Twelve Students Travel to Paris for a Two-week Dance Intensive
Columbia College Chicago has been invited to send a group of students to a summer dance intensive held at the Centre national de la danse in Paris, France from June 15-29. Only four U.S. institutions have been invited to participate in the intensive, called “Camping.”
Students from all over the world will come to learn from each other and study with renowned dance artists like Germaine Acogny, Miguel Gutierrez, nora chipaumire, and many others. In the mornings, students will take class from the other students and give classes themselves, and in the afternoons, each will study with a different choreographer for workshops. In the evenings, there will be performances and dance parties, and students will participate in a performance marathon in the middle of their two-week stay.
Most of the Columbia students participating haven’t been out of the country before, and to study dance in this intense way for two weeks in France is a unique opportunity. The twelve Dance students selected to go are Toree Benson, Sophia Bevilacqua, Orlando de Leon, MJ Hawks, Kierah King, Nik LaMaack, Nia Odum, Haley Peterson, Marco Pizano, Kenny Ward, Katie Welko, and Robyn Wilson.
The students will be joined by their two Dance faculty advisers, Darrell Jones (Dance Associate Professor) and Ellen Chenoweth (Director of the Dance Presenting Series and Dance faculty member).
When the students return, they will share their experience with the Columbia’s dance communities and with Chicago dancers and choreographers. In the fall, they will hold a Friday brown bag lunch, open to both students and the general public. They will talk about their experience and the impact of Camping, and share photos and video.
Currently, 75% of the money for the project has been raised by private donations. There is now a "Chicago Dance Students Study in France" GoFundMe site to raise the remaining funds that will go directly to help pay for the plane tickets, lodging, and meals for the twelve students.