Dance Camp: Here We Go Again

This year marked my second JSA Summer Dance Camp. This experience is one like no other! For some people, it's a chance to work in different styles than we study during the year or meet new people in the program. And for others it's a chance to see if dance is something that interests them. For me? It was mostly just the experience. Everyone there is in the camp because they want to be there. No one could make the dancers take it and that makes the program a lot more fun. There are people who are trying dance for the first time, but there's also people who dance in competitions. So it's a really good mix of experience levels.

Through this camp, I've found that there's a lot more to dance than just going through the motions. Being good at that means nothing if you can't pour your heart and soul into every inch of your being. And while I'm not there yet, classes and this camp have definitely helped me get closer.

Some of the styles that we studied along with a brief idea of how we studied them are below:

-Contemporary: We actually learned a dance through CLI Studios online, watching an instructor with assistants teach it. Personally, I really loved the movements because they were non-traditional shapes and movements that you don't get to work with very often.

-Choreography: During camp, we had some class time to choose a song and choreograph roughly a minute and a half of material. Some of this material came from an improvisation exercise that we then linked steps together. Each group's piece was so unique and amazing. (Out of 8 groups, only two of them did not use Billie Eilish songs, which I found particularly interesting.)

-Musical Theater: This year we did a fun, upbeat number from "Hairspray" titled "The Nicest Kids In Town". We also preformed it again at the JSA picnic, which was a lot of fun. This dance was learned in two classes, which was going through material really fast, so it was a good challenge!

-Lyrical: This style is a particular favorite of mine because of the emotion that is required. The choreography was amazing with repetitive motion and different manipulations of common steps, allowing for something really moving.