Case Study: How Bovingdon Dance Academy Maintained Its Sleek Professional Look with Stage Stubs

About Bovingdon Dance Academy

Founded in 2013 by Nikki Stewart, Bovingdon Dance Academy was built on a vision of creating a safe, inclusive, and positive space for dancers. Having trained as a dancer from childhood, Nikki dreamed of a professional dance career. Instead, she pursued accountancy, which proved to be an invaluable skill when running her own business, before returning to her true passion: opening a positive and fun dance school free from bullying and cliques.

Today, Bovingdon Dance Academy is thriving. The school offers 53 weekly classes across Ballet, Acro, Tap, Modern, Street, and Musical Theatre, and has a reputation for technical excellence and inspirational teaching. Students compete in competitions and take part in unforgettable trips. They recently took 52 children to Disneyland Paris, and this year, they are planning an exciting New York experience for their older dancers.

Alongside its renowned classes and trips, Bovingdon Dance Academy is well-known for offering outstanding teaching that harnesses technique, combined with fantastic and creative choreography, helping them put on their spectacular shows.

• 2023: Wanderlust – A heartwarming story of a teddy’s travels around the world to Disney tracks, complete with specially designed “Wanderlust teddies” sold at the performance.
  
• 2025: Encore – A dynamic production featuring songs from popular musicals, including Annie, Greatest Showman, Wicked, Wonka, and Matilda.
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Ticket Sales Before Stage Stubs

Like many schools, Bovingdon Dance Academy initially faced challenges with ticket sales.

• 2015 (First Show): Tickets were tracked manually on an Excel spreadsheet. Parents would buy tickets during lessons, and Nikki would mark them off and hand out printed tickets. Managing this alongside running a full production was stressful and time-consuming.
  
• Later Shows: The school used several theatres’ in-house ticketing systems. While convenient in theory, these platforms came with:
  
  • High fees.
  • Lack of control – the Academy couldn’t manage the system itself.
  • Poor customer service – when parents had questions, Nikki and her team often couldn’t provide answers quickly, making them appear unprofessional despite their otherwise strong reputation.
  • Payments- any profit made from the ticket sales would be taken off the price of hire of the theatre. Which meant Nikki didn’t get a payout from her ticket sales until after the show. Not ideal, when putting on a show comes with lots of additional bills. 

This caused frustration not only for the school but also for parents, who were already investing significant time and money into supporting their children’s dance journeys. Nikki knew they needed a better solution.

The Switch to Stage Stubs

Nikki first discovered Stage Stubs through her use of Class Manager, a platform she already relied on to run her school. Having had such a positive experience with Class Manager, she trusted Stage Stubs would deliver the same level of quality. 

Stage Stubs quickly became a saving grace for Bovingdon Dance Academy. For the first time, the school had complete control over ticketing:

• Parents’ questions could be answered instantly, as Nikki and her team managed the system directly.
  
• Tickets could be scheduled to go live at a specific time. Nikki recalled setting them live at 9am on a Saturday:
  
  “We walked to the school and saw parents sitting in their cars waiting to buy tickets. One parent said, ‘I’m in a queue of 100 people to get these tickets’—but at least they could do it on their phones from the car!”
  
• Unlike theatre box offices or other platforms, Stage Stubs provided regular, daily payouts. For dance teachers who are constantly spending on costumes, venues, and props, this steady cash flow was invaluable.
• 
  

Benefits of Stage Stubs for Bovingdon Dance Academy

Stage Stubs not only made the Bovingdon Dance Academy’s  ticketing smoother but also helped them maintain their reputation for professionalism:

• User-friendly platform – Parents can log in year after year to purchase tickets.
  
• Seat selection – Families easily view the seating plan and choose their preferred seats.
  
• Program pre-sa

About Bovingdon Dance Academy

Founded in 2013 by Nikki Stewart, Bovingdon Dance Academy was built on a vision of creating a safe, inclusive, and positive space for dancers. Having trained as a dancer from childhood, Nikki dreamed of a professional dance career. Instead, she pursued accountancy, which proved to be an invaluable skill when running her own business, before returning to her true passion: opening a positive and fun dance school free from bullying and cliques.

Today, Bovingdon Dance Academy is thriving. The school offers 53 weekly classes across Ballet, Acro, Tap, Modern, Street, and Musical Theatre, and has a reputation for technical excellence and inspirational teaching. Students compete in competitions and take part in unforgettable trips. They recently took 52 children to Disneyland Paris, and this year, they are planning an exciting New York experience for their older dancers.

