On Pointe!
In this 2011 photo by Carl Socolow '77, student-dancers studying at the nearby Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet (CYPB) unwind in the HUB.
CPYB camp brings more than 300 young dancers to campus
By MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson
Throughout the academic year, the campus is awash with Dickinson gear—those ubiquitous team and college T-shirts and sweats that signal school spirit and pride. But in the summer, a different fashion aesthetic takes hold: hair buns, white leggings and athletic shoes are suddenly the height of Dickinson chic.
That can mean only one thing: The Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet (CPYB) summer program is underway, bringing hundreds of talented young dancers to town.
They’re enrolled in a five-week, intensive dance program at the nearby CPYB, recognized as one of the nation’s preeminent schools for classical ballet. Throughout June and July, more than 300 of the dancers, ages 11 to 20, will sleep in Dickinson’s residence halls, take meals in the Dining Hall and use college resources like the Devil’s Den, Quarry, Kline Center and Waidner-Spahr Library.
While on campus, they join a diverse summertime community that includes summer interns and student and faculty researchers, year-round administrators and staff, visiting alumni and prospective students as well as fellow guests, like sports-camp and Center for Talented Youth (CTY) participants.
“Dickinson has hosted CPYB and CTY camps for more than 30 years,” says Dottie Warner, director of event planning, “and over the years, we’ve established good working relationships with the organizations we host.”
"It’s wonderful to see how two world-class organizations in Carlisle come together for the benefit of young people," adds Nicholas Ade, CPYB's principal and interim CEO, "and it’s great watching the students grow in such a short amount of time."
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Published July 11, 2014