“What I Did Over My Summer Vacation” stories are never in short supply from students who enjoy summertime programs at New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), the state’s largest provider of arts education.
Enrollment is open for students ages 10 to 18 who wish to experience a new art form or expand their creative skills in Dance, Devised Theater, Musical Theater, Hip Hop, Jazz & R&B, and Filmmaking. NJPAC’s 2018 Arts Education Summer Program encompasses a Young Artist Summer Intensive in dance and theater, as well as a week-long All-Female Jazz Residency.
Classes range from two to five weeks, June 25 through August 3, Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The Center for Arts Education is at 24 Rector St., adjacent to the Arts Center’s campus.
For registration, course updates, and tuition information, visit njpac.org/summer or call (973) 353-7058.
The summer immersion programs are led by a highly qualified faculty, many of whom are professional artists, performers and musicians. The 2018 courses include:
- Young Artist Summer Intensive. Every division of the Young Artist Summer Intensive builds skills in the performing arts of dance, devised theater and musical theater, and gives students the opportunity to express themselves and create. NJPAC faculty members provide a positive and nurturing learning environment for students to develop their inner artist. Divisions include Apprentice (ages 10-16), Artisan (ages 12-18, audition required) and Advanced (ages 12-18, audition required).
- Hip Hop Intensive. Students learn beatmaking (DJ, production, beatboxing), movement (break dance, classic hip hop dance, today’s choreography), MCing (rap and spoken word), and visual arts (graffiti, wearable art and mural design) from ambassadors, entertainers and preservers of the culture. Ages 10-18.
- All-Female Jazz Residency. (Regina Carter, artistic director) In this overnight residency at Rutgers University in Newark, young women find inspiration and build community while refining their instrumental or vocal skills. Working side by side with respected jazz musicians, they participate in lessons, ensemble work, panel discussions, field trips and a student showcase. Ages 14-25.
- Jazz and R&B Intensive. This program, which spans Latin music, classic jazz and R&B, enriches a student’s repertoire through ensemble work, listening, improvisation and performance. NJPAC’s jazz faculty members guide young musicians through a cultural journey and take their vocal, instrumental and songwriting skills to the next level. Ages 12-18.
- NJPAC Summer Filmmakers. Students learn collaborative filmmaking and media arts, media literacy, camera work, editing and storytelling through digital video production. Participants create narrative, documentary or experimental short films and develop web content. In partnership with Downtown Community TV. Ages 13-18.
NJPAC’s Arts Education programs are made possible through the generosity of the Women’s Association of NJPAC, The Prudential Foundation, The Victoria Foundation, Merck Foundation, PSEG Foundation, Wells Fargo, Berkeley College, McCrane Foundation, Inc., care of Margrit McCrane, New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and Discover Jersey Arts.
