When Profit Meets Pliés: The Next Move

Written By Chasta Hamilton

PART 2: PRIVATE EQUITY & ROLL-UPS


After the past few weeks of conversation, there was a lot of information swirling about this relatively new shift for the dance industry. 

I believe knowledge is power, and, now, a bigger question to consider is: 

  • Are we just looking at studio acquisitions? 

  • Or, are we looking at industry wide roll-ups?


Both are terms in the investment space, and it is important to have a general understanding of the language for this financial strategy. 


Private equity is often used to scale quickly and has been known to be used in roll-up mergers. A roll-up merger is when an investor, such as a private equity firm, buys companies in the same market to merge them together.


Private equity involves a group of investors buying companies, trying to improve them, and then ultimately selling them to make a profit.

The “private” component refers to the companies they acquire not being publicly traded. 


In private equity: 

  • The firm invests the money. 

  • The company receives the money. 

  • The company can, and often, has other stakeholders, including limited partners. 


Private Equity Firms generally list their current and exited holdings in their portfolio. 


It is not uncommon for private equity firms to buy and sell amongst holding groups. 


To fully understand the complexities of Private Equity in investment strategy, which I highly recommend, check out this article on Investopedia. There’s more information about Roll-Up Mergers here.

PART 3: VARSITY AS A CASE STUDY

If history is a blueprint, it is important to understand the past as a reference point as to how this could potentially evolve. 


For this reason alone, Varsity Brands is a great study for consideration. I want to be clear that it would be premature and irresponsible to think of it as a direct comparison.


Varsity Brands “elevates student experiences through sport and spirit.” They have two divisions: BSN SPORTS (athletic gear and equipment) and Varsity Spirit (cheerleading, dance, performing arts, yearbook products and services). Their ecosystem is sprawling and has grown significantly since the UCA Days (UCA= Universal Cheer Association), which many of us might remember.

In fact, you might have given money to Varsity for something like a high school yearbook and not even realized it.

For a quick overview, here's a timeline of the private equity ownership of Varsity Brands:

  • 2014: Charlesbank Capital Partners and Partners Group acquire Varsity Brands. 

  • 2018: Bain Capital acquires Varsity Brands from Charlesbank and Partners Group. 

  • 2024: KKR acquires Varsity Brands from Bain Capital 

The infusion of funds has allowed Varsity to have incredible growth in the past decade.

But the road to growth hasn’t been smooth, nor is it necessarily steady (as the most recent acquisition included a significant debt take-on of $2.4B).

This roll-up has faced extreme criticism, including accusations about monopolization and anticompetitive practices for their acquisition of businesses, training camps, merchandise and uniforms, affiliated gyms, cheerleading competitions, and sanctioning bodies, as well as questionable practices like their “Stay Smart” (rebranded from Stay to Play) housing/ voucher program which funneled corporate kickbacks for required participant hotel stays. 

In October 2024, the New York Times released the article “How Cheerleading Became So Acrobatic, Dangerous and Popular”, which truly shines a light on the vision, corruption, abuse, and struggle for power within an industry. 

To have a deeper understanding on the relevant, recent antitrust conversation, check the following cases: 

Fusion Elite All Stars, et al. v. Varsity Brands, LLC, et al.

(a $43,500,000 settlement)

Jones et al. v. Varsity Brands, LLC, et al

(an $82,500,00 settlement)

This is only a small insight into the massive impact of this rollup. 

Since cheer is somewhat dance adjacent, this is an important example to consider and understand as a hypothetical.

PART 4: COULD AN INDUSTRY ROLL-UP HAPPEN IN DANCE?


PLAYERS IN THE GAME


The Smaller Players

While we have started hearing about Private Equity backed companies such as Rocket Youth Brands, Momentum Youth Brands, and Ridgepeak Ventures, there have been no dance studio acquisitions publicly announced within these companies nor has it been promoted as a prioritized focus point. While these acquisitions could certainly still exist, these holding groups are focused on the multi-vertical nature of youth activity acquisition, including sports like swim and gymnastics. 


