Finding the Summer Rhythm: Dance and Ukulele Camps in El Cerrito
Our summer partnership with City of El Cerrito Recreation made space for two ways to make music part of the day: dance and ukulele. Digital Dreamers' Unleash Your Move camp ran in July, followed by Strum Into Summer on August. Both weeks brought practice, play, and a family performance together, with plenty of music in between.
Unleash Your Move: From the playlist to the performance
July's dance camp built toward routines to “MIC Drop” by BTS and “Soda Pop” from the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack. Rehearsing for the end-of-week performance gave the choreography a purpose: putting the movements together into something campers could share with their families.
The playlist had room for other favorites, too, including “Run BTS,” KATSEYE's “Debut” and “My Way,” and “Cupid Shuffle.” The music became part of camp beyond the final routines. Families told us their children were asking to hear the songs at home, so we shared the playlist alongside photos and videos. The camp soundtrack had made its way into the rest of their summer.
Strum Into Summer: Small instruments, a full set of songs
Ukulele camp started with the basics: holding the instrument, finding the strings, and trying those first strums. From there, campers worked on chords, different strumming patterns, keeping rhythm, and playing as a group. Rhythm games and movement activities gave the week a playful pace, while learning about the ukulele's history and how it is made added context to the instrument in their hands.
One detail from the week says a lot: some campers asked to keep playing during their breaks. There was more music they wanted to try.
Friday's family performance brought that practice together in “Riptide,” “Iko Iko (My Bestie),” “Party in the USA,” and “Can't Stop the Feeling.” Through our partnership with El Cerrito Recreation, both camps gave families a chance to see and hear what their children had been working on. The final performances were a celebration of the week's practice, with a playlist worth taking home.