Hubbard Street Dance Announces Youth Summer Camps

Hubbard Street Artistic Director Glenn Edgerton and Kathryn Humphreys, Director of the organization's Youth, Education and Community Programs, are delighted to offer a wide range of diverse dance opportunities for young people for a sixth consecutive summer. Early Childhood,Primary, Secondary, and Intensive categories align with Hubbard Street Youth Dance Program classes held during the academic year, and allow the families of first-time students to easily find the Youth Summer Camps best-suited to their needs. Pre-professional programs - including a new Junior Intensive and evening technique classes - provide space for continuing progressive study, while interdisciplinary and creative camps focus on self-expression. Hubbard Street's "à la carte" registration for Youth Summer Camps facilitates "mix-and-match" scheduling, making movement practice accessible to young dancers of all ages, skill levels, and interests.

Available for the first time, optional after-care supervision may be added to any week-long registration for an additional $85 per week, per child. After-care sessions run 4-6pm Mondays through Thursdays while Youth Summer Camps are in session, facilitating continuous activity from as early as 9am.

Registration opens February 1, 2016 at 10am, online at hubbardstreetdance.com/youthdance, or by phone at 312-850-9744 ext. 139. A complete schedule and program descriptions follow; please note that these are subject to change, and each will close to registration once its capacity is reached.

All Youth Summer Camps and Intensives will be held at the Hubbard Street Dance Center, 1147 West Jackson Boulevard at South Racine Avenue in Chicago's West Loop neighborhood, easily accessible via the Eisenhower Expressway (I-290), the CTA Blue Line (Forest Park branch to Racine) and numerous CTA bus routes including 7 Harrison, 9 Ashland, 20 Madison, 60 Blue Island and 126 Jackson.

Early Childhood Program

Parent-Child Mini Camp
(4) one-hour classes for dancers ages 18 months to 3 years are offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays, July 26 and 28, and August 2 and 4, from 10-11am. Caregivers are an essential part of this class, in which we bounce, swing, twirl, and jump, accompanied by vibrant music and stories.

Little Movers Camps
(3) one-week Story Time Dance sessions are offered for children ages 3 to 5. Participants will build gross motor skills, musicality and kinesthetic confidence, encouraging a lifelong love of dance, and exploration of the world through creative movement. Session 1 runs June 20-24, 2016from 9am-12:30pm; Session 2 runs July 18-22, 2016 from 9am-12:30pm; and Session 3 runsAugust 15-19, 2016 from 9am-12:30pm.

Primary Program

Dance Explorers Camps
Three unique Dance Explorers camps allow dancers ages 5 to 9 to experiment, create, and perform each day. Dancers will use their individual voices to collaborate and build choreography inspired by the techniques that support contemporary dance, which they will share for family and friends at the end of each week. Dancers must be entering Kindergarten in fall 2016 and will be grouped by age. Full-Day Dance Explorers Camps are as follows (with Half-Day options available from 9am-12:30pm):

• Dance Explorers: Intro to Ballet runs June 20-24, 2016 from 9am-4pm. In a supportive, welcoming and fun-filled environment, dancers explore the foundations of classical ballet technique through engaging Story Time Dance.

• Dance Explorers: Intro to Hip-Hop runs June 27-July 1, 2016 and August 15-19 from 9am-4pm.Personal voice and style are at the core of hip-hop dance. Through music and movement, students develop the confidence to share their stories, and develop their own unique interpretations of movement material.

• Dance Explorers: Intro to Musical Theater runs July 11-15, 2016 from 9am-4pm. Young dancers have the most amazing imaginations! Through acting and dancing, students embody a variety of characters, develop confidence and stage presence, and explore the unique styles of dance found in the world of theater.

• Dance Explorers: Intro to Jazz runs July 18-22, 2016 from 9am-4pm. Jazz dance is a mixture of rhythm and style, influenced by ballet, tap, and jazz music. Dancers will explore a variety of jazz styles ranging from classic to contemporary.

Secondary Program

Hip-Hop Workshops
Dancers ages 9 to 18 will develop the fundamentals of hip-hop - rhythm, personal style, and musicality - as they progress to their next level. These workshops provide time for intensive focus, and opportunities to create within the exciting, unique dance discipline of hip-hop. Hubbard Street offers (2) one-week Hip-Hop Workshops, which run Mondays through Fridays from 9am-4pm. Session 1 runs July 5-8*; and Session 2 runs August 15-19. *Due to Independence Day, Session 1 will run Tuesday through Friday only, and is $375 for four days.

