Plan Summer Camp Now!
Having your own summer dance camp or workshop in the studio has several benefits. Students keep in shape as well as develop new skills and strength. Parents have a worthwhile option outside of general childcare for a few weeks in the summer. Groups and companies create new and stronger relationships within the membership. And the studio's income is supported.
Every studio has the potential to reap benefits and notice advantages from sponsoring summer training camps in-house. If you can't use your regular studio, rent a campground with training rooms and large lodge spaces for a great change of venue. Most places offer summer activities on site such as miniature golf and swimming. Even a week in a hotel with at least one ballroom space will provide you and your students with a time to study and get to know each other better that will carry over into the regular school year.
Your existing students can use summer study with you and a guest teacher to improve skills and strength. A week of dance intensive can benefit students immensely because of the comprehensive approach possible during this time. In one week, students can take several classes, study dance videos, and possibly view a dance performance, read about dance, discuss dance, and write about dance! By including a cross-curricular approach, you can provide your students with a new perspective on dance as a career and a discipline.
Parents are happy to help out as chaperones and cooks. A dance camp provides them with an alternative to childcare for at least one week and allows parents the chance to see you teach different mat-erial such as a mini-session on dance make-up. Parents appreciate that their child's dance teacher is a multi-dimensional artist.
If you have a competition group or performance company in the studio, summer dance intensive is a great opportunity for the dancers to get to know each other better. Dancing sisters and brothers grow close while working in the summer and support each other during the regular studio year. Camaraderie becomes very important during tough tour schedules and tight competitions. It helps for the group to have spent quality training time together before facing difficult situations. Being a largely female population, it's obvious that emotional and social issues arise in dance groups. Summer sessions where the girls spend concentrated time together solving dance and personal problems gives them the tools necessary to be a better "member of the group" when trouble happens.
The additional income is helpful if you have a year-round building payment. Many facilities like hotels and campgrounds don't charge for use of the training spaces as long as the group purchases food and lodging on site. This turns the fees you collect for classes into positive cash flow.
Here are some great moves for setting up your own summer dance camp.
PERSONNEL: Besides yourself, make use of community resources when searching for guest teachers. Invite instructors from local colleges to speak or give instruction. Dive into your list of studio graduates and invite them to teach classes. A public librarian might be able to bring a list of the dance books available in the library and discuss using the library research tools for writing about dance. If there is a refurbished old theatre in your area, a local historian may have some interesting facts about performances in your community's history. Invite someone from the local newspaper to take pictures of the students in camp classes and give a short talk about what a photographer looks for in creating good pictures. Look for someone from the health department, school system, or university to talk about good nutrition. And always take inventory of your parent list and encourage them to contribute their area of expertise to the camp. Even inviting an art teacher to bring in drawings and paintings of dancers will open your students' eyes to something new in their dancing world.
CLASSES: The class schedule should include basic technique study, but shake things up by teaching something new and not on your regular studio schedule like acting and singing. Include a dance history session and examine videos on dance performance. Provide everyone with an opportunity to write something about dance that might include teaching them how to write down dances or writing poems about dance. And don't forget classes in theatre make-up and costume design.
GAMES AND FREE TIME: Every moment shouldn't be spent dancing. Schedule free time and organized games. Parents can be helpful in setting this up and providing ideas and supplies like board games, snacks, transportation, or leading craft projects.
FIELD TRIPS: Depending on your location, field trips make for a fun and educational time. Backstage tours of theatres, history museums, performances, and visiting a local dance supply store give you the opportunity to point out that the study of dance is dependent on the support of many others in the community. Having a class out of doors in the cool green grass is refreshing and different.
DETAILS: Experience is a great teacher and some things you can survive, but don't get caught away from home with other people's children without having these things on hand:
1. First aid kit
2. Medical release and insurance information for each camper
3. Cash for spur of the moment purchases like a pizza party
4. List of each camper's personal information and emergency contact
5. Snacks
6. Blankets and towels
7. Cleaning supplies
8. Spare dance clothes
9. Sewing kit
10. Extra bottled water
11. Camera
Besides study and performance, point out the vast business of the dancer's world and how each of your students can enjoy some aspect of it. Summer is a great time to expand on all the topics associated with dance and your students' dedication will show it at home.