Alongside its renowned classes and trips, Bovingdon Dance Academy is well-known for offering outstanding teaching that harnesses technique, combined with fantastic and creative choreography, helping them put on their spectacular shows.

• 2023: Wanderlust – A heartwarming story of a teddy’s travels around the world to Disney tracks, complete with specially designed “Wanderlust teddies” sold at the performance.
  
• 2025: Encore – A dynamic production featuring songs from popular musicals, including Annie, Greatest Showman, Wicked, Wonka, and Matilda.
  

Ticket Sales Before Stage Stubs

Like many schools, Bovingdon Dance Academy initially faced challenges with ticket sales.

• 2015 (First Show): Tickets were tracked manually on an Excel spreadsheet. Parents would buy tickets during lessons, and Nikki would mark them off and hand out printed tickets. Managing this alongside running a full production was stressful and time-consuming.
  
• Later Shows: The school used several theatres’ in-house ticketing systems. While convenient in theory, these platforms came with:
  
  • High fees.
  • Lack of control – the Academy couldn’t manage the system itself.
  • Poor customer service – when parents had questions, Nikki and her team often couldn’t provide answers quickly, making them appear unprofessional despite their otherwise strong reputation.
  • Payments- any profit made from the ticket sales would be taken off the price of hire of the theatre. Which meant Nikki didn’t get a payout from her ticket sales until after the show. Not ideal, when putting on a show comes with lots of additional bills. 

This caused frustration not only for the school but also for parents, who were already investing significant time and money into supporting their children’s dance journeys. Nikki knew they needed a better solution.

The Switch to Stage Stubs

Nikki first discovered Stage Stubs through her use of Class Manager, a platform she already relied on to run her school. Having had such a positive experience with Class Manager, she trusted Stage Stubs would deliver the same level of quality. 

Stage Stubs quickly became a saving grace for Bovingdon Dance Academy. For the first time, the school had complete control over ticketing:

• Parents’ questions could be answered instantly, as Nikki and her team managed the system directly.
  
• Tickets could be scheduled to go live at a specific time. Nikki recalled setting them live at 9am on a Saturday:
  
  “We walked to the school and saw parents sitting in their cars waiting to buy tickets. One parent said, ‘I’m in a queue of 100 people to get these tickets’—but at least they could do it on their phones from the car!”
  
• Unlike theatre box offices or other platforms, Stage Stubs provided regular, daily payouts. For dance teachers who are constantly spending on costumes, venues, and props, this steady cash flow was invaluable.
  

Benefits of Stage Stubs for Bovingdon Dance Academy

Stage Stubs not only made the Bovingdon Dance Academy’s  ticketing smoother but also helped them maintain their reputation for professionalism:

• User-friendly platform – Parents can log in year after year to purchase tickets.
  
• Seat selection – Families easily view the seating plan and choose their preferred seats.
  
• Program pre-sales – Parents can purchase programs in advance, allowing the Academy to print the exact number needed. By selling programs themselves rather than through the theatre, they also keep 100% of the revenue (instead of losing 10% to the venue).
  
• Consistent branding – The sleek, professional experience reflects the studio’s high standards.
  

Nikki described Stage Stubs as:

“Easy to use and fabulous.”

Key Benefits of Using Stage Stubs at a Glance

✅ Tickets go live on your schedule

✅ Families book online - with an easy-to-use portal

✅ Pre-sell merchandise like programs

✅ Save hours of time and money on fees

✅ Keep full control over your events 

Want to find out more about Helen and her The Bovingdon Dance Academy? Follow them on Facebook and Instagram? 

• les – Parents can purchase programs in advance, allowing the Academy to print the exact number needed. By selling programs themselves rather than through the theatre, they also keep 100% of the revenue (instead of losing 10% to the venue).
  
• Consistent branding – The sleek, professional experience reflects the studio’s high standards.
  

Nikki described Stage Stubs as:

“Easy to use and fabulous.”

Key Benefits of Using Stage Stubs at a Glance

✅ Tickets go live on your schedule

✅ Families book online - with an easy-to-use portal

✅ Pre-sell merchandise like programs

✅ Save hours of time and money on fees

✅ Keep full control over your events 

Want to find out more about Helen and her The Bovingdon Dance Academy? Follow them on Facebook and Instagram?