In a church gymnasium in Edgemont Village, kids can train to become the next Jennifer Lopez or Justin Timberlake – the triple threat.
Singing, dancing and acting classes are the cornerstones of Lights Up Musical Theatre Schools, which offers a variety of summer camps. But you don’t have to be a budding starlet to benefit from the theatre classes. In fact, no experience is necessary to participate.
“We make sure it’s a lot of fun,” says Hilary Wight, director of Lights Up Musical Theatre Schools. “Sometimes we have kids come who’ve done a lot of performing before. Sometimes we have kids who just want to try it out. They are all welcome and all have a good time.”
Lights Up offers half-day, Monday to Friday programs for children ages four to six and full-day options for students ages six to 13, at a cost of $199 and $350 respectively.
In the half-day camps, “Broadway babies” can take their first steps into the world of musical theatre. Children take classes in singing, dance and acting, then put everything together during a performance for friends and family at the end of the week.
For the full-day camps, students are divided by age into groups and take classes from different teachers in singing, dancing and acting. They also showcase their newfound talent for family and friends on stage.
Themed summer camps include Kids Centre Stage! which sees students dive into popular musicals featuring kids in starring roles. For Disney fans, there’s the Under The Sea camp that takes kids on an underwater musical adventure where they make friends with characters from The Little Mermaid, Moana and Finding Nemo.All camps end in a performance for family and friends on the last day.
Viewing theatre as being more about the process than the end production is the company’s philosophy. While the lights of Broadway can be alluring, students can reap other benefits from acting and singing classes, such as confidence building and newfound friendships.
“What we want the kids to do is to come and have a really good time singing, dancing and acting – to find out how fun it is,” explains Wight. “If they want to take it further they can.”
Such is the case with one of Lights Up’s former students, 10-year-old Lia Frankland, who landed a role alongside Charlize Theron in the movie Tully, which was recently released and scored well with the critics. Frankland has also earned guest spots on the TV series The Flash and other shows, after her parents signed her up for classes with Lights Up when she was five years old.
Lights Up has been operating performing arts programs for more than a decade in Vancouver. They opened a location in Edgemont Village a couple years ago to reach students who were previously commuting across the bridge for theatre camps.
“We knew people wanted it on the North Shore,” says Wight.
All the Lights Up instructors have varying backgrounds and a post-secondary education in performing arts.
“A lot of them are working in Vancouver’s musical theatre scene,” says Wight.
Ava Music & Art Centre, near Capilano Mall, also shines a spotlight on the performing arts during their summer camps for students between the ages of three to 19. Half and full-day camps range in price from $199 to $350.
For a little taste of everything, Ava offers its Arts Variety Camp, an interdisciplinary session that combines music, dance, art and film.
Taking things to the next level is the Music Mastery Camp, designed for students who want to improve their technique in one discipline. They perform at the end of the week for their instructor and peers as a culmination of what they have learned throughout the week.
Then there’s the Digital Music Camp, created to help campers discover music in a new way, says Ava Music & Art Centre artistic director Heather Deris. Classes include digital music, songwriting and composition, music media creation and the study of various instruments.
The Arts Variety camp follows a four-course structure which allows campers to pick four fields they are interested in, ranging from musical instruments to dance, theatre and film creation courses, and culminates in a performance showcasing what they have learned at the end of the week.
“This camp is typically chosen by students who have never had any music experience or those who want to try new forms of art. It also popular amongst families who would like to register their kids for lessons at Ava Music in fall, but they are not sure what courses are best for their children,” says Deris. “This camp is also known for enabling its participants to discover their passion on their own terms.”
Oftentimes, family members will push their children towards the study of a certain instrument, explains Wight. With the four-course structure, campers can try both the arts discipline that their parents suggest as well as one they gravitate to.
“Many campers come back and tell us how happy they are that this camp allowed them to find their passion,” says Deris.
While Ava classes are taught by professional instructors, the activities are led by passionate student musicians and camp alumni, enabling the youth in the camp to comfortably connect with the leaders, explains Deris.
So can you learn the basics of an instrument in a summer? Absolutely, says Deris, adding it may only take a week.
“At our camps, we firmly believe that with the help of a positive environment, professional coaches and personal dedication, anyone can become a musician,” says Deris. “Many of our campers continue playing instruments they picked up during the week, after the camp ends, whether that’s in their own private time or by taking lessons at Ava Music.”
