Midweek 2

Dancing is hard work. Putting on a show is hard work. It requires a lot of patience and focus. Humans between the ages of 7 and 11, as everyone knows, excel at these attributes

. Of course most of us acquire these through practice, and we got a lot of practice this week. We asked a lot of the campers.

The hip hop piece brings out great qualities in everyone. Some people take to it very naturally (Angelo, Lance, Grady, Sean), and in others it brings out unexpected fierceness (Lili, Madeleine, Elena, Lily). Adam worked them hard on Wednesday and today they look so good, we think we’re going to do that piece twice in the show.

Oliver continues to shine through in each style of dance he tries.

Jemma and Maya started so strong, I was afraid they might plateau. I worried needlessly. Their skills just keep improving. I talk about them together because they display the same work ethic and the same quiet leadership.

Watching Jonah progress over the two weeks has been really fun. He’s consistently himself, always displays his creativity and really digs into a challenge. We’re pretty impressed with Jonah this year.

I want to give an extra shout out to Lily and Lili. They are so fun to watch.

Elena and Madeleine continue to surprise us with their range. They defy expectations.

Lance and Sean have a rough and tumble quality to them, so in contrast, it’s always great to hear their imaginations come out and see how they perform in the original compositions. And in Beat It, they once again make the King of Pop look like and amateur.

You won’t be able to take your eyes of Grady and Angelo in the hip hop piece. Really. They also came up with some great character renderings. We’ll see how the drawing translates to the actual faces.

Melodie shows up beautifully in every piece, but I might love her best in the musical theater section. She really shines.

Week 2 Day 2

Today the dancers were tired. The first day is always intense as everything is new and they get exposed to a lot of dances. Day 2 we can already see a lot of progress, but the pace is entirely different.

Ricki started working the musical theater piece today and the campers were great! We want to introduce them to different styles of dance and music, but even at ages 8-11, they’re pretty opinionated about music. If it doesn’t fire them up, you can really feel it. The pulse of the whole room drops. Luckily, they were all game to take on the musical theater genre, and it looked like the chorus for Music Man out there.

The second surprise of the day was how well they did with Merengue. Most people find that music infectious, but Latin music is hit and miss with those ages. I was not at all surprised with how good the Michael Jackson piece is looking or with how well they were able to interpret the different music selections we tried the line dance to today.

Hallie and I were in charge of selecting pics for the blog today, and we’re both Libras. That means we’re mesmerized by beauty and we’re slow to make decisions. In short, you get a lot of pics today.

 

Let The Games Begin…Again!

The sadness of saying goodbye to last week’s crew was mitigated by knowing we were going to see 6 of them again today. The first day of school jitters are not nearly as bad when you know some people in class. Today was more laid back than last Monday, even though we have 13 campers in the house this week. We also had returning dancers Angelo and Maya, who each brought a friend. All in all, there was a convivial air about the first day of week 2.

It was noted by one and all that the dancers returning from last week all had an easier time settling in, concentrating and picking up material than they did at the beginning of the first week. It’s amazing what can be accomplished in such a short time with people in this age bracket. It’s quite thrilling for those of who spend most of our time teaching adults.

The new crew proved themselves worthy in every way. Maya and Jemma had the focus and retention of professionals. They seemed like there were hardly working at it to pick up the steps. As always, Maya maintains a cheerful mien through every challenge. Jemma showed a remarkable sense of design and attention to detail in our hat crafting session.

Angelo, who remember from last year as an exquisite mover, was well met with his partner in choreography, Grady. They really embraced the composition assignment and executed on the nuances of the task.

Lili, being new and being our youngest camper, was operating from what some people would see as a disadvantage. However, she was undaunted. She hung in there tough and Mark was thoroughly pleased with her progress learning the Beat It choreo.

Oliver showed the same tenacity as his sister and proved to be able to really embody different qualities. When we were learning the line dance, he looked just like a cowboy. When we were learning the hip hop, he looked like a b-boy.

Melodie threw herself into learning each new thing and was very insightful in work on the original composition.

Great collaboration on the comp piece. Mark is really excited about where this is going. We were so impressed with the work done last week, we’re trying to create an even longer, more in depth comp piece for this week. Stay tuned.

 

Week 1 Wrap Up

We like to let that camp feeling linger. Here is a link to the photos that our professional photographer, Ernie Sapiro, took. Beneath that is the link the videos of the show. Enjoy!

http://erniesapiro.smugmug.com/Other/Century-Ballroom-Dance-Camp/24295318_VfqfxH#!i=1978584027&k=2rcTdjH

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7A6DD9296D79115E&feature=view_all

 

Week 1 Performance

Even better than I’d hoped for! I know the dancers had fun, and it looked like the parents had fun, but I don’t know if anyone had as much fun as the staff. We could not have been more proud of the campers. They really came through. It’s a thrill and privilege to get to know these kids and see their dancer selves evolve.

We’re all looking forward to next week and whole crop of new dances and dancers. Six of the dancers from this week will be joining six new dancers next week. I’ll be posting the link to the video of today’s showing as soon as I can upload it. Check back here to see. In the meantime, enjoy these pics from professional photographer Ernie Sapiro, who shot the performance today.

Day 4

So excited for the show tomorrow. Watching the kids do hip hop the first day had me a little worried, and watching it today had me on my feet! They really worked hard at it and it shows. We throw a lot of different material at the dancers and I’m always impressed to so how they roll with it. Not every dance is for every camper, but they all just hang in there and work at each one.

Olivia and Madison continue to be quiet, solid performers. With no drama or fuss, they just stay focused and get the job done and done well. Then it comes to the original composition and it’s clear that there are exuberant young women just waiting for the chance to bust through. The other side of their personalities shine in that piece and I challenge you to keep a giant grin off your face when you see them come out.

The original piece also brings out what to me is a fascinating side of our young men. Sean, Jonah and Lance all have very distinct personalities and performance identities. They have such precise points of view. Some of the dancers take the solo opportunity to let their inner dancer free, but the boys take that time to let you know something very specific about their performance personas. Their characters are highly developed with deep back stories. I knew they’d be good at “Thriller”, which of course they are, but it’s during the comp piece that I can’t stop watching them.

It’s also a great piece for Emelia to shine. When we did the face painting yesterday I got to see that there’s more depth to Emelia’s performer than I had previously appreciated. Powerful.

Lily is ourgo to dancer. Doesn’t matter what the assignment is she is there, fully embodied. Her energy comes through every second and she is a fearless mover. Lily is an inspiration.

That brings us to Madeleine and Elena. They are together all the time so I naturally group them in my mind. However, they bring very different qualities to the floor. They are like the body and the soul of the dance, but which one is which depends on the particular dance. These girls are killing the hip hop. Killing.

Did I say I was excited for the show tomorrow?

Day 3

Today the kids were amazing. We spent a lot of time talking about their performance personas. They started developing a biography for their performance selves and creating a fitting make-up look. It’s amazing to see what happens to the dancers overnight. They learn the dances and it looks like they are maybe just barely getting it and then they come in the next day and it looks like they practiced all night. It’s very exciting for us. Today I’m going to let the pictures do the talking.