Cirencester Creative Dance Academy: Simplifying Studio Management with Class Manager

Having danced since the age of three, Katherine’s love for movement began as a way to channel her ample energy, a choice that she would be forever grateful for, as it has not only led to a lifelong passion for dance, but a lifetime of memories and a highly successful business running her own studio, the CCDA Cirencester Creative Dance Academy.

Over nearly three decades, Katherine has combined her love of dance with her dedication to teaching and has built a school that has ignited that spark in all who walk through her doors.

Building a Dance Legacy

Katherine founded CCDA in 1997. Before that, she freelanced as a ballet teacher and ran a performing arts program at the local college. She started her own studio while juggling her college program and raising three children. Eventually, she made the full leap into running her academy.

She fondly recalls her first show with just 28 children. By her tenth year, the academy had grown into a well-known and respected institution in the area. Today, the school continues to thrive, offering nine dance genres: Ballet, Modern, Tap (ISTD examinations), Jazz, Contemporary (with its own examining boards), Street Dance, Commercial Hip Hop, Musical Theatre, and Cheer Pom, a popular blend of cheerleading and street dance. Katherine is supported by five professional instructors who teach alongside her.

The academy runs multiple classes each week, enters competitions, prepares students for exams, and hosts annual shows and awards nights. All of which contribute to maintaining a vibrant community that sees students stay with the school from early childhood through to university, and many into the new adult classes when they enter the workforce.

CCDA also has an impressive alumni, who have gone on to professional training and made careers in the dance & performing world, including choreographers, musical theatre performers, singers, actors, and teachers.

Managing a Busy School

With so much happening, Katherine faced a mountain of administration. Before Class Manager’s dance studio management software, she relied on a series of spreadsheets to track student information, attendance, and payments. Invoicing alone, involved cross-referencing sheets, printing, addressing, and sending envelopes, could take two full days and offered no reliable way to track whether families had received or paid. Katherine recalls:

“The tracking was the worst. It was a full-time job in itself, alongside running the studio and raising three children. Something had to change.”

The challenge was increased by the school’s unique student payment system, which allowed students to attend as many classes as they wished for a single fee, as well as additional lessons for exam preparation and the demands of annual shows, awards nights, competitions, and summer schools. A lot was going on, and juggling it all often felt like trying to keep an angry swarm of bees appeased. 

Finding The Right Dance Studio Management Solution

Katherine spent two years searching for a class management system that could accommodate her studio’s unique structure. Most options available on the market were either clunky, unintuitive, or couldn’t support her flexible payment setup. With guidance from her son, a solutions architect, she became one of the first Class Manager customers.

“Once I was all set up, I didn’t look back. Life got easier immediately.”

How Class Manager Transformed the Academy

Class Manager quickly became an indispensable tool for Katherine, giving her back hours each week and allowing her to focus on teaching and growing the school. 

It simplified billing, BACs payments, and invoicing with complete accuracy, and made class scheduling, student enrolment, and management seamless. Parents and students could book onto lessons with ease via the parent portal and purchase anything they needed via the integrated shop.

The software also made communication far easier. Small administrative tasks that once required repeated manual effort can now be completed in seconds, giving her time and energy to focus on teaching and mentoring.

Life After Class Manager

At its peak before COVID-19, the academy had around 300 students. The pandemic presented challenges, but Katherine adapted with online lessons and now has approximately 240 students. Class Manager continues to provide stability and simplicity, allowing the school to operate efficiently despite fluctuating numbers. Katherine reflects on how much easier her life has become since adopting Class Manager:

“I prefer the control and simplicity Class Manager offers. It gives me hours back in my week, reduces stress, and allows me to focus on the students and the school rather than paperwork.”

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