AileyCamp

AileyCamp

ACA Accredited Camp | Day Camp | Specialty Camp

The primary goal of Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey (KCFAA) is to make dance accessible to all people. To help accomplish this goal, KCFAA implements AileyCamps-KCFAA’s awarding winning, signature program for middle school students. Much more than dance programming, AileyCamp provides students’ experiences to develop in areas of social-emotional skill building, enhancing coping skills, strengthening relationships, and community engagement.

The physically demanding camps will serve up to 100 students at each camp location. Each year, AileyCamps take on a different theme such as PERSPECTIVE in 2023. Activities include daily dance instruction (ballet, modern, and jazz dance), personal development class where students discuss relevant topics and build on their conflict resolution and coping skills, and creative expression class (spoken word, poetry, etc.). The Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) and the Master of Social Work (MSW) Camp Counselor and Personal Development Class Instructors reflect the population we serve and our LMSW has been with the program for more than 20 years. Campers meet Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. over six weeks. They receive full tuition and are outfitted with backpacks, T-shirts, shorts, unitards, school supplies, and various sets of dance shoes. Breakfast and lunch, and bus transportation are also provided at no cost to their families.

Campers are separated by age into four groups (C, A, M, and P,) and will stay with their group for the duration of camp. Ballet classes emphasize posture; carriage; alignment; strength; flexibility; style; and placement of the arms, legs, and torso. Jazz classes emphasize accelerated, syncopated, and isolation movements, as well as free expression to rhythm. In modern dance, campers explore movement through space by running, jumping, and using different dynamics and imagery; emphasis is especially placed on the importance of warming up and injury prevention. Tap dance focuses on basic steps with complex rhythms. Students learn the importance of discipline, hard work, and commitment. Personal development classes encourage the development of positive self-concepts, wise decision-making, and healthy lifestyle habits and cover a wide range of topics from a middle school-age perspective. Topics have included:

• COVID-19 Impact
• Hygiene, Healthy Habits
• Self Esteem Building, Self-Respect, Positive Self-Concepts
• Empathy/Bullying
• Coping Skills/Stressors
• Conflict Resolution
• Control
• Identifying Emotions/Suicide Prevention/Awareness
• Drug and Alcohol Prevention/Awareness
• Puberty
• Team Building

AileyCamp recruitment begins in the winter when KCFAA makes applications available in both English and Spanish at school facilities and online at the KCFAA website. Applicants and parents or guardians receive a one-on-one in-person interview (Zoom, if necessary) that helps staff gather pertinent information such as living situations and program commitment. Children and youth ages 11-14 primarily from extremely low-come backgrounds (100% of Kansas City, Missouri (KCMO) campers are eligible for free and reduced lunch) and historically excluded communities (77.3% are African American, 11.4% are Multiple Races, and 5.7% are Hispanic; 85% are girls) are the primary beneficiaries of AileyCamp. Camp classroom instructors and group leaders represent artists and staff of color who are former AileyCampers themselves, and they serve as strong role models. At the conclusion, campers showcase their accomplishments in a professional theater setting at a free, final performance event for families and the community.

Working in partnership with the KCPS and KCKP school districts, KCFAA hosts one camp in Missouri at the Paseo Academy for Fine and Performing Arts in KCMO and the other in Kansas at Carl B. Bruce Middle School in Kansas City, KS. The camps incorporate the best in dance training for students who would otherwise not have the opportunity and help children and youth develop skills that impact their success in life. AileyCamp is about:

• Growing up strong, healthy, and ready to take on the world.
• Appreciation of the cultural and recreational resources in Kansas and Missouri and making use of them.
• Hard work, having fun, developing self-discipline of the body and the mind, learning new things about oneself, learning about others, and learning about our world.

To ensure AileyCamp is accessible and remains free for low-income and extremely low-income students, we count on support from foundations, individuals, corporations, and government grants. The Camps for Kids matching grant provides opportunities for individuals to support AileyCamp by investing with a first-time gift or an increased gift. The funding is critical to AileyCamp success!