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Kids Find Their Groove at Summer Dance Camp By Barbara Roy Remember that first charming moment when your child responded to music by bobbing their heads or waving their hands or tapping their feet in (a semblance of) rhythm to the theme song from Sesame Street or a Baby Einstein DVD? The movement was probably accompanied by a smile of pure joy. It’s a fact that from birth, human brains are programmed to move to music. The urge to dance is in the soul of a person. As your child grew, they probably continued to boogie to one thing or another. Whether your house is home to a budding prima ballerina or a cool hip hop dude or just an energetic kid who needs a creative outlet, consider devoting part of the summer to a dance camp. The Twin Cities offers a wide variety of camps for all sorts of young dancers in all ranges of experience. Why a Dance Camp? The benefits of dance begin with the creative outlet, but extend far beyond it. The obvious one is exercise. Dance training builds strength and endurance. Body awareness, grace, and team work are other outcomes. Dancers are often part of a team and learning respect for classmates and partners is a skill which extends into all areas of a child’s life. To learn dance is also to learn music, so musicality is another benefit. Dance is art and learning to express oneself physically and emotionally is just the tip of the creativity that can be learned from this activity. And talk about a life skill: young dancers go on to become performers in school and community productions, they join the competitive dance teams, and they become better athletes in virtually any sport they try. As adults, they may enjoy ballroom or square dancing. But the biggest reason to attend a dance camp is simply that it is active and fun! Remember that baby’s smile of joy? You will see it again and again as your child dances. What Are My Choices? The Twin Cities and surrounding area offers a wide variety of summer dance camps and classes ranging from learning about choreographers and creating original dances to simple movement classes. You will find tap, ballet, hip hop, ballroom, kickline, and dances specific to a culture. Classes are available for literally all ages from birth on up. Check out your local community education department or newspaper to find a studio in your area. Most are eager to describe what they can do for your child, and most are willing to take a child from where they are and help them to grow their dance skills. Is Experience Necessary? What if your child just wants to experiment? No problem. Dance instructors are willing to start where the student is and move them along. The ratio of teachers to students is usually very good which allows a lot of personal attention. Dance teachers want to share their love of dance with your child. All they ask is that your child be open to experimenting and ready to move, move, move! How Do I Know If This is Right for My Child? Do they like music? Are they active and looking for things to do physically? Have they ever jumped up to dance with Elmo or the Wiggles? Do they like to pretend? Do they enjoy sports or art? Would you like them to learn to work with others? Are they open to exploring new things? If your child has special needs, most camps welcome them gladly and will accommodate. Kari Mosel, of the Stuart Pimsler Dance Studios put it this way, we are looking for “children who just cannot stop their bodies from moving!” If this sounds like pretty much all children, that’s no accident. Typical Day? Although all camps are different, a typical day might involved a 2-3 hour session of warm up, practicing specific skills, making up dances on their own, and rehearsing for a recital. Most classes run 3- 5 days a week and camp sessions last from one week to six weeks. A Sampling of What the Twin Cities has to Offer Ballet: The Classic Ballet Academy has classes and camps in St. Paul and Woodbury this summer for several levels of experience. They offer two 7 week sessions one June 7-25 and one July 20-Aug. 13. They also offer a Mini Camp (July 6-17) for beginning ballet as well as a Pre-Ballet Workshop for ages 4-6 June 8-13. Each session ends with a performance. For those with a serious interest in ballet, they offer a 3 week Dance Camp with each session taught by a famous ballerina.(Balletminnesota.org) Kickline and Dance Team: Just For Kix believes that dance often starts as a pastime but quickly develops into a passion, and they would like to help foster that passion. Just For Kix started in Brainerd, Minnesota, but now operates camps all around the state as well as sessions in Brainerd for established school dance teams. They will offer a Youth Camp at Fridley H.S. this summer. A student does not have to be a member of a dance team for this camp. The day starts with aerobics and evolves into the dancers breaking into teams, which chose their own names. (a bonus: friends can be on the same team if they like). If your child is interested in joining the school dance line, this would be a fun option.(justforkix.com) Cultural: The Twin Cities offers pretty much anything you want in the way of using dance to foster appreciation of your or another culture. You can find African, Polish, Russian, Japanese, or Korean dance classes, and this is just the very tip of the iceberg. O’Shea Irish Dance in St. Paul says that dance training makes “great listeners, trains memory, and aids social skills.” They offer classes for Wee Ones (ages 0-3 with parent), which includes songs, dances, and stories. Pre-School classes for ages 3-5 are also popular and for school-age kids, classes progress from Beginner through to Competition Prep. Here’s a chance to use dance to expand your child’s global awareness.(osheairishdance.com) Modern Dance: Zenon Dance has been described as the “nucleus of Twin Cities modern dance.” They have offerings for ages 3 and up which include not only modern dance, but also jazz, tap, hip hop, African, break dance and improv. If your child is into popular music, this might be a good choice. Zenon participates in a summer Culture Camp which allows kids ages 7-11 to spend a day at 5 visual and cultural art organizations including the Children’s Theatre Company, the Walker Art Center, and Zenon Dance. They also offer a High School Intensive Camp where high school students can hone their skills in modern, jazz, and hip hop styles. Zenon allows dancers to try a variety of styles. They offer kids an “opportunity to try something new.” All classes and camps are held at the Hennepin Center for the Arts in Minneapolis.(zenondance.org) Choreography: Stuart Pimsler Dance offers a class in “Dance Taking, Dance Making” which will teach students in grades 4-9 about historically significant choreographers such as Alvin Ailey and Martha Graham through videotapes and discussion. Each class will include hands on discovery of the dances of these great dancers as well as a chance for students to develop their own choreography. The session concludes with a final showing of the short pieces which the students have developed under the one-on-one direction So, have your child grab his or her dancin’ shoes and head off to class this summer. Not only will it burn off that extra “Mom, what shall I do now?” energy, it will teach them body awareness skills for a lifetime of movement, socializing, and fun.
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