The Arts: Taking… and Giving Back

by Alanna Balicki

Centauri Summer Arts Camp offers an array of opportunities for young minds to grow through imagination: music, writing, art, theatre and dance. Even within departments, there’s enormous choice: Improvisation, stage combat, clown, playwriting, collective creation, radio and musical theatre are just a few of the theatre programs I had the opportunity to sample for myself, as a camper.

Centauri Arts Camp has been my second home, now, for 15 years. As a camper, I learned the courage to try a little of everything and gained the tools to experiment within many multi-arts combinations. Centauri is a camp where artists feel the support of other artists, both young and older, making it possible to explore creativity in new ways. It’s a community that proves that all art forms work best united. It was through this nurturing and acceptance that I grew into the artist I am today, bringing imagination into classrooms of my own.

These days, I share my inspiration with around 70 unique DramaWay clients (www.dramaway.com) through drama, movement and leadership classes, every week. Each lesson plan blends arts-inspired opportunities so individuals of all abilities can connect with each other, themselves and me. As an Arts Educator, I’m designing and leading programs combining multiple arts activities in the most inclusive way I can think of, so everyone feels comfortable to express the best parts of themselves in front of others. It creates a joy I sense through their willingness to try, and shows through their genuine smiles. In the safety of our creative canvas, we explore drama, dance, song; each one involving our imagination and allowing us to play to our unique strengths and goals.

My years as a camper at Centauri formed the beginning of my journey as an artist and a person. Just as others gave so much to me, so I am now able to pass on so much of my arts experience to others.

Alanna Balicki is now an instructor with Centauri Summer Arts Camp in the summertime. She will be teaching ‘A Medieval Mystery’ in Session Two, and ‘Comedy Improv‘ in Session Three. This is her fifteenth summer with us.