In a typical year, the Prince Dance Institute would be gearing up for its annual Summer Dance Camp, hosted by Kahilu Theatre. But due to COVID-19, the Waimea-based theater remains closed through the end of August.
Instead of shutting down the program and going dark for the summer, the Waimea-based performing arts school is taking things into its own hands and going virtual with a full slate of online dance, musical theater, and body conditioning classes.
Directed by Prince Dance Institute (PDI) Instructor Debra McGee, the camp starts July 13 and will run Monday through Thursday until July 30.
The program features acclaimed instructors and choreographers and is split in three age brackets for enrollees to choose from: the Kickin’ Keiki Camp (ages 5-6), the Jumpin’ Juniors Camp (ages 7-12), and the Soaring Seniors Camp (ages 13-adult).
“It is such an honor to be directing Prince Dance Institute’s summer program, where we are offering a wide range of online classes from Ballet and Contemporary to Hip Hop, Breakin’, and Jazz to Musical Theatre and Acting,” said McGee. “This dynamic virtual summer camp has options for ages five to adult so that the whole family can enjoy the accomplished teaching artists we’re bringing in. Come one, come all to this enriching and revitalizing summer experience!”
While summer dance camps are traditionally held in a live studio space, taking the program online provides PDI with a unique opportunity to showcase instructors that would not be available to them usually.
“Offering classes taught by Broadway performers and NYC artistic directors is not something we could logistically do in a live setting with our summer dance program,” said Angel Prince, Artistic Director of PDI. “However, in the online space, we can connect our students with amazing artists and teachers from all over.”
Prince Dance Institute is also partnering with CLI Studios to present the “CLI Studios 2020 Dance Experience” in its summer camp offerings. The experience is a supplemental virtual summer program that runs today through Aug. 23 and offers more than 300 live streaming classes in a variety of styles and skill levels, plus over 300 additional recorded classes that can be taken at any time.
“We are very excited to offer our students the ‘CLI Studios 2020 Dance Experience’ this summer because CLI Studios’ class format, teacher roster, and production quality are the gold standard for recorded online dance classes,” Prince added. “I wanted to offer this amazing opportunity to our students so they could continue their dance training and learn from the best in the world of dance.”
Summer Dance Camp instructors include Prince, McGee, Erin Kawakami, Noelani Anderson, Michael Sato (Kailua-Kona), Katy Ross Raczkowski (Kailua-Kona), Jaquelynn Jeanne Collier (Kailua-Kona), Nadia Schlosser (Hilo), Jessica DiMauro (New York), Grady Sullivan (New York), Natalie Jolly (Texas), Gabrielle Fara Tolno (Colorado, Hawaii and West Africa), and Keisha Laren Clarke Gray (Atlanta).
The fee for the Soaring Seniors Camp and Jumpin’ Juniors Camp is $200, and includes the CLI Studios 2020 Dance Experience for ages 8 and 8 up. The Kickin’ Keiki Camp fee is $100.
Those interested in taking the “CLI Studios 2020 Dance Experience” in an a la carte fashion can sign up for the package through Prince Dance Institute for $50.
Scholarships provided by Prince Dance Institute are available for qualifying students.
Registration and scholarship applications are available online at www.princedanceinstitute.com. For more information, contact McGee at (808) 769-0464 or debra@princedanceinstitute.com.