For six weeks this summer, more than 100 city kids will learn dance techniques in Washington Heights from some of the best trained dancers in the country. AileyCamp, a program of the world-famous Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, kicked off last week, transforming IS 90 into a dancer's playground.
Chanel Clersaint, 14, is all smiles as she works on her form during a dance class at AileyCamp Miami, a six-week summer camp taking place at the Arsht Center. The camp, in its fourth season, brings together children ages 11 to 14 who are struggling with poverty, crime, single-parent households and other challenges.
WBGO's Doug Doyle features AileyCamp Newark's final performance.
When Nehprii Amenii of Brooklyn walked into Newark Arts High School for the first time this summer, she was prepared to be hit with what she called "full cannons of attitude." Since then, she has been spending weekdays teaching creative communication to 11 to 14 year-olds as part of AileyCamp, a full-day summer program offered by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and financed, in Newark, entirely by the Prudential Foundation.
A new branch of AileyCamp has sprouted in Newark, NJ. For over 20 years, the full-scholarship day camp, a program of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, has been reaching urban students across the U.S., harnessing the power of movement to foster self-confidence, creative expression, and critical thinking.
The Prudential Foundation is funding Newark's first AileyCamp, a summer camp that embodies Prudential's belief in arts education as a means of revitalizing struggling communities while educating the future work force.
Dance teacher Wayne Williams stood at the lip of the Newark Arts High stage, his back to the two dozen black-clad students lined up behind him. "Where are your hands?" he asked over his shoulder. "Out" they shouted. "Chin?" he called. "Up," they said. "Stomach?" "In," they replied a few giggles distupting their perfect unison.
This morning, down at the Berkeley Marina, 56 East Bay middle schoolers were experiencing a host of "firsts". Many of them were taking to the water for the first time - donning life-jackets and sailing out into the Bay - not without a certain amount of trepidation in many cases.
Contemporary dance innovator, Alvin Ailey, believed that "dance is for everybody," and was particularly passionate about providing underserved youth with the tools they needed to express themselves and develop a greater sense of self-esteem.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performed 39 times in December to enthusiastic packed houses at New York City Center, but there was a special quality to the cheering with which an equally large - but significantly younger - audience responded one Thursday morning during the season.