What if your daughter approaches you asking to dedicate some space inside your home for her to practice dance or have friends over to dance?
Some of the parents at my daughter’s dance studio have recently asked about the possibility of installing a dance studio for their daughter in their home. They want to know how to research the factors they must consider when building such a space.
To make sure you make the right investment when installing your in-home dance studio, and to make sure it is beneficial, not detrimental, to your dancer’s development, there are a number of factors you should consider, including these:
- How will your child use the room?
- What is the right size of the room you select and the right location in your home?
- What type of flooring is the best for your dancer?
- What other equipment will you need?
- What how much money do you want to spend?
How Will The Dance Room Be Used?
Find out what type of dance your daughter plans to practice? Will her use of the studio only involve her, or would she more likely have other friends also practicing their dance routines as well?
Answers to these basic questions will help you decide on size and location of room as well as the type of flooring and other equipment you may need to install.
Right Size and Location for Dance Room?
The size of the dance room is most likely determined by the availability of a room in your home along with the size of your budget. But whether the studio is used only by your child or with friends should be a key consideration as to the size and location of the room.
Location is probably the most important decision if a new room must be built. The space you choose should be away from busy areas. It should be well ventilated, and have a free wall for mirrors and to install a ballet barre, if needed.
Flooring for the Dance Room?
Finding the right surface, at the right price, is one of the more important decisions you will make when building an in-home dance room.
If the room has a concrete floor, you should consider some sort of padding or subfloor because a hard and unforgiving surface can damage a dancer’s joints.
You may consider installing padded wood floors or a Marley or Marley-like surface over a padded subfloor. (We just had a family purchase some spare StageStep subflooring with padding the studio had left over from a recent studio floor upgrade. They installed a Marley-like dance surface over the top.)
Marley surfaces can be an expensive, and you may want to consider a cheaper, but effective alternative like PVC Shower Pan Liner which can be bought at the your local home improvement store. This has a cost in the $8 per linear foot range.
Some people might buy a cheaper laminate flooring, but these floors are often is too slippery for your child to effectively use.
Once you have a smooth subfloor installed, you simply lay down the Marley or PVC Shower Pan liner on top of the subfloor and use gaffer’s tape to adhere the top flooring to the subflooring, and you’re done.
Other Considerations for Your Dance Room?
Mirrors are an important part of a well-constructed dance room, but they can be very expensive. Two less expensive alternatives are acrylic mirrors and 12 x 12 inch mirror tiles, both available at home improvement stores.
When using the mirror tiles, some people edge the mirror tiles with crown molding to give it an even classier appearance.
If your child will be using the dance room to practice ballet movement, it would be advisable to install a ballet barre. They are available in free standing models or can be mounted to the walls.
If you plan to install wall mounted barres, you can purchase both the barres and the brackets from a dance supply store, or you can try the local home improvement store or lumber supply store for mounting brackets and one to three-inch dowels to use with the brackets.
The final consideration is what music source your child will use for the music she needs to play. Some people might install a speaker system in the room, but most will probably just use today’s technology to provide simple ways to get the music source into the dance room.
What’s Your Budget for the Dance Room?
Back to basics! Before deciding to proceed with building an in-home dance room, figure out your budget. Then make decisions on the above factors to make sure you can install a suitable dance environment for your child while keeping inside the budget you set for the project.
Your child will get a excellent room in which to practice dance, and you can make a positive investment in your home.
Photo: “Railing and Walls” by Molly Stevens is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0/ cropped from original
