Nadia Corral

Dance Education System: A Service Design Case Study

Observing, Defining, and Improving the Dance Education System – Using Systems Thinking in Service Design for Art and Business

Role — Service Designer
Time — Winter 2026

Tags — , , ,

Dance Education: a convergence of art, people, and business

Why this system?

Dance Education is a complex system comprised of both business and artistry.

I have been a dancer all my life. I grew up dancing at a studio, went off to compete on my college dance team, and now am teaching at the studio I grew up at. Having both the dancer and teacher perspectives has given me unique insight into the experience of the frontend and backend of running a studio.

In association with the AI-Enabled Systems Design class taught by Morgan Denner at TechFleet, I was tasked with choosing a system to document and design for. Doing so was a no-brainer.

Defining the System

What is Dance Education?

Any system is comprised of it’s services, products, environments, people, and events. All of these components interact and result in unique interactions and decisions.

Services

Dance Technique Classes,
Competition Team,
Recitals / Performances

People

Dancers,
Parents,
Teachers,
Directors,
Staff,
Family & Friends

Interactions

Teaching Students,
Giving Feedback,
Communicating with Parents,
Paying Bills,
Enrolling in Class,
Asking Questions,
Attending Perfomances

Products

Studio Management System,
Parent App,
Communication Apps,
Apparel,
Shoes,
Phones,
Email,
Music,
Audio Equipment,
Costumes,
Cameras

Decisions

Choreography,
Curriculum,
Songs,
Pricing,
Budget,
Schedule,
Enrollment,
Placement,
Choosing a Studio,
Ticket Buying,
Classes,
Placing Levels

Environments

Dance Rooms,
Lobby,
Office,
Theater,
Front of House,
Backstage,
On Stage

Events

Classes,
Enrollment,
Recitals,
Rehearsals,
Auditions,
Competitions,
Parent Meetings,
Staff Meetings

Identifying and understanding key audience segments

People in systems have motivations and life goals that influence system goals. By understanding their system goals, we can discover pain points and better tailor solutions.

Dancers

  • Improve in technique
  • Learn discipline and mental skills for their future
  • Be praised by teachers, parents, and peers
  • Perform as well as or better than their peers
  • Distract from stress

Teachers

  • Stay up-to-date on dance trends and standards
  • Secure consistent jobs
  • Develop students who are recognized for technique and talent
  • Prepare students for the dance world
  • Help students meet goals

Directors

  • Build a recognizable studio brand
  • Mentor staff and teachers
  • Develop talented students that are ready for the dance world
  • Stay up-to-date on dance trends and standards
  • Maintain loyal clients

Parents

  • Find the best activities for their child’s physical and mental development
  • Mentor their child in responsibility and independence
  • Give their child an artistic outlet
  • Afford their child’s extracurricular activities
  • Take their child to their activities

The Parent Experience

Choosing this Audience

Parents are crucial to the Dance Education economy.

Though dancers wouldn’t know much without their teachers, and directors would have no help without staff, parents are the decision makers in the Dance Education System.

1

Parents logistically support child’s dance education

2

Parents’ funds make the dance studio a business

The Current Parent Experience

By detailing the parent experience with a Customer Experience (CX) map, I am better able to understand important, events, decisions, and interactions from Awareness to Loyalty.

Customer Experience (CX) Map detailing the Parent experience of the dance education system. Contains 6 stages of decision-making: Awareness, Engagement, Consideration, Conversion, Retention, and Loyalty.

Pain Points and Opportunities

Common Pain Points

In order to understand where parents could find improvement in their experience, I devised an assumptive list of pain points based on common complains I have heard from parents as a teacher and a dancer.

Sticky notes listing ideas of pain points that parents experience in the dance education system. The most important ideas are highlighted by a start.
  • Overwhelming amount of information and options.
  • Negative reviews and lack of trust in online presence.
  • Intimidating registration and liability forms.
  • Boring or unwelcoming lobby environments.
  • Difficulty in gauging child’s growth and progress.

Opportunities for Improvement

Prioritization Matrix detailing pain points and opportunities that are at the core of the user experience vs beyond the core.
  • Simplify and streamline information delivery.
  • Enhance online presence and manage reviews effectively.
  • Make registration processes more user-friendly.
  • Create engaging, informational, and comfortable lobby spaces.
  • Provide clear metrics for tracking child development.

Problems to Tackle

Overwhelm of Information

When struggling with overwhelm, parents will want tasks to be the following:

  • Clear
  • Thorough
  • Upfront
  • Organized
  • Updated
  • Easy

Understanding Technique

Parents want their children to grow and thrive at dance, and to do so they must know:

  • Vocabulary
  • Success Metrics
  • Curriculum
  • Teaching Strategies
  • Baseline Measurements

Time Commitment

When parents are stressed or feel the weight of a large time commitment looming, they need:

  • Preparation / Advance Notice
  • Logistical Assistance
  • Flexibility
  • Connection

Feedback and Complaints

When parents are unhappy, they need to be able to voice their opinion and have it be heard with:

  • Care and Consideration
  • Prompt Change
  • Respect
  • Psychological Safety

Designing Solutions

Ideation with Storyboards

Screenshot of a storyboard. It details a future ideal story for 1 of 4 parent problems within the dance education world: overwhelm of information.
Screenshot of a storyboard. It details a future ideal story for 1 of 4 parent problems within the dance education world: lack of time.
Screenshot of a storyboard. It details a future ideal story for 1 of 4 parent problems within the dance education world: difficulty gauging technique.
Screenshot of a storyboard. It details a future ideal story for 1 of 4 parent problems within the dance education world: filing a complaint.

Near-term Recommendations

Text says "Solution 1: Create a new student onboarding packet to set expectations and mitigate stress." With a sketch of notebook paper with a new student checklist.
Text says "Solution 2: Provide class descriptions with definitions of curriculum for all ages and levels." With a sketch of notebook paper that has a student's evaluation / report card.
Text says "Solution 3: Establish clear communication channels via messaging bulletins, feedback forms and social media." With a sketch of a smartphone displaying a text from a teacher providing an update to a parent about their child's dance class progress.

Take a peek at this presentation for more notes, details, and long term ideas for the Dance Education System.

Reflections

While casting such broad nets to encompass all components of a system there is a lot of room to get too far into various user pathways and over-anticipate solutions that creep out of scope.

When I found myself overwhelmed with options, I relied on various prioritization techniques.

Thanks to Morgan Denner for leading this class on System Design, opening my eyes to the vast world of systems design and providing guidance throughout the course. Additional thanks to Santa Fe Springs Dance Center staff and families for teaching me everything I know about dance and providing valuable insight into the dance education experience.