2023-04-26 09:00:00
The dance schools have been hit hard by the pandemic. There are big differences nationwide. The industry is struggling in Salzburg.
More and more industries are struggling with the followingmath of the pandemic. In addition to night gastronomy, the leisure industry is now also affected – especially dance schools: “In our industry it takes years to recover,” says Martin Luger, owner of the dance school of the same name.
More and more people are giving up their hobbies
This is due to the structure of the course system: During the three-year pandemic, there were hardly any dance courses, if at all. At the same time, however, it takes a certain amount of time before you can switch from one course to the next performance level. As a result, several years have fallen away. “Therefore, there are only a few advanced ones left. In addition, there are far fewer new customers than before the pandemic,” says the owner, who is also an industry spokesman.
His industry colleague Niki Seifert also suspects that many people give up their hobbies in times of inflation. Although his dance school is larger, it faces the same dilemma. The owner explains: “Leisure behavior may have changed. We used to be open seven days a week, now we have a maximum of five. It takes more couples for a dance class to be profitable. That’s not the case right now.” The dance school is therefore trying to win back former customers. In the conveyor system, Seifert sees less of a problem per se. He received it quickly and unbureaucratically.
Electricity prices require additional
In Vienna or Styria it looks different, explains Julia Kroll from the Association of Dance Teachers in Austria. She herself is a dance teacher in Carinthia. “Several factors often come together. Basically, since the pandemic, people have wanted more flexibility than before. Larger dance schools with a more flexible course system are more likely to survive on the market,” says Kroll. She also suspects an influencing factor in terms of inflation. She herself has noticed that parents are increasingly giving up their hobbies and investing in their child’s gymnastics club, for example.
Nevertheless, the situation in the Salzburg dance industry is tense, explains Martin Luger. Especially due to the unclear development of electricity and energy prices, there is a lack of planning security. The future of his own dance school is uncertain. “We have a nine-year-old daughter and had been saving for an apartment. Because of the closures, the money is gone today,” he says.
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