The Studio Owner’s Guide to Profitable Summer Intensives: Pricing, Packaging, and Planning
(Note: Keep an eye out for next month’s article, where we will be focusing entirely on how to build and market sizzling summer camps for young children!)
Summer shouldn’t be down time financially! With camps, intensives and workshops you can still have a robust season if planned correctly. Here are some strategies we have used and have finetuned over the years. Transitioning from half-day camps for preschoolers to a mandatory Summer Intensive for your competitive team requires a completely different playbook. You are no longer marketing to the community to acquire new students; you are providing rigorous, high-level training to your most dedicated dancers.
If you are launching a mandatory intensive for the first time, here is exactly how to structure, price, and launch your program so it runs smoothly and profitably.
1. Should the intensive be included in regular tuition or paid separately?
Always charge a separate fee for your summer intensives. Rolling it into your standard 10-month or 12-month tuition often causes confusion and devalues the specialized nature of the training.
Summer intensives typically involve longer hours, specialized classes (like injury prevention or audition prep), and often guest teachers. Keeping this fee separate allows you to accurately track the profitability of the intensive itself and ensures you have the cash flow to cover those extra summer expenses.
2. How should you structure the payments?
For a high-ticket item like a week-long intensive, offering structured installments is the best way to secure registrations without giving parents sticker shock.
The Deposit: Require a non-refundable deposit (e.g., 25% or a flat $100) at the time of registration to hold their spot. This gives you the working capital to secure your guest instructors' travel and accommodations.
The Installments: Break the remaining balance into two payments—one due 60 days out, and the final balance due 30 days before the intensive begins. Avoid chasing payments during the actual week of the intensive!
3. What is a typical cost for a week-long intensive?
Pricing varies wildly depending on your market and whether you are bringing in outside talent, but the golden rule is: do not underprice this. * The Math: Calculate the total hours of instruction. Multiply that by your highest hourly drop-in rate, then add a premium (15-20%) if you are bringing in guest choreographers or providing catered lunches/team bonding activities.
The Range: For a full-day, week-long intensive (e.g., 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM for 5 days), prices typically range from $350 to $650+, depending on the caliber of guest faculty and your region.
4. When should you send out information and registration details?
When an intensive is mandatory for your company members, you are competing with family vacations. You must claim your dates early!
January/February/March (Save the Date): Announce the dates to your current team. They don't need the full schedule yet, just the exact week they need to be in town so they don't book a cruise.
March/April (Registration Opens): Release the official pricing, guest teacher lineup, and open registration to collect those deposits.
June (Final Details): Send out the daily schedule, dress code requirements, and collect the final balance.
Pro-Tip: Bookend Your Summer! > At our studio, we found the ultimate scheduling sweet spot: host one intensive the very first week of summer, and another the very last week. Families rarely book vacations during these transition weeks. Bonus Hack: Schedule your intensive in the evening (e.g., 4:00 PM to 8:30 PM). This completely "snow-day proofs" your schedule, ensuring you are in the clear even if the local school year runs late!
5. Additional Pro-Tips We’ve Learned Along the Way
Bring in Fresh Voices: Bringing in outside talent makes the intensive feel like a premium "convention" experience right in your own studio, which justifies a higher price point.
Looking for Top-Tier Talent? We can help! If you want to bring the magic of a convention directly to your dancers, get in touch with us. We can help connect you with incredible Dance Teacher Web faculty members to guest teach and inspire your students this summer. Reach out to our team to see who is available!
Build in Bonding: Technique is important, but team culture is everything. Dedicate the last hour of each day to a non-dance bonding activity—whether it’s a seminar on sports psychology, a group craft, or a pizza party.
Leverage Free Tools: Take the guesswork out of pricing! Check out our Free Dance Studio Operations Suite. Inside, you can use our financial forecasters to build out your budget before you ever announce a price. Know your exact costs for guest travel, hotel, and hourly staff pay so your profit is guaranteed.
🎁 BONUS: Summer Intensive Email Swipe File
Copy, paste and edit these pre-written email templates to announce your mandatory summer intensive, collect deposits, and secure your roster!
[Template 1: The "Save the Date" Email]
(Instructions: Send this to your company families in January, February, March or as soon as your dates are locked in.)
Subject: 📅 SAVE THE DATE: [Studio Name] Mandatory Summer Intensive!
Hi [Company Team / Team Name] Families,
We are already gearing up for an incredible [Year] competition season!
Because our Summer Intensive is mandatory for all company members, we want to get these dates on your radar immediately so you can plan your family vacations around them.
Please block out the following dates:
Dates: [Start Date] – [End Date]
Times: Approximately [Start Time] to [End Time] daily.
We are currently finalizing an amazing lineup of guest faculty and master classes that will push our dancers to the next level. We will be sending out the official schedule, pricing, and registration links in [Month you will open registration].
For now, just make sure these dates are protected on your calendar!
