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The Department of Theatre and Dance is thrilled to offer programming beyond our formal degree programs. This summer, we have a variety of exciting opportunities for young artists to grow their skills, showcase their talents and explore The University of Texas at Austin.
Registration for 2026 Theatre and Dance Youth Summer Camps will open February 4, 2026.
YOUTH SUMMER CAMPS
Contemporary Dance Intensive: Creative Collaboration
June 8-12, 2026
Ages 13-17 (8th-12th graders) | To avoid injury and maximize enjoyment, participants should be dancing at least 10 hours per week.
Camp Instructor: Leah Cox
In this contemporary/modern dance intensive, you'll further your dance technique, deepen your artistry and develop your collaborative skills in a community of passionate dancers. Each day will include classes in contemporary/modern dance technique, phrase-work and collaborative choreographic methods. The week will culminate in a showing for friends and family of the dances we choreograph together based on a theme we choose. Our time together will be rooted in positive reinforcement, exciting challenges and shedding perfectionism for curiosity and imaginative play. Join us for a week of inspired, joyous and shared dancing!
ABOUT LEAH COX
Leah Cox grew up in Spring, Texas. Her senior year of high school, she attended North Carolina School of the Arts, graduating with an emphasis in ballet. Cox attended Texas Christian University, where she realized she loved ballet, but was more at home in modern dance forms. She spent fourteen years performing, creating new dances, teaching, setting repertory and developing education programs for the New York City-based Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company. Currently, Cox dances with Liz Lerman in her latest project, Wicked Bodies, and makes dances for herself or for dancers in universities. Cox’s current role as an associate professor of dance at The University of Texas at Austin provides her with many opportunities to dance and collaborate with students and colleagues.
Registration - Contemporary Dance Intensive
Registration opens February 4, 2026.
Tuition: $550
Register by March 22 and save 15% on tuition.
Space is limited.
Some scholarships are available. For more information about the workshop, financial assistance and/or discounts, please email tadsummercamps@austin.utexas.edu.
Exploring the Arts: Superhero Edition
June 22-26, 2026
Ages 7-11 (2nd-5th grade). No audition/portfolio required. Spots are limited.
Drop off: 8:30-9:00 a.m. (Camp sessions begin at 9:00 a.m.) | Pick up: 3:30-4:00 p.m.
Pow! Bam! Splat! The Department of Theatre and Dance invites young people to join us for Exploring the Arts: Superhero Edition. This week-long day camp at The University of Texas at Austin is for students who are entering the 2nd through 5th grade (ages 7-11) at any school or homeschool setting in Fall 2026. Each day, our group will use music, dance, theatre and visual art to carry out missions, solve mysteries and save the day from evil villains. By engaging in the creative arts, our young superheroes will be challenged to further develop their creative powers, discover individuality and understand community. On the final day of our journey (June 26), friends and family will be invited to an hour-long showcase where our superheroes will present the art they have created through an informal exhibition.
No audition or portfolio is required, and young superheroes of all artistic backgrounds are encouraged to join. All skill levels will be supported through a variety of hands-on, interactive learning experiences and everyone should come prepared to move, explore and collaborate each day. A limited number of scholarships are available.
Registration - Exploring the Arts: Superhero Edition
Registration opens February 4, 2026.
Tuition: $550
Register by March 22 and save 15% on tuition.
Space is limited.
Some scholarships are available. For more information about the workshop, financial assistance and/or discounts, please email tadsummercamps@austin.utexas.edu.
Exploring the Arts: Wizards, Knights and Princesses
July 6-10, 2026
Ages 7-11 (2nd-5th grade). No audition/portfolio required. Spots are limited.
Drop off: 8:30-9:00 a.m. (Camp sessions begin at 9:00 a.m.) | Pick up: 3:30-4:00 p.m.
Hear ye, hear ye! Come one, come all and join us for Exploring the Arts at The University of Texas at Austin. The Department of Theatre and Dance invites young wizards, knights and princesses who are entering 2nd through 5th grade (ages 7-11) at any school or homeschool setting to gather with us for this week-long day camp. Together, we will use the creative arts to explore medieval times, discover individual talents and create our own village. Using music, we might slay mystical creatures. Through theatre and dance, we might navigate complicated castles. With visual art, we might discover distant lands. On the final day of our quest (July 10), we will invite family and friends to an hour-long festival where our young wizards, knights and princesses will share the art they have created.
