Finding Friends at Summer Camp Through Dance
Whether or not you’ve been to summer camp, you’ve likely heard that it’s a great place to make friends.
Summer dance camp is an especially great place to make lifelong friends. There are a few reasons that we want to share with you.
Keep reading to find out more about why Pali Adventures dance camp is a great place to make friends and how you can do it!
Why It’s Easy to Make Friends at Summer Dance Camp
Before we get into how you can find friends at camp, let’s look at a few of the reasons why it’s so easy to make friends at camp.
Shared Interests
One way to make friends anywhere is to share an interest with them. When you attend summer dance camp, you’re guaranteed to meet people that love to dance as much as you do.
This makes it easy to connect with them because you both know about dance, music, and other similar subjects. When you have so much in common with other campers, you always have something to talk about.
Spend Time Together
You can’t become friends with someone if you don’t spend any time with them. When you’re at camp, you spend every waking moment with your cabin mates, making it easy to get to know them and become friends with them.
Shared Experiences
You’ll create some great memories during your time at summer camp, both on the dance floor and off. Each of those memories will be stem from something you do with the other campers. Nobody else will fully understand what it was like during your week of camp except for your new friends.
How to Make Friends at Camp
Now that you understand why the camp environment is a great one for forging friendships, let’s jump into how you can make friends at camp if you’re not a natural at making friends.
Leave Electronics at Home
Building friendships starts before you even leave for camp. Although some electronics are technically allowed, we recommend leaving them behind so you don’t allow them to isolate you.
When you don’t have a screen to turn to when you get bored, you’ll be forced to interact more with the other campers. This is particularly good for introverts who may need a push to come out of their shell.
Bring Group Games
What you can bring instead are group games. Whether it’s a card game or a board game, having one you can play with others is a great way to break the ice and have fun with people.
Sometimes, it’s easier to ask someone if they want to play a game than to try to start a conversation. Then, once you’re playing, the conversation will start to flow and you can ease into getting to know someone.
Say Hi
The first step to making a new friend is to meet people. However, this can also be difficult for some people.
Don’t wait for others to come up to greet you if you want to make friends. Instead, take the initiative to greet others and introduce yourself to them.
If you’re nervous, take a deep breath, gather your courage, and just do it. You only need five seconds of bravery to say hi to someone. When those few moments could lead to years of friendship, it’ll be worth the discomfort.
Ask Open Questions
As you get to know someone, an easy way to do that is by asking open-ended questions. These are questions that don’t have a simple “yes” or “no” answer. They create an opportunity for conversations.
For example, if you want someone to talk about their family, don’t ask them if they have siblings. They’ll only answer yes or no and that will be the end of it. Instead, ask them to tell you about their family. Then, they’ll tell you about each member of the family and the conversation can continue.
Volunteer Information
Not everybody will ask you open-ended questions. In fact, many people won’t, but that’s ok. There’s an easy way to share with others and that’s by volunteering information.
Don’t be afraid to tell other campers about your life after asking them about theirs, even if they don’t ask you back. Often, people don’t think to ask a question after responding to one, so you may have to simply tell them as if they did.
Be Yourself
Whatever you do, don’t be afraid to be yourself while at camp. In fact, being away from the expectations others put on you at school is a great opportunity for you to be exactly who you are rather than feeling like you have to live up to what others think of you.
People can sense when you’re being your genuine self and they appreciate it. You can’t build a real friendship on a fake personality. Besides, keeping up on a lie can be exhausting.
Try New Things
One of the many things camp offers is the chance to try things you’ve never done before, whether it’s fencing or tubing on the lake. What does that have to do with making friends? A lot!
If you refuse to participate in anything other than dance classes, you’ll find yourself sitting on the sidelines. That means you’ll miss out on having new experiences and creating amazing memories. You’ll also miss out on chances to make new friends.
Even if you’re afraid about trying a certain activity, take courage and do it. Your fellow campers will be thrilled you were willing to join them and it will go a long way to forging a friendship.
Enroll Now at Pali Adventures
Now you know how you can find friends while at summer dance camp. As you can see, it’s easy to do by simply following a few basic guidelines.
Be sure to enroll at Pali Adventures if you haven’t already done so. Spots for dance camp and our other specialty camps fill up quickly so you’ll want to reserve yours today!