Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending City Ballet Theatre’s 2007 Summer Camp Show. The kids will put on one more performance tonight at Vogel Hall as the grand finale of their summer experience. These kids blow the boat out of the water when they write their “What I Did on my Summer Vacation” essays. They certainly were not just sitting around.
City Ballet Theatre’s Summer Camp engages 60 young people, ages 6-17, in ballet, modern, jazz, tap and African dance for six weeks each summer. These kids produced an impressive show that lasted nearly two hours and was chock-full of fun. I am really not sure how they managed to learn so much in such a short time.
The show included a modern dance number featuring a battle akin to something from "Star Wars," and tap number with nearly all the girls (and one small boy) flitting about under pastel-colored parasols.
There were several ballet numbers which were beautiful and moving. The dancers floated with melancholy grace. An African dance piece told a story which taught the value of working together. The final section of the program featured dancing on a playground to current hit music and was full of energy and good vibes.
Kudos to City Ballet Theatre. They do a great job at engaging the youth in our community and put on a darn good show.
Jessica Laub was born in Milwaukee in the spring of 1970, thereafter spending her childhood days enjoying the summers on the shores of Lake Michigan and winters at the toboggan chute in Brown Deer Park.
Alas, she moved away to broaden her horizons, and studied out East for a few years at Syracuse University. After a semester "abroad" at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, she graduated with a B.A. in English and advertising.
After college, she worked at Glacier National Park, a ski hill in Steamboat, Col. and organic farms in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and California.
In 1995, Laub moved to Nicaragua where she worked on community gardens, reforestation and environmental education as a Peace Corps volunteer. While there, she learned to speak Spanish, pay attention to world politics and how to make tortillas.
Laub then returned to Milwaukee to join the ranks of the non-profit sector. Currently, she works at the United Performing Arts Fund (UPAF) and keeps busy by painting, throwing pots, reading, trying to understand her two-year old son, seeing performances and howling at the moon.
