Keep Your Dance Studio Software, Add a Better App and Website

Yes, you can keep your dance studio management software and still give families a better website, app, and way to hear from you. Many studios on Dominion keep their studio management software and use Dominion for the family side of the studio: the Studio App, a website that stays current, Groups for every class, and announcements families actually see. The two run side by side. There's no automatic sync between them, so the one thing you need to do is decide which system owns which job.

Why do studios keep their management software?

If your studio runs on Jackrabbit, DanceStudio-Pro, Akada, Mindbody, or a similar system, you've probably spent years setting it up. Your tuition rules, family accounts, attendance history, and reports all live there. Your office staff knows it. Switching everything in the middle of a season is a real cost, and most owners we talk to don't want to do it.

That's a reasonable choice. Those systems do a lot of work for studios every day. The question most owners are actually asking is narrower: how do I get a website parents use, an app families open, and updates that don't get lost in a group text, without starting over on the back office?

What does Dominion add on top?

Dominion is built around the family experience, the part of your studio parents see before they enroll and all season long.

• The Studio App on iOS and Android, where families see their dancers' classes, announcements, events, resources, and messages. Families don't pay to use the app. See the Studio App.
• A studio website built from the same studio as your app, with your logo and colors. When you change a class time or add an event in Dominion, your website shows it. See your website.
• Groups for every class, team, and company, each with its own posts, events, and files. See Groups.
• Announcements and messages sent to the whole studio or the Groups you choose, with push notifications and email. See Messaging.
• Registration, on your site and in the app, for the classes, camps, or events you choose to run through Dominion.

Parents manage every dancer from one login and switch between them, so a family with kids in three classes sees all three Groups in one place.

Does Dominion connect to your studio management system?

No. Dominion doesn't have an integration or data sync with Jackrabbit, DanceStudio-Pro, Akada, Mindbody, or any other studio management system. Our integrations page lists studio management systems as tools you use alongside Dominion, with no direct integration.

If a connection to your system would matter to your studio, you can tell us on the integrations page. Requests help us plan, but they aren't a promise.

How do you decide which system owns which job?

Sit down with whoever runs your front desk and go through your studio's jobs one at a time. For each one, pick a single home. Here's how many studios split it.

The two jobs that need the clearest answer are money and student records. Pick one place where tuition is charged, and one place your staff treats as the official student list. If a family asks what they owe, everyone at the desk should know exactly where to look.

What does running both look like week to week?

Most of the overlap is people. When a new family enrolls in your management system, they also need to join your studio in the Studio App and get added to the right Groups. A few habits keep this simple:

1. 1Set up Groups that match your classesUse the same class names in both systems, like Ballet II or Junior Company, so staff and parents aren't translating between them.
2. 2Add the app to your welcome stepsInclude the Studio App download and your studio's invite code in your enrollment confirmation, so new families join from day one.
3. 3Check Groups when classes changeWhen a dancer moves classes in your management system, move them in Dominion that same day. Put this on one person's checklist.
4. 4Do a season-start reviewAt the start of each season, compare your class lists in both places and clean up anyone who left.

Where should you start?

You don't have to move everything at once. Our switching guide suggests starting with communication: create your studio, move announcements and messages to Dominion, then invite families into the app and their Groups. If you want to, you can add registration for your next season, and add Billing when you're ready. There's no deadline.

Many owners start with the job that frustrates them most. If parents keep missing updates, start with announcements and Groups. If your website is out of date, start with your studio website. If families keep asking for an app, start with the Studio App.

What if you want to move more over later?

Keeping your management software and using Dominion for the family experience is a complete way to use Dominion, not a trial. If you later want to run more of your studio through Dominion, like registration or tuition, you can do it one program at a time. See how Dominion fits next to other studio tools.