Ever attend a dance camp?

[KevinL]

Have you ever attended a dance camp? (By "dance camp" I mean at least a weekend of classes, workshops and dancing where the majority of people have traveled to the event.)

Have you ever attended a dance camp for a whole week?

What did you like about the camp?

What didn't you like?

[Rozzie B]

Hey

I have been to many 'Dance Camps' i am currently involved in one now. The QYB summer schol. It's the Queensland Youth Ballet. It's very good and have gone for 2 years now. This paticular one goes for 10 days, learning jazz, modern, ballet, repertoire and pas de deux. Very fun it goes from the 7th Jan to 17th every year. People come from everywhere. It's situated on the Gold Coast :)

[pygmalion]

Hi Rozzie B! Welcome. :D

I haven't been to a dance camp yet, but I have two or three planned for this year.


Enjoy yourself this week. :D

[KevinL]

Have you ever attended a dance camp? (By "dance camp" I mean at least a weekend of classes, workshops and dancing where the majority of people have traveled to the event.)

I'm been to two dance camps and one weeklong teacher training course, all during my time in San Francisco. The first was the Oakland Swing Dance Festival in 2001, where world class teachers came together with world class dancers. It was fabulous, even if I was over my head. (And I had a cold for a couple of days.)

The second was the San Francisco Lindy Exchange (2001), which wasn't really a camp, but since I hosted people I'd never met before it kind of felt like a "camp". There was an incredible amount of great dancing, but no instruction. I felt ok about that, though, because I'd been social dancing a lot before the exchange and was comfotable with my low-level (compared to everyone else) dancing.

The weeklong Teacher Training course came at the end of a year of the Teacher Training classes, so I was well prepared. The instruction was great, but it didn't specifically include any social dancing since that would have been very challanging after 8-9 hours of classes each day. I did go to a couple of my regular evening classes that week, though, and went out dancing Friday evening.

Have you ever attended a dance camp for a whole week? What did you like about the camp?

Just the Teacher Training course, and it was great because I got to reinforce a lot of what I knew, and build on stuff that I hadn't completely understood the first time through.

What didn't you like?

I didn't like when any of the camps were done, and I had to go back to my daily life, 8^).

Kevin

[pygmalion]

How was the provider/teacher training different from the consumer/student training?

[KevinL]

How was the provider/teacher training different from the consumer/student training?

The teacher training classes (and the workshop I mentioned above) were group classes, and in some ways were similar to "regular" group classes, but there were a number of differences.

We spent a lot more time on the theory of dance. For example, when you step backward in waltz or foxtrot the rise and fall description includes "no foot rise" due to the fact that the heel is on the ground because the footwork on that step is toe-heel and it would be "wrong" to raise the heel on that step.

We also covered all seven of the major components (footwork, foot position, rise and fall, timing, sway, amount of turn, and contra body movement) of each step in much more detail than in any other class I've been in. That worked very well to see how the different aspects interrelate.

We also discussed and practiced important teaching techniques like how to count music, and how to start a class to music, and how to connect different patterns together.

The biggest difference, though, was that in addition to trading partners regularly we also traded roles so that everyone covered both leader and follower parts equally. Being able to switch back and forth is a very important skill for a dance teacher, and not everyone can do it easily. I still have trouble dancing one part while telling the opposite role what to do, but I'm working on it.

[suek]

Dance camps. Lindy camps. Two-four days of classes all day and dancing all night. And dancing in between. Oh yes. My travel patterns have bigtime changed, now that the addiction has completely taken over my life.

Since last year, which was my first full-immersion lindy hop year, I went to Catalina, Lindy Summit, Camp Hollywood, a Steven and Virginie weekend in the bay area, a Frankie Manning weekend here in Sacramento, the US Open Swing thing in San Jose, and I'm going to Frankie's weekend this weekend in Oakland. I even tried to go to a Sylvia Sykes / Jason Christodoulou (sp?) weekend in Florida (combined with a visit to my parents) but that didn't work out (I found out after I arrived in Florida) as Sylvia canceled due to an injury.

