SUNY Potsdam Creative Arts Campers Get Ready for Talent Showcase

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SUNY Potsdam dance major Justice Kennedy teaches classes as part of the Creative Arts Camp.

• SUNY Potsdam Creative Arts Camp Director Dr. Jay Pecora works with children during a recent session in the Performing Arts Center.

POTSDAM, NY (07/28/2017) (readMedia)-- More than 50 local elementary, middle and high school students are learning to harness their passion for performing and writing at SUNY Potsdam this week and next, through the College's annual Creative Arts Camp.

The day camp serves young people of all ages, from Kindergarten through twelfth grade. Students from across St. Lawrence County are taking part once again this year.

The Creative Arts Camp allows campers to choose from three different pathways-theatre, dance or creative writing. Older students are encouraged to build on their existing talents and skills, while younger children are introduced to the art forms through a number of fun activities.

Camp Director Dr. Jay Pecora, an associate professor in SUNY Potsdam's Department of Theatre and Dance, said that the program teaches young people life skills and confidence.

"Students in the theatre pathway are working on projecting their voices and practicing their improvisation skills, as well as memorizing lines. The creative writing students end up producing thousands of words of writing, with poetry, short stories and comics. The dance students are working on hip hop and modern technique," he said. "At the end of the camp, every group presents something at our showcase."

Eleven dedicated SUNY Potsdam students are leading the camp as instructors and counselors, which allows them to build their skills in education and the applied arts.

The final camp showcase will be held on Saturday, Aug. 5, for family and friends of the campers. All sessions are held in SUNY Potsdam's Performing Arts Center.

The SUNY Potsdam Creative Arts Camp is administered by the Department of Theatre and Dance, and is made possible in part by an Extended Day Grant from St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES.

From directing, choreographing, acting and dancing, to designing and technical work, theatre and dance are highly collaborative art forms at SUNY Potsdam. Students and professionals engage in creative problem solving, requiring the setting and meeting of long-term goals, and the analysis and understanding of movement and dramatic literature. For more information about SUNY Potsdam's Department of Theatre and Dance, visit www.potsdam.edu/theatre.

Founded in 1816, The State University of New York at Potsdam is one of only three arts campuses in the entire SUNY system. SUNY Potsdam's arts curriculum offers the full palette: music, theatre, dance, fine arts and creative writing. No matter the discipline, people from all backgrounds can find their creative compass at Potsdam, with myriad arts immersion experiences available for both campus and community.

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