At Cal Performances’ annual Berkeley/Oakland AileyCamp, authentic history-in-the-making happens every day. Since the first six-week summer camp was held on the UC Berkeley campus in 2002, more than 1,200 young people from the East Bay have participated in professional-level dance instruction, field trips and workshops geared toward building self-esteem, creative expression, critical thinking, communication and leadership.
Related Articles
Get Out: Berkeley/Oakland AileyCamp performs in Berkeley
Pappas, 94, was Army veteran, longtime Walnut Creek dance teacher
Photos: Bandaloop teaches aerial dancing like its Transamerica Pyramid show
Celebrating the national program’s 35th anniversary in 2024, the entirely free camp concludes this week with a fully produced performance at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall (bit.ly/3W96fUk). Of 126 applicants, 70 campers were picked, and 62 are completing this year’s camp.
Applicants must be ages 11 to 14, attend schools in Berkeley, Oakland, Richmond or Albany districts and anticipate completing the entire six weeks. Breakfast and lunch are provided, and transportation to the campus is available (visit bit.ly/3WyNB9F online for more details).
The longstanding commitment of Cal Performances, the performing arts organization based at UC Berkeley, to showcasing the legacy of Alvin Ailey (bit.ly/3WACxZC), the legendary dancer and choreographer who founded his Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City, is multilayered.
In addition to the summer camp, the company occupies an annual residency in April, offering often sold-out performances, public talks, workshops, master classes and other activities. Oakland-based artist Spencer Pulu has been a camper, volunteer and group leader at AileyCamp and serves as its associate director under Director Patricia West.
“Excellence is the theme for the camps this year and is part of Mr. Ailey’s legacy to the world,” Pulu said. “Mr. Ailey — as an accomplished leader and a visionary artist — is woven into Black history that’s celebrated across the globe.
“One thing that makes Berkeley/Oakland AileyCamp special is our model of cascading mentorship. Staff members who return bring skills they’ve developed working at camp into new roles. These experienced staff support AileyCamp’s directors in their roles and expand what’s possible at camp.”
Although she was never a camper, guidance counselor Katelyn Teixeira did return for her second year and said she notices subtle shifts in the social-emotional needs of this year’s campers.
“Last year, it was more rediscovery of how to interact postpandemic. This year, we’re teetering on the other side. The communication piece is there, but the physical aspect of being around people means personal space is a big issue.
“Wanting to be near each other and touching each other — the physical components of relationships means learning to honor each other’s space. Hesitancy about starting conversations was impacted by the pandemic and still exists, but personal boundaries and communicating what those are is new.”
Teixeira holds a master’s degree in school counseling from UMass Global and is working to obtain a second masters as a marriage and family therapist. She said that during the last five years consulting with Bay Area school districts and other entities, she has regularly witnessed the immediate, transformative nature of AileyCamp.
“I thought it was astonishing the first year, and I see it again now. School districts and other institutions may claim to be equitable and do wonderful things to support kids, but here we do it honestly. It’s real.”
That transformative reality seems evident in camper Parker Richardson, 13.
“Other than hanging out with friends, some new ones made at camp and some from before camp, my favorite thing was going to a beach in Alameda,” Parker said. “We put on long white dresses and did ‘Wade in the Water’ (a section of Ailey’s iconic dance work, “Revelations”). Our skirts were floating on the water and flowing in the wind.”
Parker brought prior contemporary and hip-hop dance experience and a passion for musical theater to her first-time camp experience.
“I like expressing myself and music, like music from the newest ‘Annie,’ ‘Lion King’ and ‘The Greatest Showman’ (productions). I’ve always been comfortable dancing, but leaps come harder and the jazz teacher helped me. She kept us practicing, and I feel accomplished. I feel if I put my mind to it, I can do it.”
With all the upbeat enthusiasm at the camp, it’s also hard work, especially during the first week. Parker said the conditioning is intense and that the crunches and other core work left her sore but eventually stronger.
Teixeira’s job as a counselor involves being highly attuned to the campers’ physical and emotional demands. She said she adheres to building five foundational competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making.
“The last one is the overall focus because it has to do with these campers who are challenging themselves physically, creatively and socially while coming out of the pandemic,” Teixeira said. “It’s identifying problems, evaluating situations in a way that uses the frontal lobes.
“They’re under stress, working hard and managing relationships with not only peers but staff and their families. They make decisions every day — it’s so much more than dance.”
Pulu recalled a camper from last year who had difficulty following instructions. The staff held conversations with the family and on the last day of camp, the camper didn’t want it to end.
Returning for a second year, Pulu said the family attested to their child’s behavior and focus in school having improved, a change they attribute to the camp. Pulu said the camper this year adeptly navigates group dynamics, leads discussions about adapting the choreography and expresses a desire to return as a junior leader in the future.
Teixeira emphasized that what the campers are receiving that could serve as a model for schools and other learning institutions is history placed in context. She said that when excerpts from Ailey’s “Revelations” (bit.ly/4cSzbXU) are restaged by Nasha Thomas and Torens Johnson, campers join a lineage of celebrated dance artists and enjoy access to seminal music like the “Revelations” pieces “I Been Buked” and “Rocka My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham.”
“In an African technique class, I saw the teacher share the history,” Teixeira said. “Talking about not just the movement but music and drumming to a mixed group of boys and girls, Black, Latino and White kids, I saw them all get excited.
“There was representation and power in what they heard, and it helped them to remember the dance movements. It ignited their fire and their connection to dance. It informed their identities that I see as confidence. This history exists, and now it’s part of the context of their lives.”
Lou Fancher is a freelance writer. Reach her at lou@johnsonandfancher.com.