What equipment do I need to teach dance classes online?

Less than you think: a phone or laptop with a decent camera, daylight or one affordable light, enough floor space to demonstrate, and music. A tripod at hip height beats a fancy camera badly positioned. Upgrade only when students ask for something specific — nobody has ever left a class because it wasn't shot in 4K.

How do I collect payments for online classes?

Two routes. Do-it-yourself: set up a payment provider account, a checkout page, EU VAT registration for digital sales, and invoicing — real work before the first euro. Or teach on a platform that sells the class as the merchant of record: students pay the platform, it handles VAT and receipts, and you receive your share as a payout. On Lean Sporty that share is 80% of the price after VAT, paid monthly to your bank.

Do I need to register a business to sell dance classes online?

It depends on your country and your volume, and it's worth one conversation with a local accountant. Many countries have small-scale allowances — Poland's 'unregistered activity' rules, for example, let individuals earn below a monthly threshold without registering a company. Teaching through a platform also simplifies your side: the platform sells to the students and handles their VAT; you're paid as a contractor.

How much should I charge for an online dance class?

€10–15 per live class seat is a normal, defensible price from a real instructor; €25+ fits specialized or small-group formats; recorded multi-week programs commonly sell for €30–60. The classic beginner mistake is charging €5 'to be safe' — it doesn't meaningfully increase attendance, it just tells people the class is worth €5.

Can I sell recordings of my classes?

Yes — and you should, because recordings are how one taught hour becomes repeatable income. Two formats work: the recording of a live class sold as on-demand, and a deliberately structured multi-session program. One practical warning: use music you have the right to use commercially, since a music-rights claim can take down content on any platform.

Guides

How to sell online dance classes: a practical guide

You already have the hard part — you can teach. What's left is logistics: a camera, a format, a price, and a way for strangers to pay you that doesn't turn you into an accountant. This guide covers each, including the tax-and-payments part most articles quietly skip.

The setup you actually need

A phone or laptop with a decent camera on a stable surface at hip height, daylight from the front (or one cheap softbox), space to demonstrate a few steps, and your music. Test your framing once: full body visible, face readable. That's genuinely it — production quality matters far less than being easy to follow, and every hour spent shopping for gear is an hour not spent filling your first class.

Live, recorded, or both

Format	Why it works	Worth knowing
Live online class	Energy, regulars, weekly rhythm; sells on a schedule	You must show up; attendance follows your time zone
Recorded program	Teach once, sell indefinitely; buyers keep access	Needs structure and light editing; sells on your audience
Live + recording (hybrid)	The live class becomes tomorrow's product automatically	Best default — most platforms record live classes for you

Start live: it needs no editing, your regulars will come, and on a platform that records automatically, every live class quietly builds your on-demand catalog.

Pricing without apologizing

€10–15 a seat is a normal price for a live online class from a real instructor — comparable to a studio drop-in, minus the commute. Specialized or small-group formats justify €25 and up; structured multi-week programs commonly sell at €30–60 as a one-time purchase. Resist the €5 reflex: a rock-bottom price doesn't double attendance, it just halves your income and quietly tells people the class is worth little. (On Lean Sporty the minimum paid price is €5 precisely so the advertised 80% share stays true even on the cheapest seat.)

The part nobody mentions: payments, VAT, invoices

Selling a class to an EU consumer is legally selling a digital service: someone must run the checkout, charge the right country's VAT, remit it, and issue receipts. Doing that yourself means a payment-provider account, a checkout page, VAT registration and returns, and bookkeeping — before your first sale. It's all doable; it's just not teaching.

The platform route moves that burden wholesale: the platform sells the class as the merchant of record, handles VAT and receipts for every buyer, hosts and streams the video, and pays you your share. On Lean Sporty you keep 80% of every sale after VAT (featured instructors 85%), paid monthly to your bank — via your own free Stripe account across the EU/EEA, UK, Switzerland, US, and Canada, or manual transfer elsewhere — with a downloadable statement per payout. Your side of the paperwork is one settings page.

Selling it: start with the audience you have

Your first paying online students are almost never strangers — they're your studio regulars, the student who moved cities, the followers who watch every story but have never met you. Announce a weekly online class where they already listen to you: class link in the Instagram bio, a story the day before and an hour before, a personal message to the five people most likely to come. Ten warm invitations outperform a hundred cold posts — and one committed weekly class, kept without fail, compounds into regulars, recordings, and referrals.

For instructors

Teach on Lean Sporty

Keep 80% of every sale after VAT (featured instructors 85%), paid to your bank once a month. You teach and keep your audience — we handle checkout, VAT, streaming, and hosting. Free to join.

See how teaching works

Common questions

What equipment do I need to teach dance classes online?: Less than you think: a phone or laptop with a decent camera, daylight or one affordable light, enough floor space to demonstrate, and music. A tripod at hip height beats a fancy camera badly positioned. Upgrade only when students ask for something specific — nobody has ever left a class because it wasn't shot in 4K.
How do I collect payments for online classes?: Two routes. Do-it-yourself: set up a payment provider account, a checkout page, EU VAT registration for digital sales, and invoicing — real work before the first euro. Or teach on a platform that sells the class as the merchant of record: students pay the platform, it handles VAT and receipts, and you receive your share as a payout. On Lean Sporty that share is 80% of the price after VAT, paid monthly to your bank.
Do I need to register a business to sell dance classes online?: It depends on your country and your volume, and it's worth one conversation with a local accountant. Many countries have small-scale allowances — Poland's 'unregistered activity' rules, for example, let individuals earn below a monthly threshold without registering a company. Teaching through a platform also simplifies your side: the platform sells to the students and handles their VAT; you're paid as a contractor.
How much should I charge for an online dance class?: €10–15 per live class seat is a normal, defensible price from a real instructor; €25+ fits specialized or small-group formats; recorded multi-week programs commonly sell for €30–60. The classic beginner mistake is charging €5 'to be safe' — it doesn't meaningfully increase attendance, it just tells people the class is worth €5.
Can I sell recordings of my classes?: Yes — and you should, because recordings are how one taught hour becomes repeatable income. Two formats work: the recording of a live class sold as on-demand, and a deliberately structured multi-session program. One practical warning: use music you have the right to use commercially, since a music-rights claim can take down content on any platform.