Best,
[Your Name/Studio Name]
[Template 2: The "Registration is Open" Email]
(Instructions: Send this in March or April to announce your faculty and collect the initial deposit.)
Subject: 🚀 Registration is OPEN: [Year] Summer Intensive!
Hi [Company Team / Team Name] Families,
It is officially time to secure your spot for the [Year] Summer Intensive! This week is going to be packed with high-level training, team bonding, and some incredible guest choreography.
The Details:
Dates: [Start Date] – [End Date]
Times: [Start Time] to [End Time]
Location: [Studio Name]
This Year’s Guest Faculty: We are thrilled to announce that we are bringing in some incredible talent this year, including [Teacher Name 1, specialty] and [Teacher Name 2, specialty]!
Pricing & Payment Schedule: The total cost for the week-long intensive is $[Total Cost]. To make this easier for our families, we have broken this down into installments:
Deposit Due Now: $[Deposit Amount] (Non-refundable, secures your spot)
Installment 1 Due [Date]: $[Amount]
Final Balance Due [Date]: $[Amount]
Action Required by [Deadline Date]: Please click the link below to submit your deposit and lock in your dancer's spot.
[Insert Link to Your Registration Portal Here]
We can't wait to see the growth that comes out of this week. Let us know if you have any questions!
Best,
[Your Name/Studio Name]
[Template 3: The "Final Reminders & Hype" Email]
(Instructions: Send this 5–7 days before the intensive begins to make sure everyone is prepared, packed, and excited to kick off the new season.)
Subject: 🌟 ONE WEEK AWAY: Final Details for our Summer Intensive!
Hi [Company Team / Team Name] Families,
We are officially just one week away from the [Year] Summer Intensive!
The faculty is ready, the choreography is set, and we cannot wait to get all of our dancers back in the studio together. This week is the official kickoff to our new competition season, and it is going to set the standard for our training all year long.
To make sure everyone is ready for a successful and focused week, please review the final details below:
📍 The Basics:
Dates: [Start Date] – [End Date]
Daily Schedule: [Start Time] to [End Time]
Arrival: Please have your dancer arrive at least [Number] minutes early each day to warm up and get in the zone.
🎒 What to Bring:
Dancewear: Form-fitting dancewear in [Studio Colors / Dress Code]. Hair must be securely pulled back.
Shoes: Bring ALL dance shoes daily (Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Hip Hop sneakers, etc.).
Fuel: Pack a healthy, protein-packed lunch and plenty of snacks.
Hydration: A large, refillable water bottle (hydration is crucial this week!).
Extras: A notebook and pen. Our guest choreographers will be giving incredible feedback, and we want our dancers taking notes!
A Quick Note on Mindset: Intensive week is meant to challenge our dancers. They will be pushed out of their comfort zones, and they will likely be sore! Please encourage them to come in with an open mind, a positive attitude, and a willingness to work hard. The growth that happens this week is what builds championship routines later in the year.
Please ensure all remaining balances of $[Final Balance Amount] are paid via the portal by [Deadline Date].
We are so excited to get to work. Let’s make this our best season yet!
Best,
[Your Name/Studio Name]
[Template 4: The "Post-Intensive Wrap-Up & What’s Next" Email]
(Instructions: Send this 1–2 days after the intensive concludes to celebrate the dancers’ hard work, thank the parents, and smoothly transition into your fall rehearsal schedule.)
Subject: 👏 That’s a Wrap! So proud of our dancers + What’s Next
Hi [Company Team / Team Name] Families,
Wow. What an absolutely incredible week!
We just wanted to take a moment to officially close out the [Year] Summer Intensive and say how incredibly proud we are of every single dancer. This week was demanding—both physically and mentally—but our team showed up with so much focus, energy, and determination.
Watching them push past their comfort zones, support one another, and tackle challenging new choreography from [Guest Teacher Names or "our amazing faculty"] has us more excited than ever for the upcoming competition season. The growth we saw in just a few short days was truly remarkable.
Parents, a huge thank you to YOU. Thank you for the early drop-offs, timely pick-ups, making sure they were fueled and hydrated, and for your continued investment in their dance education. We couldn't do this without your partnership.
Looking Ahead: The Fall Schedule Now that the foundation for our season has been set, it’s time to look ahead to our regular rehearsal schedule.
Rest Up: Dancers, please take the next [Number] days to rest your bodies, stretch, and recover!
Fall Schedule: Our official Fall Company Schedule kicks off on [Date].
Rehearsal Times: You can now view the finalized weekly schedule and choreography blocks by logging into your parent portal here: [Link to Portal]
First Payment: Just a friendly reminder that the first installment of regular season company fees will be processed on [Date].
Please review the fall schedule carefully and let us know by [Date] if you spot any unavoidable academic conflicts.
Enjoy the rest of your summer break, get some well-deserved rest, and we will see everyone back in the studio on [Date]!
Best,
[Your Name/Studio Name]
🌟 READY TO TAKE YOUR STUDIO TO THE NEXT LEVEL?
Speaking of Summer...
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