Dance Camp 2009

Cheerful camp staff at a welcoming table greeted campers as they arrived each day for BodyVox Dance Camp (ages 3-12). A white board informs students and parents about the Afternoon Adventure for the day, a successful series of afternoon filed trips around Portland for the younger children, run by Miss Astara.

On the way through the old, winding hallways students can browse the pictures of previous campers taken by Ken Salaman and Jay Harter. Up the stairs, colorful cubbies line up against the wall, overflowing with children’s shoes, craft projects, and lunches. Against the opposite wall colorful maps outlining each portion of the students day hang invitingly on the wall. A large pile of books leans precariously on the piano brimming with craft items.

But most impressively, and most importantly, are the three amazing classrooms that we have running all at once. Each age group (blue 3-5yrs, red 6-8yrs, and green 9-12yrs) has classes that are tailored to match their developmental abilities and interests. Our 3rd floor studio is home to our BodyVox Technique class taught by Sarah Carl; an infusion of bopping music, laughter and instruction, and whirls of movement. In the afternoon the studio holds Repertory class with Heather Jackson, where the Green group learned BodyVox choreography that amazed parents, staff, and the artistic directors alike!!

Behind the studio, also on the 3rd floor, the old storage room is transformed it into our very own Stackrobats Room, covered with plush, colorful mats, and emanating soundtracks of kid favorites such as ‘Happy Feet’. Ashley Roland, Eric Skinner, Ramman Turner, and Sheila Brewer all took turns instructing students in the ways of combining dance and acrobats to create what has become fondly known as the Stackrobats Alphabet.

Ramman is also our Grounded Levitation teacher, which was one of our highlighted classes from Week One. Each week the students had two rotating classes that also included Yoga, ImproVox (improvisation), Boom Box Ballet, and more! These classes were all held in the Bridgeport Heritage Room, big thanks to Bridgeport for letting us invade their 2nd floor mezzanine space with lots of giggling children. The expression “herding cats” is a perfect way to describe what it looks like as we all pile into the Heritage Room for our next class.

Dance Camp 09, rated a huge success. Happy parents, happy staff, and most importantly happy students! We can’t wait for the fall when our new class schedule is launched including all the classes our students participated in during camp, as well as classes for beginning teens and open classes in modern, ballet, and jazz for adults.