No audition or portfolio is required, and young wizards, knights and princesses of all artistic backgrounds are encouraged to join. All skill levels will be supported through a variety of hands-on, interactive learning experiences and everyone should come prepared to move, explore and collaborate each day. A limited number of scholarships are available.
Registration - Exploring the Arts: Wizards, Knights and Princesses
Registration opens February 4, 2026.
Tuition: $550
Register by March 22 and save 15% on tuition.
Space is limited.
Some scholarships are available. For more information about the workshop, financial assistance and/or discounts, please email tadsummercamps@austin.utexas.edu.
Past Summer Camps (2025)
Contemporary Dance Intensive (2025)
June 23-27, 2025
Ages 13-17 (8th-12th graders) | To avoid injury and maximize enjoyment, participants should be dancing at least 10 hours per week.
Camp Instructor: Leah Cox
In this contemporary/modern dance intensive, you'll further your dance technique, deepen your artistry and develop your collaborative skills in a community of passionate dancers. Each day will include classes in contemporary/modern dance technique, phrase-work and collaborative choreographic methods. The week will culminate in a showing for friends and family of the dances we choreograph together based on a theme we choose. Our time together will be rooted in positive reinforcement, exciting challenges and shedding perfectionism for curiosity and imaginative play. Join us for a week of inspired, joyous and shared dancing!
SCHEDULE
9:00-9:30 a.m. | Drop Off
9:30-11:00 a.m. | Contemporary/Modern Technique Class
11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. | Phrase Work
12:15-1:15 p.m. | Lunch
1:15-3:45 p.m. | Collaborative choreography
3:45-4:00 p.m. | Pick Up
Friday, June 27 | Informal Performance (Times to be announced)
ABOUT LEAH COX
Leah Cox grew up in Spring, Texas. Her senior year of high school, she attended North Carolina School of the Arts, graduating with an emphasis in ballet. Cox attended Texas Christian University, where she realized she loved ballet, but was more at home in modern dance forms. She spent fourteen years performing, creating new dances, teaching, setting repertory and developing education programs for the New York City-based Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company. Currently, Cox dances with Liz Lerman in her latest project, Wicked Bodies, and makes dances for herself or for dancers in universities. Cox’s current role as an associate professor of dance at The University of Texas at Austin provides her with many opportunities to dance and collaborate with students and colleagues.
Exploring the Arts, Exploring the Self (2025)
July 7-11, 2025
Ages 7-11 (2nd-5th grade). No audition/portfolio required. Spots are limited.
camp director: madison palomo
8:30-9:00 a.m. Drop off (Camp sessions begin at 9:00 a.m.) | Pick-up 3:30-4:00 p.m.
Exploring the Arts, Exploring the Self is a week-long day camp at the Department of Theatre and Dance at The University of Texas at Austin where youth going into grades 2-5 (approximately seven to 11-year-olds) will explore the self through art, music, dance and theatre. Each day, the group will engage the arts to present and perform ideas of who they are, as individuals and as a community. All youth will be involved in each of the disciplines and be challenged to further develop their skills in art forms they are more familiar with as well as try art forms that are less familiar to them. On the final day (Friday, July 11), the group will showcase their art in an hour-long, youth devised exhibit and informal performance for invited family and friends. The full week-long workshop will be interactive and youth should come prepared to move, explore and collaborate every day.
Youth who are entering 2nd - 5th grade at any school or homeschool setting in Fall 2025 are encouraged to register. No audition or portfolio is required and youth new to the arts are encouraged to join! All levels of experience with the arts will be supported and those with more experience will be challenged to learn and develop their skills. Some scholarships are available.
Imagine arriving at UT, walking into a dance studio, gathering in a circle, participating in some community building exercises, discussing where your name comes from, then writing a short piece of prose or poetry about your name and reading that to a small group of other youth, drawing or creating an abstract art piece about your name and sharing with a few peers, shaping the letters of your name with a partner and sharing with others, finding sounds or using your voice or an instrument to create the sound of your name (without using your actual name) and then sharing with others. That is what one day of this camp might look like. If you want to have fun exploring and sharing who you are through the arts, join us!