (classes, scheduling, student info, etc.)

• Handle payments seamlessly

• Save her hours of administrative work

Enter Class Manager Dance Studio Software

Class Manager was just what Alison was looking for: a class management system built for dance studio owners, by a team of dance teachers and studio owners. Following a demo, she signed up and, in her words, “never looked back.”

Class Manager was able to help with all aspects of her business:

• Generate accurate reports for herself and her team

• Manage classes and scheduling

• Sell items via the integrated shop

• Take automated payments at industry-low pricing

• Scale smoothly as her academy grew—without increasing costs
  
  

Today, Alison runs 3 studio locations, works with over 100 students, and leads a full-time team that shares her dream. Thanks to Class Manager, she’s been able to free up valuable time to also grow her coaching business.

Building A Second Business

Alison’s coaching journey began almost accidentally. The week before the first COVID lockdown, she realised the only way to save her dance studio was to take it online.

Not wanting to keep her findings to herself, she shared her plan with a few friends in the industry, offering to walk them through it over video calls. Word spread quickly—her friends told their friends, and soon Alison was supporting dance studios across the country.

Her coaching business has since blossomed into a thriving second venture alongside Dancewise Studio.

Favourite Features of Class Manager Dance Studio Software?

Seamless enrollment: “How easy it is for potential students and customers to enrol. It’s seamless and with no barriers to enter—my studio was able to grow much faster than previously.”

• No hidden costs: “You don’t charge as we grow our studio. We’ve added new teachers, new locations, and new students—and you’ve not increased our pricing.”
  
  

• Automated communication: Email sequences that save time and nurture leads.
  
  

• Outstanding support: “Class Manager is so easy to deal with—the staff and support team are always happy to help and so proactive.”

“Class Manager just makes everything easy.”

Want to see how Class Manager can help you, like it's helped Alison? Book a demo with our team.