I am a Ballroom Dance fan, and a successful real estate investor. I am considering opening a chain of Reastraunt/Night clubs catering to Ball room dance. The club would resemble the type of clubs found in the movie Holiday Inn and other Fred Astaire movies. The club would feature a dance floor, surronded by tables for dining etc. The concept would be similar to the Dinner Theaters, with a Ball Room Dance demonstration during dinner, and then after the meal, patrons would be invited to dance the night away to dance music by a knowledgable DJ that would announce the type of dance music to be played.

I would like some feed back, from all the dancers out there, good Idea or not.

Thanks

Sounds like a good idea. Which area of the country are you in ? Any similar dinner theater in the area i.e. how much competition would you have ? What will be your marketing plans ?

Just some questions and my 2c.

I think this could really work in some cities. One thing... a lot of people take lessons as a single, and you wouldn't want to leave these people out. The environment you describe sounds like it might make single people feel kind of odd attending on their own. You might need to have some gentlemen dance hosts and/or have big tables that encourage meeting new people each night.

My opinion is that a "Ballroom" dance club as you describe, won't work. It may just barely break even for the first few months but then after that I suspect patrons will tire of the same routine.First of all, the crowd that would identify with the Holiday Inn Genre is dwindling. Second, the capital outlay for local codes, liquor licensing and a 'decent' space to call a dining room will gobble up your operating budget quicker than jabba the hut. Would I go there to check it out? Yes!. After a while though, I would be looking for a variety club where suits and denims as well as boots and sandals get it on in the same house.

I think the dinner/dance concept for ballroom would be a bit of a hard sell too.

A couple of ideas that have worked here are:

1. One restaurant puts on a monthly dinner/dance but they still provide the option for people to come after dinner.

$18 per person includes the dance plus sandwiches/dessert at midnight.

2. Another venue provides monthly "tea dances" on Sunday afternoons.

$19 gets the dance plus dessert/coffee.

Both are live music. These have to be monthly because most regular similar dances with DJs run around $8 here.

I don't think people would support high prices here on a continuous basis.

Personality certainly makes a difference. One that seems to have worked in our neighbourhood is Grand Ballroom in Richmond, BC (suburb of Vancouver).

http://www.grandballroom.com/

Andy & Wendy Wong started by placing a portable dance floor in a wharehouse, painted the walls black with reflective pictures and did cabaret seating around the edges.

Andy made his operation a destination for people and makes sure it's used to the maximum:

Group lessons
Private lessons (floor used by multiple teachers at the same time)
Drop in area for member/non-member practice ($2-$4)
Dance Shop
Snack bar
Video viewing area
Weekly dances
Competitions
Clinician inservice

I think he might also make his location available to outside groups in off hours too.

They keep things happening.

They've been successful enough that after only a few years they relocated to a new larger venue. Several other similar operations have sprung up in the area.

It was personality and their ability that made this successful. They also have a 2 - 3 million population support base to draw on.

OB

I love the idea. It comes at a great time with the ballroom dance movie and reality TV show about Ballroom being released. The desire and spark for Ballroom dance will hit the roof so go for it. I am a dance Instructor and would love to work for you so if you get it together email geocsw@yahoo.com