Thread: summer month=low enrollment

Sheesh, what happens to all the bellydance students in the summer? It seems that every year I have a dozen or more beginners who say they are interested, but then very few actually follow through, and by the 4th or 5th week of class there are only a handful left. Any ideas for keeping beginners interested & engaged through the summer when the outdoors is calling them? Do you do ongoing/drop in or drills instead of regular session? A mini-session of just a few weeks instead of 6 or 8? Workshops only? My intemediates all stick it out, it's the newbies that I'm missing right now.

I stick with my regular sessions, I think prepaying for the session keeps 'em coming more than if they could just drop in. And honestly, I don't think my teaching is as effective when I can't build from one class to the next.

But summer months are lean for me, always.

My numbers go down for the summer too, but not hugely. I teach through park & recs, so they have to prepay for the whole 6 week session up front. I think with all the traveling and other plans people have during the summer, along with the kids being out of school, they figure it's not worth paying all that money if they know they'll be missing more than a couple of classes.

I don't teach at all during July or December due to low attendance. I use those months to travel and vacation, to refine my class notes and work on choreographies, and to work my butt off on my other business (whose busiest month happens to be December).

I am having the same issue except these people actually pre-paid. They all have vacations and stuff that prevent them from coming to all the classes. Plus enrollment #'s are down for summer - always.

When I move to my new rec center gig, no December and no summers!

We run classes year round and here the summer classes are usually packed registration wise. Of course showing up wise is a whole nother ball game. One week I may have 20 or more then next week might be 4, I never know. A lot of summer attendance seems to be related to weather, an ounce of humidity and there is usually an echo in the class room...lol. I've also noticed right when school lets out and again just before it starts attendance is low, usually due to vacations.
This December due to how the holidays fall I'm doing drop in "specialty" classes for the weeks between sessions. Things like movie nights to watch videos, prop classes, and relaxation/stretching classes. That way anyone who needs some "me" time away from family and the stresses of the holidays can come "play" without having to sign up for and then possibly miss out on classes.
What we have noticed is our registration numbers are down slightly from the past three years but that is being attributed to gas/economy more than anything else.

I teach a yearly summer class where people have to register on beforehand and choose which weeks they can/want to join. They pay only for those weeks, it gives me the opportunity to know on beforehand when who will be there, and I can adapt the class accordingly. A lot of people from other teachers come to these summer classes, so the content doesn't really depend on what we see in the rest of the year. I usually teach a a 'niche' subject or we do a simple choreo that will be taught in more detail later on.

My students clamor for summer classes... but I know from experience that although their intentions are good, there are just too many distractions. I don't teach during the summer. Private lessons are up, though, which is nice.

my attendance is way down. I'm looking for a real job right now to make ends meet. I have a student recital this weekend and only 2 students promising to come.

Yes, I was wondering about this; over the spring I had 22 students, now it's down to four-six? I am hoping that it's just a summer trend...

Well, in my experience (at least with beginner levels), classes any time of year start high in attendance and dwindle to just the really interested by the end of the session.

My summer classes are usually among my largest. I historically run one 10-week beginner course 3 times a year, and it is always full (my "limit" is 18, but I usually end up with 19 or 20). This summer I ran 2 beginner level classes and both were full. Both classes meet for the last time this week. Last week the number of attendees began to dwindle and they'll be down even more this, the last week of classes, but overall they stayed surprisingly high this year.

Anyone ever do a kids (or teens?) bellydance "camp" in summer time? I'm thinking ahead to next year.

Originally Posted by Sabine

Anyone ever do a kids (or teens?) bellydance "camp" in summer time? I'm thinking ahead to next year.

I tried it last year, but didn't get the minimum number of students to run the class (I called it BellyTeen!, and even invoked the name of Shakira in the flyer copy).

My attendance is always lower during the summer (except for one class that doubles in size every summer - go figure!). This summer, though, it's been worse than usual. I actually had to cancel one of my classes because only two students signed up. My "regulars" who haven't showed up this summer are all citing the economy for their absence - they can't afford classes right now, so they figured they'd take the summer off and save up.

For me economy has a lot to do with it. I have the time not the money. My rent went up, my bills and basic living expenses. I can usually get 50 cents out of penny, now i'm lucky lucky i can squeeze an extra 10 cents.
Even at my store (I sell high end luggage) my customers are not traveling as much, not spending as much. Looking for sales and deals.
This is usually my busiest season for luggage,camp,back to school vacation etc. this year its slow.(sorry off topic a bit)
I know 10.00- 12.00 may not be much every week(just giving and example of cost)when budgets are tight.
last year at this same time i was taking weekly classes. but then again I could afford it last year. I now save my pennies for a private lesson or workshop.

Alrana