Durango, CO, -- The Durango Performing Arts Center kickoffs the forth (5) season of their Durango Performing Arts Camp (DPAC) June 10 through June 16, 2012. Camp directors Caitlin Connaughton-Cross, Denise Hagemeister, and Susan Belshe each with strong backgrounds and many years in the theater arts themselves, asked performers with experience from Broadway to Hollywood if they wanted to work at the camp for kids age 12 to 18. Their highly qualified and diverse faculty of six jumped at the chance to spend a week in the beautiful setting of Durango.
The faculty is made up of professional singers, dancers, choreographers, storytellers and musical theater artists, all of whom have varied and accomplished careers including work on Broadway, national musical tours and work with film and television in Los Angeles.
Jalyn Webb
Weber loves any opportunity “to facilitate arts development.” And in addition to a full career as a performer and singer, has taught extensively through master classes, schools and other camps.
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Traci Lyn Thomas, currently based in Durango when not on tour, is a professional actress, mezzo soprano and theatre dancer who’s performs in national musical tours and has taught and run her own performance camp for children in the past. “It just worked out so well that I would be here at this point, at home, and able to work with kids in this way as well,” she says.
Additional faculty includes Christropher Johnson, a Colorado native, now based in New York City. Johnson trained with Hagemeister as a young performer and has gone on to tour Europe with the musical, Chicago, perform in many regional productions, and sing and dance for the past nine years with the Rockettes in their holiday show. Mark Lewis, an Emmy-award winning film and television actor, author and storyteller, rounds out the faculty.
For their part, Hagemeister, Belshe, and Connaughton-Cross could not be more pleased with their staff. “It’s really come together,” says Hagemeister. “With the success of our year-round programs, we knew we could offer students a wonderful camp experience ourselves. And having this world-class staff just makes it that much easier and fun to do.”
“It’s very exciting,” concurs Connaughton-Cross. “These kids will be exposed to performers who are among the best working singers and dancers in the country . . . and train with a guy who dances with the Rockettes! Also, in our working environment, they won’t just learn songs and steps, but hopefully glean some of the hard work and perseverance that helped these staff members to be among the best in their disciplines. That’s priceless.”
Even with the high caliber faculty, Connaughton-Cross, Belshe, and Hagemeister encourage students of all experience levels to come to camp. “We’ll work hard and fast,” said Connaughton-Cross. “But as long as you are willing to dive in you will have a great time.” Evening activities include campfires, games, storytelling and a costume dance. The camp will be held at the Hesperus Baptist Camp, a short drive from downtown Durango. It is a picturesque location ringed by pines, streams and mountain landscapes.
Tuition for the full week including all food, lodging, workshops, materials and activities is $695 per person.
