Case Study: How Class Manager Transformed The Joanne Banks Dancers Dance Studio
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4 min read
Joanne Banks, founder of The Joanne Banks Dancers, has been passionate about dance since the age of three, when she began classes in Durham. That early love for movement grew into a lifelong career in performing arts, with Joanne going on to train extensively and work in hundreds of regional and national musical theatre productions. Her choreography credits include well-known shows such as Oliver!, Jesus Christ Superstar, Fiddler on the Roof, and The Wizard of Oz.
With foundation degrees and IDTA qualifications, Joanne established her own dance school at just 19 years old. What began as a small local class has grown into one of the largest dance schools in the area, now supporting around 360 students and 11 staff members.
The Joanne Banks Dancers offers a wide-ranging curriculum including ballet, tap, theatre, street, lyrical, acro, musical theatre, singing, cheer, and more. The school runs an impressive 72–78 classes per week for students of all ages, alongside three major annual performances:
A Christmas variety show
A spring musical theatre production
A large end-of-year showcase
Performance opportunities remain at the heart of the school’s ethos, with hundreds of students wanting to take part in each opportunity.
The Challenge: Managing Growth with Manual Systems
In the early years, Joanne managed every aspect of the business herself, registrations, payments, and scheduling, all done manually using pen and paper.
Operating across multiple venues, community centres, and schools added complexity, with different paperwork required for each location. As the school grew, this approach became increasingly unsustainable.
To improve efficiency, Joanne introduced a CD-ROM-based dance studio software system. While it helped with some administrative tasks, it came with significant limitations:
The software could only be accessed on one computer
Staff still relied heavily on paper records
Data entry remained time-consuming and repetitive
As the business continued to expand, it became clear that a more flexible and modern solution was needed. This, and the fact that the CD-ROM software stopped being supported.
The Turning Point: Moving to Class Manager
After exploring various dance studio software options, Joanne found most platforms overly complex, expensive, or restrictive with tiered pricing models.
Class Manager, with its fixed monthly cost, stood out for its simplicity, affordability, functionality; all of the features were available for one price, and it didn’t charge more as the studio grew.
The transition marked a major shift:
Full move away from paper-based systems
Cloud-based access across devices (laptop, mobile, office)
Individual logins for staff with appropriate access levels
This flexibility was a game-changer for the team, allowing them to manage the business more efficiently from anywhere.
Streamlining Payments and Administration
Shortly after adopting Class Manager, the school also transitioned to direct debit payments using GoCardless.
This integration eliminated one of the most time-consuming tasks, manual invoicing and payment tracking.
Key improvements included:
Automated billing, with personalised invoices for each student
Clear class schedules for parents via the portal
Reduced time spent chasing payments
Improved financial visibility and accuracy
Key Benefits
Significant Time Savings: The biggest impact has been the amount of time saved across all administrative tasks, particularly invoicing and communication. This has allowed Joanne to focus more on teaching and choreography.
Improved Customer Experience: Parents receive clear, tailored information about their child’s classes, making the experience smoother and more professional.
Centralised Information: All student, class, and payment data is stored in one place, accessible to relevant staff members at any time.
Enhanced Communication: Automated features, such as birthday messages, help strengthen relationships with families.
“Parents think we’re taking the time to remember their child’s birthday… when actually it’s the software doing it for us. It’s a small thing that makes a huge impact.”
Ongoing Support and Reliability
Another standout aspect of Class Manager is its customer support.
“And big thumbs up to CM to have that front-facing, customer-orientated approach, it’s not just like lots of software where they take the money and leave you to it.”
Having access to responsive, human support has given Joanne confidence in the system and reassurance that help is available when needed.
The Result
After nearly four decades in business, Joanne has seen firsthand how technology can transform operations.
By adopting Class Manager, she has:
Reduced administrative workload
Improved efficiency across the team
Enhanced the experience for students and parents
Gained back valuable time to focus on what she loves most
Teaching, choreographing, and inspiring the next generation of dancers. By using Class Manager, Joanne can manage growth efficiently, maintain high standards, and focus on what matters most: her students, her community, and her shows. Keep up to date with what they're up to via their Instagram.
Want to see how Class Manager can help you, just like it has helped Joanne? Book a demo with our team.