Regular vacations don't work for me right now. I found, when I went to the beach for a few days (which used to be a favorite pastime of mine) that I went into acute dance withdrawal. Now my travel plans rotate around what dance events are available.

So far this year I have registered for -- besides this upcoming Frankie weekend -- Reno Dance Sensation and the Balboa Rendezvous. It is my intention to also go to the St Louie Blues camp and the All-Balboa weekend in Cleveland. It's breaking my heart that I don't feel able to also go to the Houston lindy camp coming up. Sounds incredible. Am being prudent with my dance/travel dollars for now, until my business rebuilds.

What was the topic again? Oh yeah. Do I go to camps and do I like 'em. Duh. Yeah.

[dancerfreak5678]

Yes! I have attended a dance camp, but not where ppl from all over have traveled to attend it! I went to the dance camp @ Los Alamitos High School over the summer. Mrs. Rikki Jones teaches it and I have to say that she is one of the coolest teachers ever! But anyway ... back to the camp. There are 2 camps over the summer 2 or 3 weeks apart. They are each 1 week long (5 school dayz) and last for 3 hours each day. It is open to I believe 8th to 10th grade (maybe 11th). And for the 1st hour we stretched. The 2nd hour we did across the floors. And for the 3rd hour we put together routines (this was my favorite part). The stretching was really good because by the end of the week I was way further in the splits then I have ever been for a very very long time!!! For the routines we learned a lyrical, hip hop, and jazz number. And you can also choose to be in the beginner group or the intermediate/advanced group. The whole thing was really fun and it cost $100 per camp (which isn't bad at all for 15 hrs. of dancin) and if you took both I think you got $10 or $20 off the total! So it's all good. If any of you guys here in the forums live in Southern California and want more info let me know!!! Later dayz!

[KevinL]

Since last year, which was my first full-immersion lindy hop year, I went to Catalina, Lindy Summit, Camp Hollywood, a Steven and Virginie weekend in the bay area, a Frankie Manning weekend here in Sacramento, the US Open Swing thing in San Jose, and I'm going to Frankie's weekend this weekend in Oakland.

Ahh, to be back in the bay area, with all the dance opportunities that are available. Do you realize how lucky you are? Yes, I suppose you must, 8^).

Good luck with (re)building your business.

Kevin

[suek]

Since last year, which was my first full-immersion lindy hop year, I went to Catalina, Lindy Summit, Camp Hollywood, a Steven and Virginie weekend in the bay area, a Frankie Manning weekend here in Sacramento, the US Open Swing thing in San Jose, and I'm going to Frankie's weekend this weekend in Oakland. Ahh, to be back in the bay area, with all the dance opportunities that are available. Do you realize how lucky you are? Yes, I suppose you must, 8^).Yes I do know I'm lucky. However, I know of many east coast swing dance events that rock, and there must be many more. There's a central calendar www.lindyexchange.com/calendar/default.htm that I have bookmarked along with all the other dance stuff I keep handy on my laptop. A quick glance shows: DC in April, Myrtle Beach in April, Connecticut in May, Albany in June, Philly in June, Boston in July, Portland Maine in July, SwingOut NH in Sept, NYLH in Sept, Virginia Beach Sept, and more and more and more.
Good luck with (re)building your business.Thanks. Things are looking better.

[Linedancer]

I went when I was 19 (in 1981). It was great! It was held at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg. The classes were: ballet, jazz, tap, voice, musical theatre, and drama.

[mamboqueen]

Kevin -- you haven't been to the one in your home state?? Would love to go, but they make it sound very "couples" oriented. I dunno what the turnout of "singles" is.

I am hoping to go to a MASSABDA camp in the spring. It's a weekend gig on Cape Cod. I know they have had some top names in the past.

The only one I have been to was one at my former studio that was 2 days of classes with Jean Marc Genereux and Eddie Simon there. It was lots of fun and very informative. Took lots of notes, and actually still practice some of what Eddie taught while walking to work every day. I thought it was worth the money (I think $90 for both days). My feet were hurtin' a little by the end of the first day...which is when I went out and purchased dance sneakers!