A Week of Creativity!Fine arts camp

 

Embark on a journey of self-discovery with friends! Professionally-trained instructors guide campers in one discipline: art exploration, puppetry, dance, music, and theatre. Fine Arts Camp focuses on educating young girls and developing their communication, critical, and analytical thinking skills. At the end of the week, campers present their work in a Performing Arts Forum on the O'Laughlin stage at Saint Mary’s College. 

Over five days, participants will explore five fine arts disciplines: music, dance, theater, and puppetry, and art. Daily classes in these disciplines are combined with a performance class where each camper specializes in a specific art form. At the end of the week, families are invited to attend a performance of what the campers have been creating

We are excited to offer both residential and day camp options this coming summer! We encourage all young women with a passion for the arts- from beginners through experienced artists- to enroll in Saint Mary's Fine Arts Camp. The only requirement is the desire to learn and have fun!

2024 Camp Information

Fine Arts Day Camp

For girls entering grades 4-8 as of September 2024

Dates: July 15-19 (7:30 a.m. - 8 a.m. drop-off | 4:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. pick-up EST)

Cost: $395
Scholarships Available - Apply Now

$50 Early Bird Discount Available until March 31st 

REGISTER NOW!

Fine Arts Overnight Camp

For girls entering grades 5-9 as of September 2024

Dates: July 21-26

Cost: $749
Scholarships Available - Apply Now

$50 Early Bird Discount Available until March 31st 

REGISTER NOW!

Pick your concentration — Experience them all!

At Fine Arts Camp, campers explore five fine arts disciplines: art, music, dance, puppetry and theatre. Based on the camper's preference, each camper will attend a daily performance class where they will work alongside our professional trained instructors to create a piece of art within that discipline. At the end of camp, each camper will have the opportunity to present their art to family and friends in our Performing Arts Forum!

Take a look at what we offered in the Summer or 2023 and our new classes for 2024 will be posted soon! 


ARTart class

Fluffs and Fuzz

Daily Class:  We will be crafting small stuffed animals using felt, fabric, and fluffy stuffing.  Campers will learn the basics of hand sewing and can create a creature of their own design or use a pre-made pattern for their animals.  

Exploration Class:  We will explore how felt is made, and what you can create with it.  Campers will learn how to needle felt and hand-felt to create fiber-based sculptures straight out of their imaginations!

 


MUSICUke Jams

Music is Everywhere!

Performance Class: Campers will sing a medley of songs from the hit Disney movie, Beauty and the Beast! Specific song selections may include Belle, How Does a Moment Last Forever, Be Our Guest, Evermore, and Beauty and the Beast! We will work together to choreograph, rehearse, and stage this group of songs. We will also enjoy sharing some of our drumming circle work and original sound explorations from the day classes.

Exploration Class: Through games, singing together, and other musical activities, campers will learn the fundamental building blocks of music - beat, rhythm, melody, harmony, and movement. We will also create original pieces through found percussion instruments, bucket drumming, and body percussion. Our explorations will be done in whole group, small group, individual, and pair settings!


DANCE

Dance Exploration:Choreography, or dance-making, is the creative process that begins with inspiration from what we see, hear, feel, and experience. Campers will take part in games and activites using various inspirations for exploring and improvising movement, learn how to design and shape those movements, and ultimately create dances of their own. 

Dance Performance: Using the creative process of choreography learned in dance exploration class, campers will work together to makes dances of all styles to be performed with music from the "Carnival of the Animals" composed by Camille Saint-Saens. We'll have bouncy kangaroos, synchronized schools of fish, graceful swans, and much more. 

 


THEATREtheatre class

Not Your Mom’s Princess

A reclamation of the traditional fairy tale by today’s Princesses

Performance Class:  Have you ever been frustrated by all the sleeping and waiting in castles that princesses do in the old-fashioned fairy tales? Or maybe you think the fairy godmother gets a little too much credit? Or that perhaps it is the prince’s turn to be rescued? What would you do if you were given the chance to direct these princesses?  The theatre performance class will focus on short fairy tales that the campers have chosen to rework into a princess story we can all support. They will work in small groups to change the settings, the course of events, the characters, or even completely re-write the book to create a script which they will act out during the parent showcase performance on Friday. 

Exploration Class: All campers will explore the process of building a traditional character through the use of voice and movement to convey all the heightened qualities and emotions of a fairy tale world. We will use storylines as a beginning point before dismantling the myth of the perfect fairy tale world. We will work to emphasize the things we love about princesses and their friends, but change the qualities that need some updating to be the true heroines of our stories. In our theatre classes everyone is expected to participate in group movement work, partner and small group improv, and eventually short group skits. We ease campers into performing by starting with low-pressure, whole group activities and then allowing them to choose whether they take on bigger or smaller roles in the subsequent activities, building confidence, a support structure, and trust as we work.


PUPPETRY

Class Description Coming Soon 


Michele Foust
Michele Foust, Program Director

Meet the Director

Michele Foust, Academic Co-Director & Dance Instructor, is a Professor with Saint Mary’s College Program in Dance during the school year.  She loves to do all forms of dance from ballet to jazz to folk and believes everyone can learn to dance!  She also loves dogs, ginger ale, and camp t-shirts. If you’ve always wanted to dance, Fine Arts Camp is the place to give it a try- if you’ve always danced, Fine Arts Camp is the place to share that joy with your camp friends!

Questions?

We know how important choosing a summer camp is for you and because of this, we are here to answer any questions that you have!

Call: (574) 284-4778

Email: camps@saintmarys.edu

 

Check us out on Facebook and Instagram!

 

An opportunity to explore theatre and more
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