Sometimes synchronicity does its thing and great matches are made. Stagestep and Philadelphia Dance Academy is one such match, working together in a mutually-beneficial media partnership. Stagestep has received promotion, assets, product inspiration, product feedback and more. Philadelphia Dance Academy received more than just complimentary product; students have enjoyed special opportunities and a beautiful space in which they can take pride.
Lori Lahnemann, owner of Philadelphia Dance Academy, was a Stagestep customer long before the partnership began. Now, having worked closely with the company, she enthusiastically endorses the product and the way they work with customers. Dance Informa speaks with her, as well as Stagestep Marketing Manager Mathias Escobar, about the partnership — how it began, how it’s advantaging both parties and more. Leaping in!
Setting the stage: aligned missions
Lahnemann sees mission alignment between Stagestep and her studio. For her, there are two “paramount” parts of such alignment. One is striving for constant improvement and growth. “Dancers are that way, right,” she notes with a laugh, “and I carry that into my studio space, always wanting to make it better.” Integrity is the second – for Stagestep, integrity in the product, and for the studio in their pedagogy and overall operations. “There’s care on both ends,” and that matters, she believes.
Additionally, as Lahnemann has worked with Stagestep more closely, she’s come to see that the company carries the same integrity in its customer relationships as it does in its product line. As Escobar sees it, that’s because the company has always been “for the dancers…we always strive to build upon our assets and skillsets with them in mind.”
That’s for smaller “mom and pop” studios as much as it is for sprawling competition studios (in fact, smaller studios are the company’s “bread and butter,” Escobar says, and the company loves working with them). “Many studio owners are entrepreneurs who start out with a ton of questions and a lot to learn. It’s great to help them get answers and a better direction,” Escobar says. Answers, yes, and sometimes also goodie bags of helpful products (as Escobar was recently part of giving owners of a small studio in New Jersey).
Before a partner, a customer
Lahnemann has been a Stagestep customer for decades, years before working with them more closely and such mission alignment was center-stage. She opened Philadelphia Dance Academy 21 years ago, and installed her first Stagestep floor two years after that. “When we expanded and installed a Stagestep floor, everyone liked that one better!” Lahnemann notes.
Four years after that, the studio moved into a bigger space, and Stagestep was the flooring choice once again. “We installed a budget-friendly Timestep floor, and overall, it’s really held up,” she notes. The school expanded into a second location in 2019, and Stagestep it was yet again.
Upon renovation, the studio installed a Super Bravo floor – which worked well for the studio’s contemporary and theater programs, Lahnemann says. Given the school’s primary ballet focus, the next floor they chose was Stagestep’s ballet floor (designed to not even need rosin, which was an adjustment for the students).
When the studio needed new wall-mounted barres and lost its initial supplier, Stagestep was the natural choice yet again. “It was a new product, and I was actually the first customer!” Lahnemann notes with excitement.
A partnership forms
After all of that time being a loyal Stagestep customer, how did Lahnemann’s studio and Stagestep come to actually work together? Serendipity seemed to be at work, really. “A Stagestep representative called around the same time when I needed a new floor, and I had meant to give them a call anyway!” Lahnemann recounts.
The company representative told her that they loved the studio’s social media content and were interested in forming a marketing partnership (and a lot of thought does go into that content, Lahnemann assures). Both entities are in Philadelphia, within reasonable driving distance, so the partnership has also been practical. “It was sort of natural and organic how it all came about!” Lahnemann notes with excitement.
The partnership that Stagestep has offered has been an exchange of product for social media promotion and the like. It’s been very helpful for the company, Escobar explains. Stagestep has even brought in a photographer – Margo Reed, a professor at Temple University – for product assets. That’s helped Stagestep notably expand the company’s photography catalogue, Escobar says. “The students have loved the shoots. I even tell them that it’s like their first dance modeling job,” Lahnemann says with another laugh.
Philadelphia Dance Academy students have even done some Stagestep product testing, such as the newest tap boards – which Stagestep gave to the studio as a gift, Escobar notes. Most recently, Stagestep has customized a welcome mat for the studio, large enough for the full studio entrance and bearing its logo.
Mutual benefit
The levels of mutual benefit extend beyond social media and product exchange. For one, Lahnemann has even inspired the development of new products. She recounts how she informed the company of a sincere need for quality portable barres, a true gap in the market. A company representative actually took one of the studio’s existing portable barres and reverse-engineered it in order to improve upon it.
“People always compliment the portable barres when we take them to trade shows, and we wouldn’t have them in our product line without Lori,” Escobar shares. He also notes that Lahnemann’s product feedback is super helpful. “Feedback helps us to develop and refine our products, but we often don’t hear back from studios after installation,” he adds. If she has constructive critique, she’ll give it, Lahnemann affirms.
For their part, it’s helpful for the studio to try out different floors and products. “Each floor is different, and adapting to different floors is a useful skillset for our dancers to learn,” Lahnemann believes. There is also the pride that comes with dancing in a beautiful space and knowing the care that’s put into it, Lahnemann adds. She thinks that makes an appreciable difference in the students’ dancing and in their overall dance experience.
Asked if she’d recommend this sort of partnership to other studio owners, she says she would if they can authentically endorse the product. “Stagestep has never pressured me to say anything any particular way, and I can honestly say that I can stand behind their products,” she confirms.
Escobar, in turn, notes that he loves to see the passion behind and impact of studios like Philadelphia Dance Academy. “I really thought about that once I saw it myself, and now I really want to do all I can to find the best solutions for our customers.”
By Kathryn Boland of Dance Informa.
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