Arsht Center’s AileyCamp Goes Virtual for 2020
The award-winning camp will focus on dance and community leadership
Last week, the Adrienne Arsht Center launched the 12th season of AileyCamp Miami, an award-winning free summer camp that uses dance as a vehicle for the personal development of public middle school students throughout Miami-Dade County. Due to the ongoing impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Center will host this season’s AileyCamp Miami virtually.
Dubbed the Leadership Summer, AileyCamp Miami, says the Arsht Center, this summer is made up of returning campers who will be challenged to build on their skills and develop their own leadership roles to create a positive culture of influence in their communities.
The nationally acclaimed summer program will provides three virtual classes per day in dance techniques such as ballet, Horton-based modern, jazz and West African dance. Personal development and creative communication classes will teach campers how to express themselves in a positive way and tackle challenging subjects that include decision-making, peer-pressure, conflict resolution, and self-awareness.
Campers will also participate in mentoring activities and curated conversations with inspiring leaders from various walks of life. Each day will feature specially curated theme-based lessons and begins with reciting daily affirmations such as “I will pay attention with my mind, body, and spirit,” and “I will not use the word ‘can’t’ to define my possibilities,” to guide AileyCampers on a path to becoming confident, productive, and motivated individuals.
AileyCamp Miami is produced and funded by the Arsht Center, with public and private support, in partnership with the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation. The Arsht Center provides free meals, dance wear and uniforms for all campers in addition to the new items below needed to make the at-home virtual camp experience as seamless as possible:
- Easy-to-use computer tablets with Wi-Fi access
- Face masks and hand sanitizers for everyday use
- Daily hot meals delivered to campers, including family meals on Fridays
- “Family Fridays” which encourages parents or guardians to participate in virtual classes alongside the campers
- Surprise virtual visits from cultural and civic leaders
Although AileyCamp Miami’s culminating grand finale performance in August is unable to take place on the Arsht Center stage at this time, campers will have the opportunity to showcase their hard work in a virtual performance for family, friends and community leaders. This year’s theme for the finale performance is “Summer of Love” and campers will perform an excerpt inspired by Love Stories, Judith Jamison’s dynamic collaboration with Artistic Director Robert Battle and hip-hop pioneer Rennie Harris.
For information on how to become a supporter of AileyCamp Miami, click here.
Brett Graff is SocialMiami.com’s managing editor and has been a journalist covering money, people and power for over 20 years. Graff contributes to national media outlets including Reuters, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, Maxim, and the PBS show, Nightly Business Report. A former U.S. government economist, her nationally syndicated column The Home Economist is first published in The Miami Herald and then on the Tribune Content Agency, where it’s available to over 400 publications nationwide. She is broadcast weekly on two iHeartRadio news shows and is the author of “Not Buying It: Stop Overspending & Start Raising Happier, Healthier, More Successful Kids,” a parenting guide for people who might be tempted to buy their children the very obstacles they’re trying to avoid.
