Matric dances in South Africa have come a long way since the days of corsages and tuxedos.
But despite its evolution into a more casual event, it remains a milestone in many teens’ lives.
As the matric dance planner, it’s your responsibility to ensure that all aspects of your matric dance 2022 is planned and executed with the utmost care.
Planning a dance for your matric farewell? We’ve got the ideas you need, from picking the perfect date to selecting trendy entertainment like a photo booth.
Matric dance planning
Planning your matric ball should be a fun and exciting experience. Don’t forget that!
Matric dances can be one of the most memorable times in a teen’s life, so it’s important to make sure that you have everything planned out before the big day comes.
You should remember that the keys to organising a successful matric dance are careful planning and delegating.
There is a lot of work to be done, but with the right mindset and team in place and a little bit of planning, you can be sure that your matric dance will be a night to remember!
Ok, motivational paragraph done! ✅
Here’s some advice on where to begin. Let’s start with deciding on a date.
Pick the Right Date
The first thing that you need to do when organising any event is to pick a date.
It’s important to choose one that works well with everyone’s schedule so that no students are left out!
When choosing a date, look at school holidays and avoid weekends if possible because many people won’t have time off from work.
Choosing the right date can be tricky. There are many factors to consider, including:
- avoiding holidays and school events that are likely to conflict with your matric dance
- choosing a date that doesn’t compete with other high schools in your area so you don’t end up with fewer students than expected
In the end, making sure everyone’s schedules allow them to attend is by far the most important consideration when it comes to picking a date!
Reserve your matric dance venues early
If you want your matric dance to be a success, begin working on securing a venue early.
Finding and securing the venue is the most weighty part of the process.
You’ll want to book your date and location all at once.
Make sure you have enough room for your entire senior class by booking a venue large enough to accommodate everyone.
Zevenwacht, CTICC and Westin Cape Town all offer matric ball packages.
If you’re renting out a space in an existing community centre or hotel, make sure they allow outside vendors like DJs, who need their own equipment! (More on that later)
Don’t hire an unreliable photo booth company
The Venue Layout
The way your venue is set up—from its size to the flow of traffic—will influence how people experience your event.
- Consider space for vehicles to drive and park – but remember most students will use Uber to travel around Cape Town
- A red carpet
- Think about where people will be walking, sitting, and standing as they move from place to place
- A room for socialising and another for relaxing
For security reasons, an open-plan layout with minimal barriers is a good idea.
matric farewell ideas (and themes)
Now that you’ve decided where your matric dance venue will be, it’s time to think about how you want to incorporate matric farewell themes.
The theme should be something that everyone can enjoy, whether they’re a student or not.
This is the perfect time to think about how you want your matric dance to be remembered by all of the students and guests!
You can choose to focus on the matric ball theme and decorate everything accordingly, or you can let it be a subtle detail that adds a little something extra to your event.
I’ve narrowed it down to a couple of popular awesome matric dance themes:
- Moulin Rouge
- Enchanted Forest
- Complete luxury and diamonds
- Fire and ice
- Disco
- Neon
- Tropical
- Great Gatsby
- The Oscars
- Masquerade ball
You could ask students to vote on a final chosen theme. The more people involved in this voting process, the better!
Get sponsors for your matric dance
Sponsorships are an important part of any matric dance, but finding one can be a challenge.
When you’re looking for sponsors, it’s best to choose local businesses.
This is because they will be familiar with your community and the people in it, which means that they will be able to market themselves to potential customers or clients at the same time as supporting your matric dance.
How do you approach these businesses?
The first step is contacting them and asking if they would like to become a sponsor.
If your request is successful (and if there are no major problems), then you may want to suggest some specific ways in which the business could benefit from sponsoring your matric ball:
- Sponsorship provides valuable exposure for their brand within the community
- The event will be publicised on social media before, during, and after its date
- There may be opportunities for future partnerships between parties involved
Matric Ball ideas
Entertainment is crucial to add some fun to any matric farewell night, but it can be helpful for shy students who would rather avoid having to ask someone for a dance.
With everyone being dressed up there will be lots of selfies.
Photo Booth (Say Cheese)
Photo booths give students the chance to make fun matric farewell photos that create unforgettable memories.
You could even have the photo booth print out matric dance photos instantly so that they can take the prints home with them.
In addition to the photo booth hire, you might consider a backdrop or area for people to take pictures.
Hire a 360 photo booth
This is a great option if you want something different from traditional photo booths but don’t want to spend too much money. A 360 photo booth hire is also fantastic for if you’re looking for an activity that will keep matric students entertained during the dance.
matric ball backdrop ideas
A backdrop can be a great way to add some personality to your photo booth and give it some life.
You may want to have a simple, yet colourful background that complements your matric ball theme. Or you might want to make something more extraordinary – you could try one of these ideas.
Wood pallets and balloons are a great backdrop idea for a matric ball. This is a great option if you want something a little more rustic and unique. All you need is some wood pallets (you can usually find these for free on Gumtree), some paint or stain, and some balloons.
A Glowing Ping Pong Table
Led ping pong tables are a great way to add a fun and modern twist to any home or office space.
These led tables are an excellent addition to a matric dance.
Not only are these led ping pong tables fun to play on, but they also add colour, light, and style to areas.
The light effects of these led tables create the perfect ambience for playing ping pong.
Other matric dance entertainment ideas
- A band or DJ
- A photographer
- A photo booth
- A videographer
- A caricaturist
- and what about an inflatable bouncy house? Maybe too much fun!
The ambience
If you’re looking for more ambience, consider stringing up some curtains and twinkle/fairy lights.
Look at creating a cosy and inviting space for guests to snap some pics.
You can even DIY this.
Matric farewell gift ideas
Party favours are a great way to thank everyone for coming to the matric farewell.
They add a personal touch and make the night even more memorable for everyone.
A good party favour should be useful, memorable, affordable and easy to buy/distribute.
Here’s 6 Matric farewell gift ideas:
- Engraved or sandblasted champagne flutes
- Wooden, glass or silicone drinks coasters
- Mini Succulents
- S’mores Kit
- Custom tote bags
- Personalised keyrings
All of these can be customised with the details of your dance
TIP: Create a hashtag
It’s probably a good idea to think of a matric dance hashtag in advance so you (and everyone else) can post on social media with the same hashtag.
A good hashtag should be easy to remember and not already taken. Keep in mind these rules when choosing your matric dance hashtag:
- Make sure it’s not offensive
- Don’t use very short ones (make sure it has at least two words)
- Don’t be too specific about what you want people to post about (this will just confuse them)
Conclusion: how to plan a matric farewell
Overall, planning a successful matric dance is no easy feat.
You should begin planning it as soon as possible.
It’s a gargantuan task that requires patience, hard work and good time management skills.
While there are innumerable things to consider while planning a matric dance, the experience ultimately makes it worth the effort.
So whether you’re an experienced planner or going solo for the first time, it’s important to understand the details of planning and hosting this massive event.
Missing out on the best ideas could mean that you’ll have to play catch up later on.
Matric dance is also an opportunity to show off your creativity and make it unique to you.