DanceOne 

DanceOne Holdings, LLC, backed by the private equity firm TZP Group, is considered one of the largest companies of dance brands in the world, focusing on competitive and convention environments. They are exceptionally transparent about their holdings, their alliance, and their plans to scale and grow. 

Their portfolio consists the former Break the Floor Brands (Jump, Nuvo, 24 Seven, RADIX, KAOS, The Dance Awards, Aftermath by KAOS, Dance Teacher Summit, Dancerpalooza) as well as Star Dance Alliance’s competitions and affiliated events (Starpower, NexStar, Revolution, Believe, Imagine, DreamMaker, World Dance Championship, The World Dance Pageant, and WILD Dance Intensive). The group also partners with Debbie Allen and Derek and Julianne Hough on affiliated programming. 

 In January 2025, Dan Galpern was named the CEO, previously serving as a Senior Partner with TZP Group. Galpern replaces Gary Pate (of Star Dance Alliance), who now serves as Vice Chair. With this shift, Dance One has acknowledged an “unprecedented opportunity in dance at scale” with several vertical expansions in mind. 

Interestingly enough, there’s quite the conversation happening about DanceOne here. I take special interest in the commentary suggesting the finance focused versus industry focused priorities, which is not uncommon with the industry roll-up model. 

And, with Press Play entering the scene with staff that were formerly aligned with DanceOne companies, it will be interesting to watch this continued evolution…

Ensemble Performing Arts 

Ensemble Performing Arts, partially backed by Juggernaut Capital, is considered a leader in private equity as it relates to acquisitions in the private sector dance studio ecosystem. Ensemble Performing Arts has currently acquired 66 music studios and 12 dance studios with a plan to increase acquisition and expansion for both dance and music in the Top 40 markets. 

The transparency with Ensemble Performing Arts in relation to the dance space has previously been limited to targeted industry events like Studio Owner University, Energize, and Dance Teacher Web; however, the Founder, Jeff Homer, has recently committed to greater transparency. Ensemble hosted a self-sponsored  Town Hall on April 22nd, 2025 and engaged in a dance industry Town Hall on May 1st, 2025. Both meetings allowed more insight into their vision and operations. 

Ensemble Performing Arts also holds the following brands as ancillary companies: More Than Just Great Dancing, Acrobatic Arts, Showstopper, Accelerate Convention, Prodigy, and ClassKid Software (still in beta testing). 

Their newly designed Team Page for Ensemble Performing Arts lists 10 partners including Ron Beaudoin, Jeff Homer, Misty Lown, Terri Mangiaratti, Jake Saint John, Matt Buder Shapiro, Deb Taylor, Dana Vachharajani, Alan Wong, and Mandy Yip. 

The Next Move

If this were a game of chess, the question would be, who makes the next move and how fast does it happen? 

Remember: this has ALL transpired in the last 2-3 years, showing significant industry shifts. 

How does the game continue to be played, and how will it impact those of us that aren’t currently playing via investment at the top? 

Does DanceOne move into studio and ancillary acquisitions? 

How will Ensemble Performing Arts continue to grow? 

Do we see more Mergers & Acquisitions (M&As) happening between the conglomerates? 

Does Varsity potentially become more involved with dance?

If you start looking at the webs of entanglement, the potential for impact is significant.

We may not even realize how much of the roll-up has already happened or is currently in motion. 

The acquisition of smaller companies within the same industry typically requires confidentiality during the process. 

Historically, the roll-up focus is almost always on consolidating market share and achieving economies of scale, which can happen without individual companies or industry players being fully aware of the overall strategy. 

While I cannot comment on any single person or company’s intention beyond what they have or will publicly share, the more information we have, the more we can decide how it will impact our future choices. 

Simply put: the landscape is changing, and it is changing fast. 

PART 5: WHY SHOULD WE CARE? 

People have free will. 

A decision for one person will not be the same as the decision for another person.

When we are dealing with childhood development, the stakes are high. 

