How to find right program

Campbell-Zopf suggests parents follow their child’s interest when it comes to choosing a summer arts program and pick something that’s a lot more relaxed than school. Kids, she adds, can explore new art forms or delve much deeper into an art they already love.

Mary Grace Donnelly, an Alter High School junior and a senior member of The Dayton Ballet’s DB II, knew early on that she wanted to dance. At age 11, she began attending the Ballet’s Young Dancer Summer Intensive Program.

“I was not only able to further develop my technique and artistry in ballet, but I was introduced to modern, lyrical and theater, jazz, tap, character and even a little bit of hiphop,” she says. “I remember thinking how fun it was to explore these forms of dance that were so new to me.”

Carol Jean Heller, director of the Dayton Ballet School, oversees the summer programs open to kids as young as 3. She says very few schools offer any kind of dance in their curriculum.

“It’s a good way for younger students to experience ballet without committing to a full nine months of classes,” she says of the summer options. “And if they have aspirations of being a dancer, it’s important to study in the summer as well.”

A way to discover a talent

Human Race Education Director Marilyn Klaben says summer arts programs can help children discover a talent they never realized they had.

“The arts are collaborative and provide opportunities for children to work together, to problem solve and to share ideas with each other,” she says.

“They learn discipline through theater as it requires much rehearsal and dedication. Children learn to focus when they are involved in an art form.”

Campbell-Zopf says it’s important for all of our cities to engage kids in our communities and help them develop creative talents they can apply throughout their lives whatever they choose to do.

That’s exactly what happened to Jill Sprankell who grew up in Dayton View in the 1950s and says she’ll never forget the classes that changed her life.

“I took courses at the Dayton Art Institute and I was in plays with a group called Theatre Guild for Youth,” remembers the 67-year-old woman who now lives in Dallas.

“When I think about it, I have kept that theater bug in so many ways through the years.”

Although she studied agriculture at Ohio State University, she continued her love of theater by taking acting classes and appearing in plays.

After the Vietnam War, when Sprankell lived and worked in the United Nations Refugee Camp for boat people, she taught plays to the children. She entertained 35,000 kids a year as Miss Wonderbody for anatomy lessons, and taught medical students using patient simulators at the University of Texas Southwestern medical school.

“Funny how something so small as a few drama classes can impact your life over so many years,” Sprankell concludes.

“And I still don’t go to New York City without going to art museums and seeing a play.”