As the owner of a small business, I get the opportunity to play many roles. It should be no surprise to hear that my favorite is teaching dance classes. One of my least favorite roles is being in charge of cleaning the studio. But, as I mop the floor or help my husband clean the mirrors, I smile and remember just how lucky I am to have my own studio.

Besides teaching and cleaning, one of the tasks that takes the majority of my week is marketing the studio. I find this to be much more complicated than anything else I do. Both ballet classes and fitness classes have historical structure and set steps you need to follow. But when it comes to marketing, there is no set formula. I’ve learned a lot through trial and error about what works and what doesn’t and I’m still learning.

It’s obvious that without students, the studio wouldn’t have survived almost four years. So, many hours are spent on social media, writing the monthly newsletter, networking,  and most recently we have been promoting the studio on TV.

WMHT airs a workout show called, Classical Stretch, The Esmonde Technique, on their Create channel. It’s a wonderful show and I’m proud to lend my support to it and our local PBS station. Classical Stretch airs Monday through Friday at 7:30 am. (Check your local Time Warner and FIOS listings to see what channel they show Create on.)

The only experience I ever had with TV production, was when Albany Dance & Fitness was used as the location for an MVP Health Services commercial. I did play a small role in that commercial, which was fine, as the focus wasn’t on me or my studio. I was a bit more nervous about doing this production. It was important to me to show the diversity of classes we offer and how inviting the space is.

I have to admit that once we got started, the shoot was a lot of fun. To show the diversity of classes we offer, we shot four mock classes. A couple of hours of dancing and working out produced enough exciting movement for the 20 second spot.

I reached out to my students and instructors to get volunteer to star in the spot and was really happy with the turnout. All participants had a blast and the crew from WMHT was amazing.

About a week after the shoot, I received the finished video clip.  I played it over and over with a huge smile on my face! I even stopped it several times to make sure that everyone who volunteered that day was in the video. I’m really happy with the results and I think it does show just how much fun we have at class.

The spot now airs on the Create channel and I try to watch it every morning, just before I do the workout with Miranda Esmonde-White.

If you don’t get a chance catch the spot on air, you can view it on ADF’s YouTube page. If you’re a current student, let me know if you agree that it captures the atmosphere at the studio. And if you know a friend who might be interested in taking a class with us, please send them the link to the video.

And shortly, I’ll be adding a new role, that of certified trainer in Classical Stretch by Essentrics! Look for the announcement of classes soon.