This spring, the Celebrities have been able to bring back their usual spring camp with “Up, Up and Away.” Filled with music, dance and laughter, little dancers were able to come back to the stage for a fun day filled with hanging out with the Celebs.

“Up, Up and Away” is an annual spring camp to give elementary school dancers in the community the opportunity to learn new dances and perform with the Celebs in the Spring Show, students in grades between Pre-K to fifth grade were able to showcase their dancing skills. 

On April 30, the Celebrities dance team hosted a one-day camp for elementary students interested in dance, giving little kids not only the opportunity to have some fun dancing and playing with their friends, but also to hang out with the big dancers and learn more about the professional dancing environment.

“The camp was a fundraiser for the dance department and a way to connect with our community of possible future celebs,” junior Sandra Ziegler said. “It gave little kids the opportunity to come hang out with the celebrities, learn a fun dance routine and play some games.”

Starting the day with some stretches, each kid got to hang out with one Celebrity through the day, learning and polishing dances, sharing memories and having some active fun.

“Each of the celebs had an assigned buddy and we started out by greeting them and guided them in a group stretch,” senior Madison Cherry said. “Then we started learning the routine “Hawaiian roller coaster ride”, a song from Lilo and Stitch that many of them recognized and then we played games, ate snacks, and then did a little show for their parents.”

Camps like this help the Celebs bring more awareness to many of the different shows and other activities that the program puts on. This one in particular served as both a spring fundraiser and an advertisement for the Spring Show, giving the kids an opportunity to perform in it.

“It was partly a spring fundraiser and partly a way to continue to advertise the spring show and even invite some of the kids to be in the show with us in a special number,” Cherry said. “This usually happens twice a year, in the fall semester we usually have a kiddie camp where the kids perform with us at a football game and then for the spring we have them perform with us at the spring show.”

The kids got to learn a lot of new dance skills and became better dancers that day, and the Celebs got to remember how everyone can dance, no matter your knowledge or skills in the area.

“My favorite part was getting to see the kids dance because it reminds me that anyone can enjoy dancing even if you have never done it before,” junior Laura Hunter said. “It was really nice to see all of the kids had such a great time and had so much fun learning the dance, and performing with us, immersing themselves into dancing.”

In addition to the day camp, the participants also performed together with the Celebrities in their spring show this year, “Up, Up And Away,” on May 6.

“We also have some kids that chose to dance in the show and a few celebs volunteered to be up there dancing with them,” Hunter said. “It will be a great way for them to have a performance experience and see the final dance.”