Case Study: Elibah School of Dance – Supporting Growth with Class Manager

“Class Manager is a no-brainer. It’s given me back so much time and completely changed how I run my business.”

— Kali, Founder, Elibah School of Dance

About Elibah School of Dance

Having spent her childhood dancing and training professionally, Kali initially tried to step away from the dance industry. She knew she wanted to work with children, so she retrained in childcare. While completing her qualifications, a former dance colleague reached out to see if she could teach on a freelance basis. That invitation changed everything — without it, Elibah School of Dance may never have existed.

In 2017, Kali began offering structured dance programmes to local schools. Demand grew quickly: parents requested additional classes and more genres than could be delivered in schools, and schools asked to expand their programmes further. Kali soon realised she was turning work away.

In January 2020, taking all feedback on board, Kali hosted a free open day to launch Elibah School of Dance as an independent academy. From that point, the business continued to grow and strengthen.

Today, Elibah School of Dance has a team of teachers who teach around 500 students per week, offering classes across 15 schools in the local area, with multiple classes in some schools and a full program in private schools, alongside its own dedicated dance academy.

Classes, Exams, and Performance Opportunities

Elibah School of Dance offers a broad range of styles, including ballet, tap, modern, street dance, acro, lyrical, and contemporary. The team delivers lessons and structured programmes across 15 local schools in addition to running her own dedicated dance academy.

Kali is passionate about ensuring her students are given ample opportunities to showcase their skills and step out of their comfort zone. Opportunities such as: 

• Exams in ballet, tap, modern, and acro

• Performance opportunities, including in-house shows and local events

• Competitions, with opportunities for groups, solos, duets, and trios

The school follows a supportive approach, introducing students gradually to performance and competition opportunities while ensuring they build confidence and enjoy the learning process.

Life Before Class Manager

“Before Class Manager, I was literally drowning in paper,” Kali recalls. As her business grew, managing cash, spreadsheets, and schedules became impossible to do efficiently while teaching and running the business.

As the number of students and classes increased, administration became increasingly difficult to manage. Cash payments and even BACs payments made it hard to track who had paid (and who hadn’t), and paperwork quickly took over Kali’s office.

Kali also trialed other dance studio software, but found it clunky, outdated, and time-consuming. Many programs penalised growth, charging extra as more students or teachers were added, something that didn’t make sense for a rapidly expanding academy.

Why Class Manager

Class Manager’s dance studio software came into the picture after another school Kali worked with began using it. After a short setup period, she transitioned fully, and everything changed.

“Now, there’s no guesswork, no unpaid invoices, and no paperwork. Everything is done via Stripe. I love it, everything is there in black and white.”

With Class Manager, Elibah School of Dance can manage enrolments, invoicing, payments, registers, and schedules in one place. Parents have clarity, payments are tracked automatically, and administrative headaches are eliminated.

The Impact

Since implementing Class Manager, Kali has regained significant time and focus:

• Automated invoicing and payments — a task that previously consumed hours is now completed in seconds, with no errors
  
  

• Clear visibility for parents — everyone knows where they need to be and what they’re paying for
  
  

• Reduced administrative workload — freeing up time to teach, plan, and grow the business
  
  

• Support for business growth — the system scales with the academy without additional penalties
  
  

Kali’s favourite feature is automated invoices and payments. “Writing invoices used to be such a pain point. No maths, no risk of errors. It’s brilliant.”

Supporting Continued Growth

As Elibah School of Dance continues to expand across schools and private classes, Class Manager provides the structure needed to support growth without increasing administrative pressure.

With reliable systems in place, Kali can focus on delivering high-quality dance education and creating meaningful opportunities for her students.

Follow Elibah School of Dance on Facebook and Instagram. Want to see how Class Manager can help you, like it's helped Kali? Book a demo with our team.