Brooklyn-based Asase Yaa Cultural Arts Foundation (AYCAF) and their School of the Arts program are getting ready for what’s expected to be their largest children’s summer art camp. The multidisciplinary theater camp, which is geared toward ages four to 13, has attracted over a thousand participants since 2006, averaging 70 kids per summer. This summer AYCAF is adding 30 additional slots for kids to have fun and tap into their creative roots.
AYCAF’s Executive Director Kofi Osei Williams is excited about the camp’s anticipated expansion.
“We’re very blessed and proud to be able provide an outlet for more youth in our community to experience our multidisciplinary performing arts and theater day camp,” he said in a statement.
Every year attendees create an original theater production that’s presented as the finale to their families and friends to end camp. They learn all aspects of live production including writing, music, dance, costumes, choreography, staging, lights and sound. Last year’s play “The HBCU SHOW,” for instance, was recently featured and presented seven times as part of the “Onstage @ the Weeksville Theater Series,” held at the Weeksville Heritage Center this past February. The play was inspired by and in support of historically Black colleges and universities throughout the United States. “The HBCU SHOW” is an original story written by Williams and is based on six adolescents from Brooklyn, who have the privilege to experience a Historically Black College & University national tour.
Kids also enjoy arts & crafts, table games, drumming, dancing and taking field trips twice a week to museums, performances or amusement parks within the tri-state area.
Some of the young alumni who’ve previously attended include: Shahadi Wright-Joseph (who appeared in Jordon Peele’s new hit film, “Us,” that came out in late March), Chinua Payne (currently playing young Simba in “The Lion King” on Broadway), and Vianka Winborne (a featured dancer in musician Drake’s national concert tour last year). The camp also attracts the volunteer support of teachers who were principal dancers with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Company, Les Ballet Africans of Guinea, and the Broadway show “Stomp” to further enrich the campers’ educational experiences.
The six-week-long day camp is scheduled for July 1 to August 9, Mondays-Fridays (8 a.m. to 5 p.m.). Tuition is $900 and there’s a $50 registration fee. The camp will be held at P.S. 21 (180 Chauncey St.). For more information, visit asaseyaaent.org.
All photos courtesy of Asase Yaa Cultural Arts Foundation
