Behind the Scenes: Running a Dance Studio

Building FieldWorks, one small step at a time.

When I first signed the lease on what would become FieldWorks Dance, it was early 2020.

I imagined a space full of dancers, artists, movement practitioners and creatives. A place where people could come together to train, create, collaborate and share ideas. I imagined busy studios, workshops, performances, rehearsals and conversations spilling from one room into another.

Then, of course, the world shut down.

Like many businesses launched at that time, FieldWorks Dance spent its first years in a strange state of limbo. The space existed, but the vision behind it had little opportunity to fully take shape.

Looking back, it often feels as though I didn't truly launch the studio until after the pandemic.

Launching Twice

When restrictions finally eased, I found myself in the unusual position of having a business that was technically several years old but still felt brand new.

For the first time, I could begin building the community I had originally imagined - classes started growing, studio hires increased, artists returned to rehearsal rooms, new relationships formed. Most importantly, I was finally able to launch one of the ideas that had been central to the original vision for FieldWorks Dance: the Artist Residency Programme.

It started modestly

A few artists

A little studio time

A chance to experiment and see what was possible

Over time, it grew into a programme supporting twelve artists each year with in-kind rehearsal space and creative development opportunities. Watching artists use the studios to research, create and develop new work remains one of the most rewarding parts of running the space.

Wearing Every Hat

FieldWorks Dance was built on a small budget and launched during one of the most difficult periods imaginable for a new arts organisation.

As a result, almost everything has been done "in-house"

The branding

The website

The social media

The advertising

The programming

The customer service

The studio management

The cleaning checks

The décor

The systems

The bookkeeping

The artist programmes

The classes

And now, apparently, the writing.

There is rarely a clear distinction between roles when you run a small creative organisation.

One moment you're discussing rehearsal schedules with a choreographer, and the next you're troubleshooting Wi-Fi, updating a booking system or figuring out why a speaker has suddenly stopped working.

A Typical Day

Most mornings begin with emails and WhatsApp messages that arrived overnight.

Questions from artists

Studio hire enquiries

Class bookings

Membership requests

The occasional unexpected problem

After getting my children fed, dressed and off to school, the day usually takes one of two paths:

Sometimes I head to the studio.

There might be a prospective hirer visiting the space, a teacher to meet, a repair to oversee or a contractor to coordinate. I'll check that the studios are clean, make sure temperatures are comfortable, test the sound systems, walk through the spaces and think about what needs attention next. I also usually find a moment to roll around on the floor, partly because I love movement, partly because it's important to occasionally experience the space as the people who use it do.

But the most interesting part of the day is often the conversations:

I might spend half an hour talking with a choreographer who is trying to solve a creative problem in a new work. We stand in the doorway of a studio discussing whether an idea needs more dancers, less structure, or simply more time. Sometimes the conversation is practical—about rehearsal schedules, budgets or upcoming performances. Other times it's about the work itself, and how difficult it can be to turn an instinct into something tangible.

Later, I might meet a photographer looking for a space to shoot a dance campaign or creative project. We walk through the studios discussing natural light, wall colours, camera angles and how the atmosphere of a room can shape an image. Often these conversations drift beyond logistics into wider discussions about creativity, making work, and the realities of sustaining an artistic practice.

These moments are one of the unexpected joys of running the studio. Every day brings a different perspective, a different project, a different story.

Other days are spent almost entirely behind a computer:

Updating the website

Managing bookings

Responding to enquiries

Reviewing finances

Building new programmes

Writing articles like this one

A morning might begin with answering a question about a beginner ballet class, move on to helping an artist plan a residency application, or support them in their arts council funding application, then end with updating the website or figuring out why a booking confirmation email has mysteriously stopped sending.

The work is rarely glamorous, but it is never boring.

Building More Than a Studio

One thing I've learned over the past few years is that running a dance studio is rarely just about providing studio space. The most successful days aren't necessarily the busiest.

They're the days when connections happen, when an artist discovers a new collaborator, when a student finds the confidence to try their first class, when a choreographer finally gets uninterrupted time to develop an idea they've been carrying for months. The physical spaces matter, but what happens inside the spaces matters even more.

Looking Forward

At the moment, I'm particularly excited about the possibility of relaunching and expanding the Artist Residency Programme.

I'm currently exploring funding opportunities that would allow FieldWorks Dance to support ten artists each year through dedicated three-week residencies in our studios.

The hope is to provide artists with something increasingly difficult to find in London:

Time

Space

Support

Collaboration

And the freedom to focus on making work

It's very much the kind of programme I dreamed about when I first imagined FieldWorks Dance all those years ago. The vision has evolved, as all good things do, but, at its core, it remains the same - to create a home for movement, creativity and artistic development in East London.

And to keep building it, one small step at a time.