January 26-29, 2027 | Orlando, FL
The business side of your studio keeps asking more of you, in your first season or your twentieth. Studio Owner University® is four days in Orlando to work on enrollment, marketing, leadership, staffing, finances, and more, alongside studio owners at every stage. Some have already solved what you're facing. Some are building what you want next.
Open to every dance studio owner and their team. No membership needed.
You know how to build a dancer. The harder part is everything outside the classroom.
You opened a studio to change children's lives, and most weeks you're covering the front desk.
You're doing a lot right. You're also solving business problems alone that other studio owners have already worked through.
Studio Owner University® is run by , a business coaching organization for dance studio owners. It was founded by studio owner Misty Lown. More than 375 studios around the world belong to it, and together they teach over 100,000 dance students every week.
Once a year, we open the doors to every studio owner, member or not, and teach what's working inside those studios. It's built for studio owners, by studio owners.
Sessions cover finance, marketing, leadership, and staffing. Each one is built around something you can use the week you get home.
At the 2026 conference, Tara Pickford taught "Hope Is Not a Strategy," a six-step interview process for hiring teachers who stay.
Studio owners went home with the questions to ask at each stage, the red flags to watch for, and a scorecard for comparing candidates. That's the pattern: one real problem, one process, and the tools to run it.
The result is a studio that serves more students well and reaches further into your community.
Save My SeatHere's what studio owners at each stage take home from Studio Owner University®:
Bringing your team? Tuesday, January 26 is an optional leadership training day for your directors and right-hand people. See the add-ons
"I have the privilege of controlling my business instead of my business controlling me."
"I thought I was running a 'successful enough' dance studio, but I felt it could be better, I just didn't know how. After attending my first Studio Owner University®, I realized my business needed a lot of help. After putting in the hard work, I now have more time with my family and to enjoy other things in life that bring me joy, like camping and traveling!"
"It's one thing to have big dreams and goals, but it's another to have the finest business minds in the industry to help you achieve those big dreams and goals."
"I left with so many jewels that I can apply to the dance world and beyond. The presentations were insightful, the energy was inspiring, and I am feeling motivated to take what I have learned and run with it!"
Studio Owner University® runs Tuesday through Friday morning. Tuesday has an optional training day for your team, then the Mix & Mingle welcome party for everyone. Main-stage sessions start Wednesday.
The training day is optional. Your directors and key staff get a full day of leadership training. In the evening, the Mix & Mingle opens the week for everyone.
The main-stage sessions start here. Bring your biggest goal. The main stage covers finance, marketing, leadership, and staffing. Then you pick the smaller sessions that fit your studio.
Go deeper on the area your studio needs most.
Pull the week into a plan you can start on Monday.
Not included: your hotel, your travel, and the three optional add-ons. Recordings are not included either, so plan to be in the room.
$899
Per person. January 26-29, 2027.
Use code EarlyBird100 through October 15 and pay $799.
No membership needed. You'll create a free login on our registration site to check out. It takes about a minute.
Already a member? Your membership may include tickets. Check your dashboard.
Three optional add-ons. None are required. You choose them when you register.
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For your directors and right-hand staff.
Your studio grows faster when you're not the only leader in it. This full day gives your team the tools and confidence to lead, so you go home with people ready to carry the plan with you.
For studio owners who want a night out with the people they've met.
Buses leave at 5:00 PM. The evening starts with a private dinner and a guest presentation, then moves to Cirque du Soleil's Drawn to Life. We're back around 9:30 PM.
For studio owners who want to leave with their own numbers worked out.
Three hours, hands-on, after the closing session. You'll work through the four drivers of enrollment growth: new students, retention, how often students attend, and team enrollment. With guided exercises and live coaching, you'll build a growth roadmap from your own studio's data.
Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center
The conference is held at the Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee, minutes from Orlando. Stay there and you walk to every session.
Book through our hotel link and select meals are included. Each room covers meals for up to two registered attendees. Add your hotel confirmation number to your event registration to receive them. More than two in a room? You can purchase additional meal passes.
6000 W. Osceola Parkway, Kissimmee, FL 34746
Get directions
No. It's a business conference for dance studio owners. There are no exams, grades, or degrees.
No. Studio Owner University® is open to every dance studio owner and their team. Members and non-members attend together.
More Than Just Great Dancing!®, a business coaching organization for dance studio owners, founded by studio owner Misty Lown. More than 375 studios around the world belong to it.
No. Studio owners attend at every stage, from the first few years to multi-location studios. You choose the smaller sessions that match where your studio is.
The main-stage sessions, the smaller sessions you choose, the Preferred Partner hall, the Mix & Mingle welcome party, a reserved seat in the main-stage sessions, and your event materials. Hotel, travel, and the three optional add-ons are separate.
Yes, and we hope you will! Rising Leaders University™ is a training day built just for your directors and right-hand leaders. It runs Tuesday, January 26, before the main conference starts. Many of those leaders stay for all of Studio Owner University® too, so you'll sit in the same sessions and head home with one shared plan.
Studio Owner University® runs Tuesday, January 26 through Friday morning, January 29. Tuesday is the optional team training day, then the Mix & Mingle welcome party in the evening. Main-stage sessions start Wednesday morning.
Book your room at the Gaylord Palms through our hotel link and select meals are included for up to two registered attendees per room. Add your hotel confirmation number to your event registration to receive them.
Cancel by November 27, 2026 and there is no fee. After that a cancellation fee applies: 50% through December 12, 75% through December 27, and 100% from December 28. A ticket can't be transferred to someone else without written approval from our team.
Thursday, December 17, 2026.
Your ticket does not include recordings, so plan to be in the room.
Email us at events@morethanjustgreatdancing.com. A real person on our team will answer.
Next season is coming either way. Walk into it with a plan, a stronger team, and studio owners who have your back.
Can't wait to see you in Orlando!
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