Happy feet at dance camp
The 80 children at AileyCamp Boston spend each day in ballet, tap, modern-dance, and jazz classes.
But something more important than learning how to point their toes or move to a syncopated rhythm is happening: They are learning life lessons.
As the 11-to-14-year-old students, literally and figuratively stretch into this new experience, they learn about concentration, listening to directions, and discipline.
"AileyCamp is not designed to prepare dancers; rather it uses the art of dance to improve a child's overall ability to move to the next step in their lives," says Martha Jones, president and executive director of FleetBoston Celebrity Series, which sponsors the Boston program. One student, Tony Tucker, a 12-year-old football player, has already found a practical application for his training.
"I wasn't into ballet at first, but it's better now. It seems like a lot of football players take ballet," he says.
Now in its second year, the six-week summer dance camp is an educational program of the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation, connected to the dance troupe founded in 1958 by the African-American performer and choreographer. Other Ailey camps operate in Kansas City, New York, Chicago, and Bridgeport, Conn.
FleetBoston Celebrity Series raises more than $250,000 to pay for the program in Boston.
"While asking for money is always difficult, people understand [the] importance" of AileyCamp, Ms. Jones says. The funds provide the students with full tuition, transportation, and breakfast and lunch, as well as T-shirts emblazoned with the AileyCamp logo, dance clothing and shoes, and a large black ballet bag to carry their new attire.
Schantelle Whyte, a tall, graceful 13-year-old, uses ballet gestures while talking about how much she likes the teachers, who are recruited from the local dance community. "You can sit down and and talk to them," she says.
Jose Mijangos, age 12, says, "If I don't understand a dance, the teacher doesn't pull me out and embarrass me. It makes it easier to learn."
The summer program is based in the auditorium and studios on the subterranean levels of the Renaissance Charter School, near the theater district. The day begins with cereal, fruit, juice, and milk in the cafeteria before the students and staff share a class in meditation and yoga that helps to prepare them for their dance work.
Besides the dance curriculum, students take classes with an art teacher and attend workshops on personal development.
Several weeks ago, the entire camp traveled by bus for a day at the Ailey School in New York, where they watched rehearsals, attended a master class, and met Judith Jamison, artistic director of the Ailey troupe.
"The best outcome for the AileyCampers is their having a new sense of self," Ms. Jamison says. She was a star performer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater before succeeding Ailey as director after his death in 1989.
Roderick Calloway, an 11-year-old who wears his hair in dreadlocks, was thrilled to meet Ms. Jamison in New York.
"I knew all about her," he says. "She's one of the last people to tell about Mr. Ailey when he was alive. When I was really young, I wanted to grow up to be the president or a congressman. Ever since I came to camp, I've decided to be a dancer."
Calloway told Jamison that he hopes she'll be able to "see me dance when I grow up."
More than a half century ago, a boy named Alvin Ailey had a life-changing experience when his junior high school class attended a performance by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. The AileyCamps are an outgrowth of the mature Ailey's belief that "dance came from the people and should be given back to the people."
