Looking Ahead: Preparing Your Dance Camp for Next Summer

By: Rob Burns

As students transition back to their school routines and leave their summer schedules behind, your dance camp doesn’t have to fall out of sight or out of mind. In fact, it’s never too early to start preparing for an engaging, can’t-miss camp experience for the next summer.

By looking ahead now, you can open registration early and secure a place in more students’ busy summer break plans. With more than 12,000 summer camps nationwide, you need to spark interest early to stand out.

In this guide, we’ll walk through four steps you can take to set next summer’s dance camp up for success.

1. Assess past camp performance.

Before you jump into preparations, remember that you don’t have to start from scratch. They say experience is the best teacher, so take the time to reflect on your last dance camp’s performance. Compare year-over-year enrollment numbers and pinpoint potential factors that could have led to these changes. Plus, review the feedback you received from campers and their families.

Use these insights to plan:

Facility updates. Campers need a comfortable and welcoming environment to immerse themselves in their passion for dance and express themselves creatively. Consider whether you need to replace your flooring, purchase new dance equipment, or add more storage to fit campers’ belongings for next year. Identifying these improvements early ensures you have plenty of time to complete them before camp starts.

Technology upgrades. Did your last camp’s recitals leave you and your campers scrambling to stay on schedule? Or perhaps your staff members need a better way to keep track of waivers and allergies. Take this opportunity to look into camp management software options that could streamline the camp experience for your campers, their families, and staff members alike.

Camp offerings. A rewarding dance camp is not just about what your instructors can teach campers, but about the enjoyment campers get from their time at your studio. Think about the students you want to enroll: What are their interests? Do they prefer a particular style of dance, like hip-hop? If you want to appeal to tween campers, for example, you might plan an “Around the World” theme that allows them to explore popular dances from various countries.

Additionally, look through the photos and videos you’ve taken during your previous dance camps. Consider incorporating these into your marketing materials to give prospective campers and their families a firsthand glimpse into what they can expect at your camp. Just be sure to obtain written permission from parents and guardians before sharing images and video clips online.

2. Partner with local organizations.

For many people, dance provides a sense of community and a chance to nurture social bonds. Don’t miss out on opportunities to build connections for your dance studio. By partnering with local organizations, such as schools or community centers, you can reach more potential campers and drum up excitement about your dance camp.

Explore the following partnership ideas to get inspired:

Schedule demonstrations or presentations. Schedule after-school demonstrations or presentations to introduce students and their families to your dance studio. If you have an email newsletter or text messaging list, provide an easy way for people to opt in to learn more about your summer camp offerings.

Co-host a talent show. Bring young, ambitious performers together by organizing a talent show with a local school or community center. At the event, pass out flyers to promote your dance studio and camp.

Set up a booth at community fairs. Look into upcoming arts, family, and holiday fairs in your area. Reach out to the organizers about setting up a booth with an eye-catching banner, brochures, and information sign-up sheets. You can even set up a miniature dance floor nearby to pique the interest of children and their families.

No matter which ideas you choose, be sure to highlight what makes your dance camp a unique and fun-filled experience. For instance, you might promote your camp as a compassionate introduction to dance that teaches values for personal growth and self-improvement across all aspects of a camper’s life.

3. Offer early bird registration and referral discounts.

Encourage families to plan ahead and enroll their children in your dance camp by providing early bird registration discounts. For example, if your camp is in July, you might charge a $235 registration fee for campers who sign up before March 1st and a $275 fee for registrations after that date. Additionally, make your dance camp more financially inclusive by offering a discount to first-time campers, accepting partial deposits to reserve a spot, or providing scholarships.

According to Dance Studio-Pro, referrals can be another incredibly powerful way to catch the attention of prospective campers, since “people respect and put stock in the recommendations made by their friends and family.” Consider providing a discount for students who invite their friends to attend your camp together. They’ll be able to create memorable experiences with their friends and you’ll secure more enrollments.

Plus, by receiving more registrations early on, you can reduce the chaos of finalizing your camp’s details and schedule before it begins.

4. Streamline the registration process.

Once you’ve caught the interest of potential campers, make it easy for them to enroll by creating an easy and convenient registration process. With online registration software, you can allow families to register their campers from their computer or smartphone. CIRCUITREE’s summer camp registration forms guide highlights the main benefits of providing this option:

 

• Your camp database will automatically populate with campers’ registration information, ensuring that you can access all of the relevant details in one place.
• You can easily update your registration form fields as needed, depending on your dance camp’s activities and offerings.
• Rather than worrying about sending sensitive information through the mail, campers and their families can directly send their registration details to you online.
• Your camp will save paper and eliminate printing costs.

You can set up digital waivers as well, so parents and campers can complete them well before your dance camp begins. Doing so ensures that you can jump right into your camp activities on day one, rather than worry about receiving all of your required forms and documents.

The next summer will be here before you know it! By starting your dance camp preparations early, you can secure more camp enrollments and give students something to look forward to. While there’s nothing wrong with implementing tried-and-true strategies for creating unforgettable camp experiences, don’t be afraid to experiment! Stay on top of parent expectations and camper interests to keep them coming back year after year.

Rob Burns

Rob Burns is the Senior Director of Business Development at CIRCUITREE and Bunk1, providing camps and conference centers with leading tools and resources. Rob is also the founder of the nonprofit Run2Revive and a regular conference speaker for the American Camp Association.