Arts camp teaches valuable life skills
The stage of the West Las Vegas Library is crowded with teens and preteens clad in black sweatpants and tank tops.
As they stretch and prepare to dance, their instructor, Eric G. Bean Jr., goes over the rundown for the morning.
“We have nothing to prove but something to show,” he says as class begins.
The students stand up as the music begins to blast over the speakers and start another morning of dance training.
After this class, they will move to lessons in acting, music and various other disciplines within the arts during the eight-week Performing and Visual Arts Summer Camp at the West Las Vegas Arts Center.
“If you’re not tired by the end of the day, you haven’t been working,” says Jewel Jeppe, a senior cultural specialist with the West Las Vegas Arts Center. “I don’t care how young you are or how much energy you have.”
The program, which has been going on for 19 years, gives students ages 10 to 15 an opportunity to learn and train. The performing arts camp can take as many as 50 students, who must fill out applications, produce letters of recommendation and show their progress in school.
Each year, Jeppe receives 50 to 70 applications, many from returning students eager to build on the skills from the previous summer camp.
Even after they leave the program, Jeppe says students come back to help.
“Our volunteers and leaders range from 16 to 24 years old,” she says.
Helping Bean teach the class is 24-year-old Avree Walker.
“I think it was a natural step,” says Walker, who began mentoring other students when he turned 16. “It is so amazing to watch them and remember how I felt when I was their age. It brings me joy to see them blossom.”
He says this program transformed him when he was a teenager.
“I have no clue where I would be if I didn’t come to the program,” he says. “I knew about it because my sister attended. I was enchanted with the whole experience.”
As the summer progressed, he realized how much he wanted to learn to be a better dancer.
“I thought that was something that was out of my reach,” he recalls.
As he continued with the program, he got better and better, eventually becoming a dancer focusing on contemporary style.
“I fell in love with movement,” he says.
The decision has impacted the rest of his life.
Walker started dancing in “Jubilee!” at Bally’s this year, something he knows his camp experience made possible.
“It didn’t just prepare me to be a dancer for the show,” he says. “It prepared me to be the best individual I could be.”
Camp classes are taught by local talent ranging from directors and actors such as Antonio Fargas, known for playing Huggy Bear on television’s “Starsky & Hutch,” to local dancers such as Bean, who performs in “Jubilee!”
“Many of them donate their time because we could never be able to pay them what they are worth,” Jeppe says. Many of the instructors know firsthand the importance of community programs such as this camp, which inspires them to help aspiring performers.
The program culminates with a showcase of what they have learned, whether it’s a theater production or dance concert. This year, the students will demonstrate their skills in the play “Unchained: Awaking the Change.”
Shows are scheduled at 1 p.m. Aug. 4 at the Clark County Government Center, 1 p.m. Aug. 6 at the Clark County Library and 7 p.m. Aug. 7 and 2 p.m. Aug. 8 at the West Las Vegas Library.
In the end, Jeppe knows not all students will go into performing arts. Nevertheless, she says this camp teaches students about discipline and perseverance, too.
“I think this is a catalyst for growth and personal development,” Jeppe says. “I think this teaches them to be open to new experiences.”
Contact reporter Michael Lyle at mlyle@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5201. Follow @mjlyle on Twitter.
