Summer art camps help refine talents
Sophomore Rachel Vin in a summer ballet intensive which helped her prepare for the year. CONTRIBUTED BY RACHEL VIN.
May 2, 2016
Summer means freedom from school, warm weather and countless ways to fill the free time. Students seeking a program or camp have a large selection of camps to choose from, due to the wide variety of camps that incorporate of one’s interests.
Sophomore Rachel Vin has been attending the Pennsylvania Ballet Academy Summer Intensive program since she was 10 years old. According to Vin, the five-week program is mostly ballet, but dancers can take other types of classes on the side.
“There are supplementary courses like choreography workshop and pilates,” Vin said. “You can get a lot of stuff out of it that you wouldn’t normally get to do around the year.”
Vin said that there are similar options closer to Brookline if travel is a problem. According to Vin, it is important for young ballerinas to attend a summer course so as not to fall behind during the school year.
“For people who are serious about dance, at this age it is vital, because if not you will probably get out of shape, while everyone else in your class is intensely dancing and you are not doing anything you will fall very behind,” said Vin.
Sophomore Masha Goncharova competes in combat Martial Arts and trains regularly. According to Goncharova, martial arts can be very beneficial to building one’s confidence.
“Having that confidence where you know you can defend yourself is absolutely incredible, and I think that is one of the greatest advantages and why I think everyone should at least take a self defense class,” Goncharova said.
For students looking for performing arts camps, the program Summer at Park provides campers with many options of classes. According to freshman Joia Putnoi, Summer at Park is a great choice for anyone interested in acting, singing, or dancing.
“If you are someone who likes art and does stuff artistically and likes to sing or act, it is definitely a good place,” Putnoi said.
According to Putnoi, during her time at Park, she performed in a musical, took a pop singing class, took an Afro-Caribbean dance class and performed at Festival Day, an event where the whole camp shows each other what they have been working on in their smaller groups.
“I made such good friends there, and I am still friends with them even in high school. I see a lot of people from Park in the hallways and that is a good feeling,” Putnoi said.
