DURANGO PERFORMING ARTS CAMP: TESTIMONIALS

"This was the first year our daughter has attended DPAC and I can say without hesitation that it will not be the last. Yes, she came home a more capable singer, dancer, and performer. But more importantly to her mother and I, she came home more confident, happy, and full of life! Sending our daughter to The Durango Performing Arts Camp was well worth the time, energy, and money we spent to get her there. We'll be back next year!"
Parent

I want you three to know how incredibly impressed and inspired I was with and by you. It's an incredible feat, this camp of yours. More impressive than the logistics, which is impressive on its own, is the magic that you bring to the camp. Yes, kids naturally emanate magic, kindness, love, and acceptance. However, they rarely get to be in an environment where that better side of them leads their thoughts and actions. Somehow you're able to create a place where kids just get to be special - whether they are or not, frankly. Where they get to feel like they're stars, when most of them are not. Where they get to believe that good still overcomes evil, that being fat, skinny, short, tall, straight, gay, male, female, Christian, Jewish, white, black, popular, not popular, young, old, doesn't actually play into being a friend. I've traveled a fair bit, I continue to experience and live every moment of life and I've seen a few things in the short time I've been around. But the only place I've visited where all the kids believe they are singers and dancers is in a preschool class - until I got to your camp. Whatever you're doing, please keep doing this. Like all great things, maybe this can't last forever. But as long as you can do this, please, please, please keep doing the camp. For one week out of their lives, 60 kids just might get to feel okay about themselves. Wow. Don't ever doubt the power and influence this week can have. If you ever do, just call. I'm around.
Much love and adoration.
- Dan Hoeye
Instructor 2008

As a parent, I’d like to thank each of you so very much for this camp. I can’t express how much I love what you accomplished in one week. My daughter is still glowing from the experience. As for me, I could feel the love, energy, and creativity of the kids beaming when I picked her up on the final day. While I’ve never dabbled in the performing arts, I have always appreciated the creativity of those who create in any media. This camp gave our kids a forum to express their creativity at a venue that was safe, supportive, loving, yet demanding. She worked hard, played free and lived each moment. What could be better? - Parent

I can only hope that the camp continues to grow and prosper…, it is an absolutely essential part of the arts community here in Colorado…, the energy was contagious. -Instructor

My daughter enjoyed the experience immensely and has been a different person; she is constantly singing and dancing around the house and has begun to express herself with greater confidence. -Parent

My kids had so much fun and felt welcome immediately upon arrival. They learned helpful performance skills from experts, and gained confidence in their own personal abilities. What a terrific, empowering experience. Both of my kids immediately wanted to return for another week. I was amazed at the performance for parents… so much talent, and an entertaining show… how is it possible to pull this together in a week? …clearly good organization and advance preparation by all of the staff. - Parent

Even with all the hard work we did everyday; we all wished camp could go on for another week…I don’t think there was a time throughout the entire camp that I wasn’t learning or having fun. - Camper

I did things I would have otherwise let pass me by. - Camper

I think that DPAC was the best camp I’ve ever gone to. I loved the Melodrama and the storytelling. I also loved all the classes. Overall, it was so incredible making us all cry at the end, it was just amazing!!! – Camper

Thank you for making the Durango Performing Camp such an amazing, magical experience. Not only did I meet many new friends who love to perform, but the camp helped me grow as an actress, a singer, a dancer, and a person. - Camper

I had the time of my life at DPAC. I learned a lot and raised not only my abilities, but my confidence in singing, dancing, and acting and also just having fun and being myself and goofy. At DPAC all of the campers, including myself, just forgot about being cool or smart or anything else but just having fun and helping out everywhere. All of the high school kids were really nice and helpful; instead of being mean like most are where I live. Counselors there are also helpful, nice and supportive. I could relate to them because they were so outgoing and nice. The staff was really awesome. Denise and Caitlin made sure all of the kids were okay, they knew everybody’s name and were always smiling. I am looking forward to DPAC next year so much because I have had the greatest six days of my life there -Camper

The camp amazed me. All the stars aligned with just the right people in just the right places. - Instructor

Thank you for a wonderful adventure at camp. You really know how to keep them excited and busy. Thank you for the touching closing on Friday evening. Most of all, it is about making memories! Thank you, you have touched everyone’s hearts. - Parent

The Durango Performing Arts Camp that took place for one week in June of 2007 was an incredible event. The Camp Directors, Denise Hagemeister and Caitlin Connaughton-Cross set up the atmosphere of fun, creativity, open communication and adventure from the first night. The camp counselors took their cue from Denise and Caitlin and fully committed to an absolutely unique experience for the children who participated.

The children who came to camp were ready to play. That was one of the strengths of the camp. Even the few kids who may have started out hesitant came around and eventually participated in and sometimes led projects and events. The instructors were amazingly talented and committed to teaching their craft. Each personality was different and each teacher brought their own personal style and experience to their class. Students were excited and inspired at every turn. With classes as varied as Storytelling, Hip Hop dancing, Stage combat and Shakespeare there was something for everyone. I was impressed by the variety and quality of all the classes. Because the instructors were so different from one another I felt it gave the children permission to explore their own unique qualities and take risks. So often during teenage years the social idea is to conform. This camp showed that individuals were respected and I felt that was a great lesson for the kids.

As an instructor I was amazed and humbled by the amount of work put into every project. No one told two twelve year old girls who had never been to camp before to put together a duet and perform it in front of all of their peers-they just chose to do it. And that is just one example of the many brave things I saw during the week. There were risks being taken because of the safe environment created by the camp directors and nurtured by the counselors. I felt as an instructor I could freely share my experiences as well and so the learning environment was truly creative and collaborative.

I had initially wanted the camp to be longer than one week but by the end of six days I realized that the week was probably all we could have survived! The experience was so intense and it might be weakened by spreading it out over the course of two weeks. When you only have a week there is a "Do or Die" mentality that forces you to jump right into the experience without hesitation-at least that was how it was for me.

I can only hope that the camp continues to grow and prosper as I think it is an absolutely essential part of the arts community here in Colorado. The work that Denise and Caitlin put into creating this camp was unbelievable and their energy was contagious. Not only the children but their families and the community itself has benefited from this very positive and creative week. I was honored to have been a part of it.

Traci Lyn Thomas
Music Theatre Instructor
DPAC 2007

Upon hearing that the mission statement of the first ever Durango Performing Arts Camp is to

“Ignite, Imagine, Thrive, and Inspire”, I knew that this was a place for me. I am a professional teaching artist and have been for over 30 years and it was an honor to participate in the camp.

Everything about DPAC strengthens my belief in theater education as a vehicle to inspire the soul.

My creativity is ignited by being a part of a professional teaching staff that is passionate about their art and craft and is focused on bringing it to a new generation of performers.

My imagination is full-filled and pushed to new heights and depths with the content of the week and the breadth of classes and opportunities to learn.

I thrive in the creative environment of the camp, which includes everything from the comfortable and decent lodgings to the meals and the fellowship of the camp personnel.

I am still inspired by the spirit of the students and their willingness to “push the edge of their comfort zone” and take the chance to learn and grow.

I feel that The Durango Performing Arts Camp is a huge success. I still carry the memories of the experience with the distinct certainty that my life and I have changed for the better.

Mark Lewis
Instructor
DPAC 2007