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What Is The Best Flooring For Your Dance Studio?

Flooring is one of the biggest concerns you’ll need to tackle while setting up or renovating your professional dance studio. While in most other applications, the flooring has only two functions, aesthetics and support, it becomes far more vital when fitness is involved. The dance floor doesn’t just have to look good; it must also be safe, comfortable, and easy to dance on. Quite a bit goes into the choice of flooring for a dance studio. And if you’re stuck with the question “What is the best flooring for a dance studio?”, this article will attempt to help you understand the nuances and make an informed choice.

What to look for in suitable flooring

The best flooring for your dance studio

Sprung wood flooring
Marley flooring
Hardwood flooring

What To Look For in Suitable Flooring

While some features of a good dance studio floor, like energy recovery and a resilient top surface, are fairly universal, the specific requirements vary with the style of dance and the requirements of the dance studio you’re putting together.

There is a plethora of dance studio flooring options out there but you must look at these things to choose the best one for your dance studio:

Energy Recovery

You don’t want your clients to get fatigued in long dance practice sessions. A floor that recovers some of the energy imparted to it helps with that. This is, however, a balancing act. Especially for dance styles like Zumba which are a mix of dance and exercise.

A floor that is too soft will make it difficult to jump and move and will absorb too much of the energy and be frustrating to dance on. So a floor that has a little bit of giving but good energy recovery properties is what you should look for.

Shock Absorption

Most dances, especially those done for fitness, involve a lot of high-impact moves such as bouncing, jumping, and skipping. As we’ve already discussed, this requires a floor that can take a pounding but not fatigue the dancers’ legs and feet.

A floor that has good shock absorption with a give will be an excellent choice for dance studios. So it’s best to avoid concrete or hard tile floors and go for more flexible flooring such as wood, vinyl, or rubber flooring.

Slip Resistance

One of the things you definitely don’t want is your dancers slipping. Having a floor that’s not anti-slip is extremely unsafe. The dance flooring for your studio needs to be grippy enough to allow your clients to practice their routines with ease but not so grippy that it becomes frustrating.

A good dance floor needs to strike the right balance when it comes to grip to make it easy to dance but not become annoying for the dancers.

Sound Buffering

Your studio will get loud enough as it is without the floor echoing every stomp and every jump. That’s why a part of the answer to “what is the best flooring for a dance studio?” is one that offers good sound dampening and noise buffering meaning sounds don’t echo off it.

Of course, this should not come at the expense of comfort or safety, but it is still a big consideration when it comes to choosing the right dance flooring for your studio. Aerobic flooring, foam tiles, plyometric rubber rolls, and padded vinyl flooring are good at sound absorption, creating a more enjoyable environment in your dance studio.

Scratch Tolerance

The surface of your dance floor will see a lot of abrasion during normal use and the resilience of the surface will dictate how often you have to replace it. A surface that scratches easily will get worn out with use. Other than looking shabby, this will also increase the friction of the flooring and can become tedious or even dangerous to dance on.

Water Resistance

An important property to look at when choosing the best flooring for a dance studio is water resistance. Your clients will be sweating as well as consuming water and drinks. This means the floor will take on a lot of fluids.

A dance floor for your studio needs to have good water resistance so you can be sure that it stands the test of time. Aerobic flooring rubber floor mats are excellent at water absorption without getting slippery.

The Best Flooring For Your Dance Studio

Now that you know what you’re looking for, here are the options that you have to choose from when it comes to choosing the best dance flooring for your studio:

Sprung Wood Flooring

Dance studios need flooring that’s shock-absorbing, slip-resistant, durable, easy to maintain, and offers plenty of traction and energy return. Sprung wood flooring checks all those boxes making it one of the best flooring for dance studios. It’s essentially constructed of multiple layers—a damp-proof, shock-absorbing foam layer, a couple of layers of a flexible material, and a top layer of wood.

If you’ve ever tried doing jumping jacks in slippers on a concrete floor, you’d know the toll those couple minutes take on your knees. High-energy, quick, repetitive movements impact joints and bones over time. But the shock-absorbing underlay of the sprung wood flooring helps with the shock and impact of jumping, dancing, and exercising. It has that bounce and ‘give’ that your clients need for optimal performance without injuring themselves.

Sprung wood flooring is also slip-resistant and creates a perfect balance between grip and traction. Together with the support of soft underlay, this flooring is incredibly comfortable for dancers who can move around without the risk of slipping over or experiencing excess impact stress.

Pros of Sprung Wood Flooring

Let’s look at the reasons why sprung wood flooring is considered one of the best flooring for dance studios.

Injury Prevention

The underlying shock-absorbing layer of the sprung wood flooring ensures that the dancers don’t get a stress impact on their knees and ankles. It decreases fatigue and the risk of injury by lightening the load on your body.

Added Comfort

Sprung wood flooring is soft, supportive, and overall comfortable to move on. High-energy dance like Zumba involves quick, constant moves and jumps but the bounce of this flooring gives you a comfortable landing—ultimately also protecting your body from soreness.

