How one studio owner made her preschool program stand out

I want to share another studio owner story with you. This one is about standing out in a crowded market.

Vickie Szeplaki owns Kidz Gym and Dance in New Jersey, and like many studio owners, she realized early on that offering preschool ballet as a standard class wasn’t enough to make her studio memorable. So she began using themed, story-driven classes offered in the Little Dancer Program.

Here’s what she had to say: “I love the program. It’s one of those things that made my studio in my area stand out and be different.”

Did you catch that? It allowed her studio to stand out and be different from others in her community. Vickie knows just how important that is when it comes to growing a thriving preschool program and studio.

Each month, Vickie introduces a new theme, builds anticipation with families, and even adjusts her classroom decor to match. From the moment her students walk in, dance class feels intentional and magical.

But what surprised her most wasn’t the boost she saw in enrollment—it was her higher retention rates.

Vickie shared that her students began practicing at home because they wanted to move like the characters from class. They stayed engaged week after week because they were invested in the story. And over the years, she’s seen those early students carry skills from preschool into their later ballet training.

For Vickie, preschool dance became more than an introductory class. It became part of her studio’s identity and something families recognized, talked about, and returned to.

She also began using the teacher training included in the Little Dancer Program so her instructors could deliver classes consistently and developmentally appropriately, which made it easier to onboard staff while maintaining quality.

That combination—memorable classes, strong foundations, and consistent teaching—is what helps preschool programs consistently and reliable grow studios from the bottom up.

If you’d like to read Vickie’s full story, you can do so right here.

Soon, I’ll share one simple idea studios in our program have used to win over new families again and again.

You're doing an amazing job!

Ashley and the Little Dancer Team