Five hundred attendees. A slow month turned profitable. A local dance store now known for hosting a can’t-miss event. That’s what Jessica Fernandez-Loscalzo has built with her brick-and-mortar store The Dance Bag, and retailers everywhere can learn from her playbook.
From Slow Season to Brisk Business
Several years ago, Fernandez-Loscalzo was considering new ways to generate sales during dance retail’s famous August lull. She also wanted to help bridge the gap between studio owners and manufacturers. So, in 2024, she decided to kill two birds with one stone and, at the Park Ridge Marriott in New Jersey, hosted her first one-day dance convention, now known as The Dance Bag Convention.
By leveraging her experience and connections as a professional dancer and former studio director, Fernandez-Loscalzo was able to put together an exciting roster of guest teachers to lead classes. She also invited her suppliers to attend and show their products to dancers, with brands like Honeycut, Bloch, and Só Dança taking advantage of the opportunity.
Just three years later, The Dance Bag Convention is a resounding success, and its reputation is spreading. Last year, Jessica welcomed over 500 attendees. This year, she expects even more, with dancers traveling from as far away as Canada and Australia to attend the event on August 16—no wonder, when the lineup of guest teachers includes big names like Jason Samuels Smith, Alisa Kash, and The Sullivan Twins.
More Than Just Sales
All of the sales go through the convention, providing a shot of income that Fernandez-Loscalzo sees as a great way to get an early start to the fall season. There’s revenue from the dancers’ registration fees, too, plus a $25 fee for dancers to be able to shop at the event. Think about it, people pay Fernandez-Loscalzo to come buy from her!
What’s more important than the income, though, is the joy that the convention generates. Unlike most conventions, which focus on competition and trophies, The Dance Bag Convention is a day purely dedicated to the joy of dance.
When Elizabeth Muller, co-owner of the Park Ridge dance school Anita Ehrler’s Dance Extensions, attended the convention, she appreciated the supportive, not overly commercial aspect of the event. “I loved the emphasis on being positive and on learning,” says Muller. According to Fernandez-Loscalzo, Dance Sensations, a studio in Staten Island, NY, has even made the event mandatory for its students.
Everybody Wins
Contrary to Fernandez-Loscalzo’s original goal, Muller wasn’t attracted to the event to see new products. Like many teachers, she was already aware of what dancewear brands have on offer. Yet it was a different story for her students. According to Muller, they loved seeing the latest dancewear all in one place, and felt like they were getting a sneak preview of soon-to-be-released products. And they bought—a lot.
Kurt Visser, Bloch’s rep for New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York, described attending the event as being part of a “virtuous circle.” He relays information from the design team to the dancers, then brings the dancers’ responses to products back to the team. Everyone benefits: The dancers are heard, the design team learns, and the product is improved.
“Seeing dancers bubbling with excitement was very energizing,” Visser says. “It reminded me of why I do what I do.”
The Bottom Line
For Fernandez-Loscalzo, enthusiasm and joy are the biggest benefits of hosting The Dance Bag Convention. Yes, she sells more dancewear, but it’s the spirit of the event that is her greatest win. As a result, her store’s brand becomes linked in attendees’ minds and hearts with the wonderful feelings the convention creates. The marketing benefits of that connection are invaluable.
It’s a model that other dance retailers can—and should—copy. Amazingly, Fernandez-Loscalzo runs the entire event solely with the help of friends and family, proving that it’s something others can do as well. She’s even willing to talk with fellow retailers about how to create their own events and explore potential joint ventures. Just give her a week or two to recover after the convention before you call. From what I understand, she’ll have earned the break.
Gilbert Russell is a seasoned dancewear retailer who helps independent stores thrive through his book Retail AI Unleashed,coaching programs, speaking engagements, and weekly newsletter.