Professional Look

Sprung wood flooring doesn’t just feel great, it looks great too. The top wood layer has a sleek, polished finish giving your dance studio a high-end look. So, consider anyone walking in immediately impressed.

Durable

It’s designed carefully with multiple protective layers to last for decades. The top layer is also a strong, long-lasting wood like oak, maple, or beech so you’d never have to worry about it ripping or cracking.

Cons of Sprung Wood Flooring

The one con that sprung wood flooring has is its cost. It comes with a hefty price tag. Portable ones may range from $400 to $2000 while permanent flooring costs several thousand dollars to install. However, the advantages of sprung wood flooring probably outweigh since a lot of dance studio owners prefer the incredible comfort it offers.

Marley Flooring

Marley dance flooring was once exclusively manufactured by the brand Marley. However, today, any vinyl flooring that comes in a roll regardless of the manufacturer is called Marley. It could be used alone or laid on a hard sub-floor or foam, plastic or rubber underlayment. Most studios you’ve stepped in likely had Marley flooring since it’s quite cost-effective and easy to maintain.

It’s a thin yet highly durable material and a very popular choice of flooring for dance studios. Thanks to its smooth surface, non-slip texture, and versatility, dancers can enjoy safety, ease of movement, and practicality. Since Marley flooring comes in rolls, it’s also easy to install and transport, making it one of the best flooring for dance studios.

Pros of Marley Flooring

Marley flooring offers the right amount of grip and traction. It’s no surprise that even American Ballet Theatre uses this multipurpose flooring over a sprung floor. Let’s look at why you should be going for Marley flooring for your dance studio.

Affordable

Marley flooring’s vast popularity is also because of its affordability. It costs anywhere from $5 to $10 per square foot making it a budget-friendly option for dance studios.

Slip-resistant

Another reason why this flooring enjoys a lofty position among the best flooring for dance studios is its slip-resistance finish. Dancers are at the risk of spraining their ankles or hurting their knees due to slipping or falling over if the floor doesn’t provide enough traction. But Marley flooring offers just the right amount of traction that doesn’t let them slip but also doesn’t slow them down.

Easy installment

As mentioned earlier, Marley flooring comes in a roll. You don’t exactly need special tools or glue to install it. Simply unroll it to create a smooth surface and tape the edges down. However, it’s better to get someone experienced to do it instead of doing it yourself.

Cons of Marley Flooring

While Marley flooring is slip-resistant, affordable, and easy to install, it can rarely be used on its own. Since it’s only 1.5 to 2mm thick, it doesn’t do a great job of shock absorbing. You’ll need a sub-flooring of either rubber or foam to give it cushioning for high-impact exercises.

Hardwood Flooring

If you want your dance studio to look thoroughly immaculate and have a premium feel, hardwood flooring is the best option. Not only is it beautiful with a classic, timeless aesthetic but it is also high-performance, versatile, and durable.

Made from strong, natural materials like oak, maple, and cherry, hardwood flooring offers a natural charm to your space. Its strength and durability comes in handy especially in high traffic areas. With proper care and maintenance, hardwood flooring can withstand years of heavy use, making it a long-lasting investment for studios.

However, you have to ensure that you use a sprung subfloor for shock absorption and protecting dancers from any injuries.

Pros of Hardwood Flooring

Nothing compares to the aesthetics and safety of the hardwood flooring. Here are some of the benefits this flooring offers.

Shock absorption

Hardwood, when installed with the proper underlay, provides a good amount of shock absorption—ultimately reducing the risk of injury and strain on joints and bones.

Durability

Hardwood flooring is quite durable and can handle the rigors of foot traffic, dropped equipment, and the impact of dance shoes.

Aesthetic appeal

Hardwood has that timeless, aesthetic appeal that adds a warmth and a sophisticated touch to the studio, creating an inviting atmosphere for dancers.

Cons of Hardwood Flooring

It can be expensive to install and requires ongoing maintenance to keep it in top condition. Without proper subflooring, it can also lack shock absorption, potentially putting stress on dancers’ joints.

In Summary

There is no catch-all answer to the question “What is the best flooring for a dance studio?”. The choice of flooring depends on your budget, your dance styles of choice, your aesthetic goals with your studio, as well as other important factors. Here’s a quick recap of everything we’ve covered in the article:

A good dance studio flooring should have adequate shock absorption to prevent your clients from injuries.
A flooring option that doesn’t let the sound echo off it, makes an excellent option and creates an enjoyable environment. Aerobic flooring is great at sound absorption.
Make sure that the flooring option you choose for your dance studio is also scratch-tolerant and water-resistant.
Sprung wood flooring, hardwood flooring, and Marley flooring are all great choices but each comes with its own pros and cons.

Now that you know what flooring is best for dance studio, you can make an informed decision after factoring in all the nuances and details of the studio you’re putting together. We hope that this knowledge will lead you to the best dance studio flooring options for your studio. Best of luck!