Summer Dance Camp Questions Answered!

Summer dance camps are right around the corner, and it’s time to get prepared for all things sunshine + rainbows at your studio! We know summer planning can be overwhelming, but don’t worry – we’ve got your back. In order to have the most fun + fancy summer season yet, we asked our studio’s very own camp director, Emily Salerno, for some of her tips + tricks on all things Camp Confetti. So let’s dive right in with Emily!

What is your favorite thing about running Camp Confetti at Rhythm?

I love how easy Camp Confetti makes everything! With so many camps happening at Rhythm over the summer, sometimes our “creativity bank” starts to run low…which we obviously don’t want the kids to feel! So Camp Confetti allows us to keep camps fun + fresh no matter how tired we are. Whether you use it as just a jumping-off point to create something even bigger, or you just use it as is, it’s fantastic either way!

How do you prep each week for the summer dance camp?

We start prepping for camps months prior to summer! Once the themes are set and scheduled, we have each staff member read through the Camp Confetti packet. Then a few weeks prior to the camp, all included staff meets to discuss our visions, schedule, crafts, decor, which kid is in which group/room, etc. Then, it’s time to divide and conquer! We head to Hobby Lobby to get all needed craft supplies and any missing decor. We also make sure to communicate with our assistants to let them know their responsibilities for the week. Then we all meet the Friday before camp starts to decorate the room(s) together!

What does a typical summer dance camp day look like?

The majority of our camps begin at 9 a.m. So we all arrive at the studio 30 minutes prior to do any necessary set-up and/or quick group meetings that need to happen. Students begin arriving at 8:50 a.m, and we help them put their bags down and get settled. Once all campers have arrived, we do a group warm-up and a quick game to get the day started all together!

Campers will divide up into their groups or crews and head to their first classes. Every day’s schedule is different, but normally we go in order of:

Warm-Up –> Learn combo –> Continue Combo/Activity — Snack Break (while campers snack we set up craft!) –> Craft –> Review/Add to Combo –> Activity/Game –> End of Day!

Once the campers leave, all staff + assistants stay for an additional hour or so to clean up or prep the next day’s crafts or activities. A camp day at Rhythm is always jam-packed with fun + excitement.

How do you get dancers excited and signed up for camps? Do you do specific advertising?

We host a big Summer Launch Week when registration opens to get kids excited! Typically we use our Year-End Show theme to do a fun meet-and-greet with the characters. We have prizes, games, stickers, and more!! While the kids play games, we make sure to talk to the parents about all the details of signing up for camp! They are ultimately the ones to sign the kids up, so answering their questions and hyping up your camps is the most important!

After our launch week, we continue with our email marketing by sending plenty of reminder emails to students who have a summer requirement for camps. We also use Social Media (both paid and unpaid posts) to keep up the hype from February through June. Once we are in full summer camp mode, we send a Summer Recap email every week to document the fun we had that past week, preview what’s to come (if there is space available), and advertise our Open Class Schedule!

What is your biggest piece of advice for summer camp directors to make their camps not only fun but also efficient?

Prep and plan, people! Camp week is so crazy and hectic that you barely have time to think about what’s next. So the more that you can have prepared and planned, the better. Running around like a crazy person not only stresses you out (and makes the camp no fun!), but the kids can definitely feel your nervous energy. The more in control you are, the smoother and way more fun the camp will run!

If you want to hear more on summer planning from our fabulous summer camp director, listen to our Summer Camp podcast where we dive into more even questions about Camp Confetti at our studio! We also have several other summer-focused podcast episodes you will find super helpful: Summer on Our Minds, 5 Ways to Boost Your Summer Success, Summer Camp Director, Summer Fun Part 1, & Summer Fun Part 2.

To learn more about how Camp Confetti can help make summers at your studio fun + simple, check out all the details on our website. We have 30 unique, fully-planned summer dance camp themes, including our brand new themes launched this year: Rhinestone Round-Up, Confetti Clue Crew, Prancing Pony Party, & Fancy Mouse Dress Up House! You can also read about these new themes on our website or in this blog post! Let Camp Confetti help you make summer dance camps fun!