It's pretty easy to see how a structured, well-progressed curriculum benefits your ballet students. But it helps dance studio directors and owners as well.
A great curriculum helps you attract and retain great teachers. When you and your teachers know the key principles, vocabulary, and expectations to advance it becomes A) easier for the teacher to meet expectations and B) easier for you to notice and praise the progress your teacher has helped kids make. If you just toss them in the room without knowing what you hope gets accomplished, it leads to confusion and a lack of communicated appreciation.
The clear expectations that come with a clear curriculum help you avoid micromanaging. How many times have you thought, "I have no idea what that teacher is doing. I need to observe/check in/follow up"? And how many times has that led to observing the teacher and thinking, "What is happening here?" But then when you talk to the teacher, they get very defensive because it was clear in their mind what was happening and they were pleased with the progress. All that extra work for you that led to a tense employer/employee relationship could have been avoided if you and your teacher had been on the same page about expectations for a class from the beginning.
You get to encourage your teachers to bring their full creative selves to work without worrying that any technical elements will be forgotten. We all teach different ways and we all have different strengths as artists. With the structured progressions and evaluation criteria that come with an excellent curriculum, you can encourage your teachers to play and create and share all their talents with your students while also knowing that there will be consistent growth for everyone. Each teacher will take a slightly different path but everyone will end up at the same destination.
Progress doesn't stall when you have a sub. People get sick, teachers have family obligations, amazing vacations don't always align with the studio schedule. Oh, and don't forget snowstorms closing a key section of the freeway. Sometimes you need a sub. When you have a curriculum in place, all you need to do is check with the regular teacher to find out what unit the class is working on (don't rely on the calendar---every group of kids progresses slightly differently) and then you can give the sub clear guidance. Parents love when their kid comes home and says that they learned something with a sub instead of "We played a lot of ballet games."
You get to sleep well at night knowing that your studio has a solid plan for success. Maybe you even decide to take one of those amazing vacations yourself, confident that your teachers and students will all make progress while you recharge.
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