By Samantha Bellerose, B.Ed, Dip.Dance (Performing Arts)
Dance and choreography camps are a fun way to keep up dance skills over the holidays, as well as make new friends. Dance camps can be overnight events or may be held only during the day and may range in length from a day to several weeks.
Most dance schools offer some sort of summer holiday program of classes which they may call camps, workshops or intensives so if you are after a day experience where you drop your child off in the morning and pick them up at the end of the day, you should find a dance school that is local to you and see what they are offering.
What Type of Camp and Dance Experience are you After?
If you are after a pre-professional experience for your child over the summer where your child is working intensively on building and honing their skills for a professional career in dance or ballet, you might want to check out our articles about Dance Intensives 2022 – Your Guide To this Years Summer Dance & Ballet Intensives.
I write about the difference between a dance camp and a dance intensive in our article What is a Summer Ballet or Dance Intensive? or for a clearer understanding of what to expect from a dance camp to go to What is Dance Camp and Should My Dancer Go?
Dance Camp or Performing Arts Camp?
Through my research, I found that the camps offering only dance were limited and so I spread my search to include camps that focused on the performing arts.
There might be many reasons to choose either a dance camp or a performing arts camp and at the end of the day it may come down to your budget or the location of the camps.
The benefits of choosing a dance camp are that your dancer will be doing daily classes in a variety of styles of dance and being introduced to new teachers, choreographers, techniques, and styles of dance. This will help them to maintain skills previously learned and to build on them and improve before coming back for the following year
The benefits of choosing a performing arts camp for a dancer is that they experience acting and theatre lessons and perhaps even singing lessons with some dance training added in. It could be a chance to develop their stage presence, ability to show emotion whilst dancing and improve their confidence and give them a break from just dancing.
LIST OF OVERNIGHT DANCE CAMPS IN THE USA
| Name of Camp and Link | State where Dance Camp is Held |
|---|---|
| FDS Summer Camps | California |
| American Dance Training Camps | California |
| Fantasy Dance School | California |
| American Dance Training Camps | Canada (British Colombia) Outside USA |
| American Dance Training Camps | Colorado |
| Kents Hill Sports Camp | Maine |
| American Dance Training Camps | Maryland |
| Brant Lake Dance Camp | New York |
| American Dance Training Camps | North Carolina |
| Oklahoma City University Summer Dance Camps | Oklahoma |
| Bryn Mawr Dance Camp | Pennsylvania |
| Camp Lohikan | Pennsylvania |
| American Dance Training Camps | Texas |
| American Dance Training Camps | Vermont |
| American Dance Training Camps | Wisconsin |
LIST OF OVERNIGHT PERFORMING ARTS CAMPS IN THE USA
| Name of Camp and Link | State where Dance Camp is Held |
|---|---|
| Bucks Rock | Connecticut |
| Camp Nashoba | Maine |
| Long Lake Camp for the Arts | New York |
| Performing Arts Camp At French Woods | New York |
| Harand Camp of the Theatre Arts | Wisconsin |
LIST OF OVERNIGHT DANCE & PERFORMING ARTS CAMPS THAT REQUIRE AN AUDITION
| Name of Camp and Link | State where Dance Camp is Held |
|---|---|
| Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts Camp | Colorado |
| Interlochen Center for the Arts | Michigan |
Contribute to our List:
If you know of or run an overnight Dance or Performing Arts Camp and would like to be added to our list please contact me through the contact form which you can find at the bottom of every page on this website!
Please note – to be added to this list you must offer an overnight camp and dance or performing and theatre arts must be the theme of the camp and not just elective activities offered.