We can’t afford to not have these conversations.

If you are a locally owned and operated business in a Top 40 market, it is an exciting time to think about how you can differentiate and educate your consumers.

If you are thinking about legacy planning and exit strategies (which I highly recommend), it is important to consider all of the options and possibilities.

Keep in mind: there are a myriad of financial investment strategies that can be employed with acquisitions. In fact, I stumbled upon this Reddit thread, where a community of entrepreneurs from varying industries discussed past encounters with private equity in their own businesses.

Insight is important.

Curiosity and asking questions should be normalized.

As a consumer advocate, whether you are a dance studio owner stewarding client dollars or you are a parent investing in your child’s dance education, it is important to know where your dollars go when you are selecting brands, companies, and vendors that align with your voice, vision, and mission. 

And, if your dollars are all going to the same people at the top through multiple avenues, how does that influence the free market and growth? 

How does the ecosystem shift?

It’s all great food for thought. 

PART 6: GETTING KOOKY IN THE COMMENTS

This conversation prompted some really kooky comments, mainly on social media (and, for more info on the divisive nature of the algorithm, I recommend the book Careless People).

On these platforms, some of the comments were deleted within hours, some were left up for perpetuity, and some were just entertainingly creative.

Transparency is important, and I wanted to offer clarity of some of the following that were directly related to my professional credentials:

  •  I was accused for being a hypocrite for selling The Dance Exec. The Dance Exec was the blog and mini seminar series I ran between 2013-2016. In 2016, I sold the digital collateral (blog posts and resource guides) to TutuTix (prior to their eTix acquisition). Nearly a decade after the fact, I’d also like to bring attention to the fact that the collateral is no longer used, showing that as institutional leadership changes, your transactional legacy may shift, too.

  • I have been called uneducated. For those of you that know me, I am a super nerd and love learning. I identify as educated versus uneducated and will be a student for life. I encourage all of my students, colleages, and peers to continue their quest for knowledge, understanding, and perspective, even when people say you shouldn’t.

  •  I was told I should focus on my business instead of winning competitions. It is important to note that my studios haven’t participated in a dance competition since 2015-2016 (a decade!), and I’ve written a book about it called Trash the Trophies: How to Win Without Losing Your Soul. This book is about why we extracted our studios from competitive dance and reconceptualized the heightened dance training experience. While I’m not anti-competitive by any means, I do think intentional competition is important. There is a tremendous opportunity for the competitive dance space to make meaningful shifts.

  •  I’ve been called a fake journalist. I’ve never claimed to be a journalist. I simply enjoy writing, sharing thoughts, engaging in conversation and being an advocate for my clients and community.  We should all write our thoughts down more, as it is proven that writing helps us think.

  •  I’ve also been accused of holding roles within the private equity firms and violating signed documents from within these organizations. This is simply untrue.

I’d like to believe that we are an industry and a world that encourages thought being brought to the table. When thought is uninvited, we lose insight and perspective. 

I give credit to Jeff Homer of Ensemble Performing Arts for respectfully and immediately igniting a conversation directly with me before I even publicized the posting of “When Profit Meets Plies: The Unknown Side of Private Equity.”

I also give credit to Rhee Gold for his leadership in connecting multiple perspectives to engage in future conversation. This is important as we navigate this new era in dance.

Frank Sahlein of 3rd Level Consulting is also a great resource for gaining more information and insight in re: to studio valuation and legacy planning. Frank has worked with over 60 investor groups in the youth activities space and does a great job outlining the prospective trajectories from a very neutral position.

My intention in every piece of this conversation is to lay out the facts so that dance studio owners, instructors, parents of children, and industry stakeholders can understand what is happening. 

I hope these conversation activations will prompt curiosity and consideration for the future trajectory of dance and our own respective journeys.

We all have free will and choices, but we cannot make the best choices if we do not have the full picture to fully consider.

Chasta Hamilton
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When Profit Meets Pliés: The Unknown Side of Private Equity in Dance