Summer Evening Technique Classes
New for 2016, Hubbard Street's Youth Dance Program now offers a 12-week Summer Session, on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from June 20 through August 12. For dancers ages 9 to 18 from beginner to advanced levels (or Levels A through D). For maximum flexibility, students can sign up for all 12 weeks, or register for a Flex Pass good for 8 weeks of classes. Flex Pass classes do not need to be taken consecutively; however, please note they may only be applied to one technique. Choose from Ballet, Hip-Hop, Jazz, Modern, and Pointe.

Hubbard Street's 2016 Summer Intensives

Hubbard Street's Junior Intensive
New for 2016,Hubbard Street offers (4) one-week Junior Intensive sessions for beginner and intermediate dancers ages 9 to 13. Students may attend one, multiple, or all four sessions, as different material will be covered each week. Placement classes will be held on the Monday of each week. The Junior Intensive program is ideal for emerging dancers who are working toward intermediate and advanced coursework. Junior Intensive students take ballet, modern, jazz, improvisation, and composition courses. Students perform for family and friends at the conclusion of each week. Each Junior Intensive Session runs 9am-4pm, Monday through Friday. Session 1 runs June 20-24; Session 2 runs June 27-July 1; Session 3 runs July 11-15; and Session 4 runsJune 18-22.

Hubbard Street's Level I Preparatory Intensive
Hubbard Street offers (3) one-week Level I Preparatory Intensives, comprising the first of four progressive levels of Hubbard Street's Summer Intensive program. Students may attend one, multiple, or all three sessions, as different material will be covered each week. The Level I Preparatory Intensive is ideal for serious dancers ages 12 to 16 who are working towards advanced and pre-professional course work. Level I Preparatory students take ballet, modern, improvisation, and composition courses. Students apply techniques through the learning of repertory phrases and perform for family and friends at the conclusion of each week at the University of Illinois at Chicago's UIC Theatre, located at 1044 West Harrison Street in Chicago. Session 1 runs July 25-29; Session 2 runs August 1-5; and Session 3 runs August 8-12.

A placement class will be held on April 16, 2016 from 2-4pm. All students are evaluated individually for placement in the proper technique level. Please note students wishing to audition for the Youth Dance Ensemble in fall 2016 must attend at least one week of the Level I Preparatory Intensive.

For further details about Hubbard Street's Level II Primary Intensive (for ages 14 to 18), Level III Advanced Intensive (for ages 14 to 17), and Level IV Pre-Professional Intensive (for ages 18 to 24), please visit hubbardstreetdance.com/summerintensive or call 312-850-9744.

Pricing information and discounts on multiple registrations

Unless otherwise noted, each one-week Youth Summer Camp or Intensive session begins on Monday and ends on Friday of the same week. Full-Day registrations are $425 per child, per week. Half-Day registrations are $225 per child, per week. Those who register for multiple Youth Summer Camps at once will receive $25 off each one-week Half-Day or Full-Day session. Please note that all single-week registrations are full price to begin; however, add-on registrations made at later dates, for single or multiple weeks, include a $25 discount.

About Hubbard Street

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, under the artistic leadership of Glenn Edgerton, celebrates its 38th season in 2015 and 2016. Among the world's top contemporary dance companies and a global cultural ambassador, Hubbard Street demonstrates fluency in a wide range of techniques and forms, and deep comprehension of abstract artistry and emotional nuance. The company is critically acclaimed for its exuberant and innovative repertoire, featuring works by master American and international choreographers. Hubbard Street's artists hail from four countries and 12 U.S. states, and comprise a superlative ensemble of virtuosity and versatility.

Since its founding by Lou Conte in 1977, Hubbard Street has grown through the establishment of multiple platforms. Each is dedicated to the support and advancement of dance as an art form, as a practice, and as a method for generating and sustaining communities of all kinds.

Hubbard Street 2, directed by Terence Marling, cultivates young professional dancers, identifies next-generation choreographers, and performs domestically and abroad, in service of arts education, collaboration, experimentation and audience development.

Extensive Youth, Education and Community Programs, directed by Kathryn Humphreys, are models in the field of arts education, linking the performing company's creative mission to the lives of students and families. Hubbard Street also initiated the first dance-based program in the Midwest to help alleviate suffering caused by Parkinson's disease. Youth Dance Program classes at the Hubbard Street Dance Center include Creative Movement and progressive study of technique, open to young dancers ages 18 months to 18 years.

At the Lou Conte Dance Studio, directed by founding Hubbard Street Dancer Claire Bataille, workshops and master classes allow access to expertise, while a broad variety of weekly classes offer training at all levels in jazz, ballet, dance fitness, modern, tap, African, hip-hop, yoga, Pilates® and more.