Studio Holiday Calendar: Plan It and Tell Parents Early

It is the Saturday before Diwali, and three parents have messaged the same question: is there class on Monday? You had planned to close, but you never actually said so. Now some children turn up to a locked door, the teacher has already left town, and the parents who stayed home want to know if they get a makeup.

What should a studio holiday calendar include?

A studio holiday calendar lists every planned closure for the year: festival breaks, national holidays, summer or year-end breaks, exam-season changes and recital rehearsal weeks. For each date it shows which batches are affected, the date classes start again and whether fees or makeups change. You publish it once, at the start of the year.

The "batches affected" column is the part most studios skip. A holiday on a Tuesday hits only your Tuesday–Thursday batches, while a Saturday holiday hits the weekend batches. If one group keeps losing classes, swap a date or add a class so both stay roughly even. Our guide to scheduling batches covers how to set up those weekday and weekend groups.

Keep planned holidays separate from cancellations. A Diwali break on the calendar is a holiday. A class shut by rain or a sick teacher is a cancellation the studio owes back, which is how we handle it in our makeup class policy.

Which holidays should a studio in India close for?

Close for the festivals your families actually celebrate, plus national holidays when roads are busy and homes are full. Use the central government holiday list as a starting point, then adjust for your city and community. Common picks are a Diwali stretch, Holi, Republic Day and Independence Day, plus a short summer or year-end break.

The 2027 list is already out. Under the Department of Personnel and Training's order of 16 July 2026, central government offices outside Delhi observe 14 compulsory holidays plus three chosen from 12 optional ones, and Diwali 2027 falls on Friday, 29 October. This year Diwali is on Sunday, 8 November, which matters most if your busiest batches run on weekends.

Then add your region. A Chennai studio may close for Pongal, a Kolkata studio for Durga Puja, a Mumbai or Pune studio for Ganesh Chaturthi. Monsoon closures in coastal cities cannot be put on a calendar, but you can plan how you will handle them, as in our Mumbai and Thane guide.

Exam season belongs on the calendar too, even if you stay open. Since 2026, CBSE has held Class 10 board exams twice a year: a compulsory exam in February and an optional one in May. Expect teenage batches to thin out in both windows, so avoid starting new choreography then, and never place your annual function on top of them.

How much notice should you give parents for a studio holiday?

Give parents the full calendar at the start of the year, a reminder two weeks before each break, and a short message the day before you close. Unplanned closures, like heavy rain, need a message as early as possible that day. Three messages per break is enough. Any more and parents start to tune out.

Share the calendar at admission, pin it in your announcement channel and keep a printed copy at the front desk. Our guide to parent communication explains why a one-way broadcast list works better than the batch group for this.

Two messages cover most breaks:

1. Two weeks before: "Hi! A reminder that the studio is closed from Saturday 7 to Wednesday 11 November for Diwali. Classes start again on Thursday 12 November at the usual times. The November fee stays the same, as per our holiday calendar. Happy Diwali in advance!"
2. The day before: "Quick reminder: no classes from tomorrow, 7 November. See you on Thursday 12 November!"

Should you charge full fees in a month with a holiday break?

Yes, if the break was on your published calendar before the parent paid. A monthly fee pays for a reserved place across the year, not a count of classes, and a calendar shared at admission makes that clear. Unplanned closures are different. The studio owes those classes back as makeups, not as discounts.

Long breaks need a clear rule in writing. If you close for two weeks in May, say up front whether that month's fee is reduced, and keep to it every year. Our guide to pricing dance classes in India explains why a fee that stays the same every month is easier to defend than one adjusted class by class.

Watch your due dates too. If fees fall due on the 5th and you are closed from the 3rd to the 8th, reminders land while nobody is at the desk. Send them before the break, using wording from our WhatsApp fee reminder guide. On Pro, automatic reminders let you choose how many days before the due date each one goes out.

How do you keep holidays out of attendance records?

Mark each holiday as a cancelled class in your register, ideally in advance, so the date is left out of every student's attendance percentage. Otherwise a closed studio looks like a room full of absences. Your dropout warnings fire for the wrong students, and teacher records get muddled before payroll.

Here is how we would set this up for a studio with weekday and weekend batches. On the day the calendar is finalised, the owner opens StudioPartner and goes to Mark classes cancelled. It accepts future dates, so each closure goes in once, with only the batches scheduled that day ticked and "Diwali break" as the reason.

Every student's percentage in attendance tracking then reflects only the classes that actually ran. That is the number you need when you look for students drifting away, as we explain in reducing student dropout. On Pro, teachers are marked Holiday in staff attendance, so a closed studio is never counted as leave or an absence.

A holiday parents hear about in January is a break. The same holiday announced the night before is a complaint.

FAQs

How do I announce a holiday to parents at my studio?

Send one clear message through your broadcast list or announcement channel, not the chatty batch group. Include the dates you are closed, the batches affected, the date classes start again and a line on fees. Send it two weeks ahead, then a short reminder the day before. Keep the full-year calendar pinned so parents can check it themselves.

Should a dance studio close during exam season?

Usually not. Most of your students are not sitting board exams, and closing punishes everyone. Stay open, expect thinner teenage batches in February–March and May, and avoid starting new pieces or holding performances then. If a student wants a month off for boards, agree on it in writing so the place and the fee arrangement are both clear.

Do students get makeup classes for studio holidays?

Not for holidays on a published calendar, because the fee was set knowing those dates were closed. Makeups are for closures the studio did not plan, such as heavy rain, a power cut or a teacher falling ill. Saying this in your admission form and on the calendar itself stops the question coming up every Diwali.

Can I change the holiday calendar after publishing it?

Yes, but give at least two weeks' notice and say why. Adding a closure means the studio owes those classes, so offer a makeup session or an extra class. Moving a date is easier: swap one closed day for another in the same month so no batch loses a class, and update the pinned calendar the same day.

What to do first

Open the 2027 holiday list, mark the festivals your families celebrate and note which batches each date affects. Share the finished calendar with every parent before January, and enter the closures in your register so attendance stays honest. To try that on real batches, the free plan covers up to 30 students, or compare pricing.