2023 Theatre and Dance Youth Summer Camps

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. 

July 10-14, 2023 

Ages 9-12 (4th-6th grade). No audition/portfolio required. Spots are limited. 
Camp Instructor: Roxanne Schroeder-Arce, M.F.A. 

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 4-6 (approximately nine to 12-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 14), 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 4^th-6^th grade at any school or homeschool setting in Fall 2023 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. The workshop will be facilitated by a UT Austin professor and graduate, undergraduate and high school students, plus some special guests (professor will always be present). 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!

ABOUT ROXANNE SCHROEDER-ARCE

Roxanne Schroeder-Arce is associate dean of UTeach Fine Arts (Fine Arts Education), where she works with faculty and students leading teacher certification programs in art, music, dance and theatre. She is also an associate professor of Theatre Education in the Department of Theatre and Dance. As well as an administrator and teacher, Schroeder-Arce is an artist-scholar and arts advocate. Her plays for young audiences, including Mariachi Girl and Señora Tortuga, are published by Dramatic Publishing. Her newest published play, Yana Wana’s Legend of the Bluebonnet (co-authored with María F. Rocha), was recently recognized with a Distinguished Play Award from the American Alliance for Theatre and Education. She has published articles in journals such as Youth Theatre Journal, International Journal of Education & the Arts, Nakum Journal, and Theatre Topics, as well as chapters in books including Latinos and American Popular Culture and Nerds, Goths, Geeks, and Freaks: Outsiders in Chicanx and Latinx Young Adult Literature.

July 17-21, 2023 

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 

9:00–9:30 a.m. | Drop Off
9:30–11 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
Friday Afternoon – informal performance – Time TBD

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.  Leah 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 NYC-based Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company.  Currently, Leah 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.