Camp Red Cedar, a summer camp for children and adults with disabilities, is collaborating with the Fort Wayne Ballet to offer campers a unique summer camp experience. Beginning Tuesday, June 16, at 10:30 am, and once a week for the remainder of the summer camp season (7 weeks), dancers from the Ballet will visit the camp facility, located at 3900 Hursh Road, Fort Wayne to perform for campers and work with them on movement and dance.
Programs will be tailored each week to best meet the needs of the particular group of campers. For example, week 1 is Camp Red Cedar’s autism week. Campers attending this week may be sensitive to sounds or touch. Other weeks will include non-ambulatory individuals in wheelchairs, who will require hands-on assistance with the movement portion of the program. Each week will also center around a different theme like animals, Disney, holidays, pirates, etc.
“Camp Red Cedar is so excited to partner with the Fort Wayne Ballet,” said Camp Director, Carrie Perry. “The benefits campers may experience from this program are numerous and include introducing them to new ways to increase physical well-being and self-esteem through dance and movement, giving them the opportunity to meet and engage community artists, and simply having fun and enjoying a performance. For some of our campers, this may be their first exposure to the arts.”
“This new partnership with Camp Red Cedar, speaks to our hearts,” said Christy Sandmaier, Director of Administration for Fort Wayne Ballet. “We truly believe everyone can and should dance in whatever way that personally means for them. The opportunity to present our mission and make a positive impact with the campers is an awesome one. Dancers participating will be a combination of faculty, company dancers and performing level students experienced in presenting outreach performances and demonstrations, including our Healing Arts Program presented at Parkview.”
About Camp Red Cedar Camp Red Cedar is a division of Benchmark Human Services. The mission of Camp Red Cedar is to encourage children and adults with disabilities to move beyond their boundaries through recreational activities, outdoor education, creative arts and interaction with horses, in an integrated environment, serving people of all abilities.
For more information about Camp Red Cedar and its programs, please visit: www.campredcedar.com.
About Fort Wayne Ballet:
Fort Wayne Ballet is a nationally recognized and critically-acclaimed dance academy and performing arts organization that originated in 1956 through the vision and empowerment of community engagement. As its mission, the Ballet “enriches our region by inspiring and nurturing an appreciation for the art of dance through educational excellence, artistic achievement, performance experiences and community engagement activities.” The organization operates the Academy that offers multiple levels of dance instruction, annually performs three main stage public events, and hosts a variety of dance venues in and around the northeast Indiana community.
Fort Wayne Ballet is a funded member of Arts United of Greater Fort Wayne and is funded in part by the Indiana Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. More information is available at www.fortwayneballet.org.