For years I have done about the same summer program and have done well with income for the summer months. Now the other studio in town is doing the SAME programs I have had in place for years. Calling it the same thing etc....

Not mad just a little ill that they can't think of there own ideas!

I am looking for something better and more rewarding etc...

So, WHAT DO YOU DO FOR YOUR SUMMER MONTHS??

I need to get creative!

What do YOU do? It's hard to say what you should do different.

I did classses at night, Mon-Thurs, for all ages and levels for six weeks.

In the daytime, Mon-1/2 of Fri was a six week ballet intensive, levels 2-6 (Vaganova).

For two weeks, after recital, we did open classes in ballet, Mon-Thurs, for levels 2-6.

For one week, in July, a multi-dance style intensive from 9am-3pm, Mon-Fri, bringing in different teachers and some fun, new styles of dance (ethnic and such), a lesson in massage therapy, one lesson in make up, for a flat fee. One was for ages 8 and up for levels 2-3, the other for ages 10 and up for levels 4 and up.

After the six weeks of summer classes, before we opened for regular lessons, we had one week of ballet boot camp.

We also ran 4 weeks (separately) of dance camp for ages 3-8, in half-day sessions, Mon-Thurs.

We had 5 classrooms, too, so that helped.

What about a summer company, kids audition for parts and come to classes over the holidays to learn routines and you put on a show at the end. Even take it on a mini tour.

You could do solo's over the summer, any student who wants to compete a solo, duo or trio could enroll for privates over the summer to learn their work. I think more kids would come who you might not get during term time because their lives are too hectic.

Vacation care - we do this, all day care which includes classes, arts and craft activities and so on. Parents prefer it to sending them to the vacation care programs held at school day in and day out. You don;t even need to do it everyday. Parents like to have a bit of variety to where they send their kids.

How about 6 week clinics that focus on particular skills. Like back handspring clinics, intro to hip hop, musical theatre workshops.

Acceleration programs designed to allow kids to intensely study a particular area to accelerate them for the new year.

My camps this year are:

Angelina Ballerina - ages 3-6

American Girl Doll - ages 6-10

Princess, Castles, and Dragons -ages 4-8

Fabulous Fairies and Unicorns - ages 4-8

I run 2 hour minin camps in the morning (Am. Girl is 3 hours)

and have afternoon classes for all ages Monday-Thursday.

I hope this helps a little!

@tototoe - what do you do in American Girl?

Honestly, I would keep your summer classes exactly as you've had them successfully in the past. Don't be intimidated by their lack of creativity. Look at it as the fact that they copied you verbatim as the highest form of flattery.

You get an attorney friend to issue a "cease and desist" your program and program names are your copyright (you don't have to file for a copyright to call it a copyright (although that is advised.)

It is fair warning to you that you should put a copyright and/or a trademark sign on any unique and uniquely named program you devise. This is YOUR intellectual property and they have stolen it.

When you run a business and a dance studio IS a business, you have to take care to protect what you have created. If you have a program called, say "Dainty Dancing for Darling Daughters" (I hope you don't use THAT, LOL.) You have to protected with a copyright for the program and a trademark for the name.

Jon

I did that, Jon, with one program that one of my teachers and I created. It was XXXXXX & XXXXXX©.

I was glad that I did it because one day I opened the local newspaper and saw my local competitor with a program by the same name. I immediately called up the paper and said that they could not advertise because mine was ©.

They contacted them, not me. They did not even know that I complained. They just told them that they discovered that it was already with a registered trademark.