001 · The Gentle Barre Project · Part I
The Gentle Barre Project
More room to move.
An adaptive dance program for children of all abilities in Miami, rooted in classical ballet and creative movement. Disabled and neurodivergent children are warmly welcomed. Classes are brought into established studios and schools, so the arts are accessible to children of every learning style and ability.
I built the brand, website, social, and partnerships from zero, without paid advertising or outside investment.
Year one: two partner locations, a feature in AQUA Miami, and a spotlight in Miami New Times.
- Role
- Founder & Artistic Director
- Scope
- Positioning, brand, marketing, web, social, partnerships, and press
- Year
- 2026
- Results
- 73,500+ organic impressions in six months · 2 partners · 2 press features
In the press
Featured in AQUA Miami and Miami New Times.
“Leap of Faith”
A four-page feature and a cover line, “Dance for All,” in AQUA Miami, the lifestyle magazine read by the South Florida families Gentle Barre was built for, in its first year.
“We believe every child deserves the opportunity to experience the magic of dance.”Read the feature ↗
Also in the press
Miami New TimesNovember 2026 · Family picks
“Adaptive Ballet with the Gentle Barre Project”
Miami New Times called the Saturday classes “extraordinarily popular, inspiring and impactful.”
The challenge
Create a new category without a studio of its own, and earn the trust of families unsure traditional classes would work for their child.
Positioning, refined
The insight that changed the language.
At launch
Adaptive ballet for neurodivergent children
“Every child deserves the joy of dance.”
Year one
An adaptive dance program rooted in classical ballet and creative movement
“More room to move.”
Dance, broadly
Widened from ballet alone to welcome more kinds of movers.
Artistry first
An arts program, not therapy. Led by dance, not diagnosis.
For every child
Gender-neutral language and a unisex identity.
The brand world
A boutique ballet studio, softened for children.
Cormorant Garamond
with Lora for body copy
- Cocoa
- Cream
- Dusty rose
- Deep rose
- Lavender
- Sage
Quiet luxury
Cocoa and cream lead. Rose, lavender, and sage add whimsy.
Calm by design
Soft, muted color and nothing bright or flashing, so the brand feels safe for sensory-sensitive dancers before a family ever walks in. Plain, warm, welcoming language throughout.
Real moments, art-directed
Candid, unposed connection in soft light, showing what a class really feels like.
One system everywhere
Instagram, website, and print.
In print
The same system on paper: a business card in three colorways, a two-sided class flyer, and three posters.
Business cards
Class flyer, front and back
Posters
Swipe for more →
Experience design
The family experience, arrival to curtain call.
- 01
Discover
Instagram, referrals, partner studios, a magazine feature.
- 02
Consider
A website and class finder that answer every question before it’s asked.
- 03
Arrive
A personal welcome, small classes, a calm, sensory-aware room.
- 04
Belong
Family group chats, weekly check-ins, individualized support.
- 05
Return
Monthly membership, the recital, and community.
Every touchpoint answers one question: can we trust this place with our child?
For a luxury brand
A parent choosing a class asks what a guest asks at a hotel or a spa: will they take care of me? The answer is the same work. Anticipate needs, remove friction, make people feel known.
Leadership
A brand built to outgrow its founder.
Gentle Barre was built to grow beyond one person. I lead a small team and the systems that let every class, at every location, feel the same.
The team
Teaching artists and trained classroom support, including behavioral and classroom support from a team member with a master’s in applied behavior analysis.
Training
An onboarding program for new teaching artists: training videos and a curriculum reviewed and signed off by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.
Operations
Two partner locations, each with its own schedule and registration, coordinated week to week.
Families
Weekly communication with every family, from attendance check-ins to class news, so no one is left guessing.
Collaborations & press
Growth through the right company.
-
Studio partner
Adrenaline Dance Company
Two Saturday classes each week since launch.
-
Community partner
Lemon City Collective
A pediatric-focused setting. Opens November 2026.
-
Launch sponsor
Yerba Madre
Sponsored the Gentle Barre launch.
-
Earned media
AQUA Miami · Miami New Times
Press reaching the families we serve. November 2026.
- Partnerships secured from three meetings
- 2 of 3
Families register and pay through each partner, so a new location opens without a lease. A model built to scale.
Results
Trust, turned into reach and enrollment.
- Organic Instagram impressions, first six months
- 73,500+
- Unique accounts reached
- 8,990
- Of content reach from non-followers
- 55%
- Press features in year one
- 2
Built without paid advertising · First recital within six months of launch
[Parent quote, with permission]
Test & learn
What didn’t work, and what I changed.
-
Uneven enrollment
- Challenge
- Classes filled some months and dipped in others.
- Diagnosis
- [What you found]
- Change
- [What you changed]
- Result
- [Before → after]
-
Paid social A/B test
- Hypothesis
- An ad that names a parent’s worry earns cheaper clicks than one that describes the class.
- Test
- Meta ads, [$__] split evenly. Same image, audience, and dates; only the headline changes.
- Result
- Cost per click [$__ vs. $__] · Click-through rate [__% vs. __%]
- Learning
- [What you’ll do next]
In marketing terms
What this proves.
Brand strategy & positioning
A clear position in a crowded category: dance broadly, adaptive by design, an arts program, not therapy.
Go-to-market & partnerships
A partner model that opens new locations without a lease. Two partners from three meetings.
Organic social & content
73,500+ impressions in six months, 55% of reach from people who didn’t yet follow.
Customer experience & conversion
A family journey designed for trust, from first inquiry to curtain call.
Earned media
Features in AQUA Miami and Miami New Times in the first year.
Leadership
A team, a training program, and weekly operations across locations.
The case study as a deck: 11 slides.
Download the case study (PDF, 0.7 MB)