Camp Dancin’
Saturday began with Rick surprising everyone with a traditional Costa Rican Tico breakfast of black beans and rice, eggs, sliced avocado, salsa and fruit. This was a new culinary experience for most of the girls, but with the fruit, yogurt and cereal bar also available, everyone was able to find something familiar as well. Lunch was Mediterranean with homemade hummus, falafel, pita bread, feta cheese, tzatziki sauce and Greek salad. And to finish off our “International Day,” we had cheese tortellini, marinara sauce, fresh garlic bread and salad. Today, variety was the name of the game in the kitchen!
The morning was filled with campers enjoying their most recent set of scheduled activities. This allowed them to hone their shooting in archery and riflery, glaze a clay sculpture in pottery, or just work on their cannonball technique down at the lake. Campers can always find more to do in each activity— a new route to climb, a dance move to learn, a new trail to hike — so they look forward to going back each day, even signing up for a particular activity again. The sign up process at camp allows girls to follow their developing interests and not be locked into something their whole time at camp. If a camper finds herself really enjoying pottery, for example, she can spend extra time in the studio working with Katie and really make some cool stuff. Having that kind of self-directed choice is a big part of life at Rockbrook.
Our evening activity was a perpetual favorite, a camp-wide dance with Camp Carolina, nearby in Brevard. We’ve a long tradition of bringing our Senior girls over there, and their Middler and Junior boys coming to Rockbrook for a dance… two simultaneous dances. Splitting the dances like this allows each to take on different tones, with more age-appropriate music and dancing. As the older girls are more aerobic jumpers, the younger campers are more interested in their footwork than the boys when it comes to their dancing. The counselors help a great deal leading the way for both groups. It was a lot of good active fun. Also, for those girls who preferred it, we had an activity available separate from the dance… an art project in Curosty. It’s nice to have an option if dancing isn’t your thing.
We all were happy to return to Rockbrook for the night, back to our haven in the “heart of a wooden mountain,” with our camp friends now filled with stories of the night’s fun.
A Square Dance Saturday Night
One of Rockbrook’s original camp songs, in fact our official “Camp Song,” begins with the line, “In the heart of a wooded mountain, circled by silvery streams.” It so nicely conveys the character of camp, Rockbrook’s woodsy feel, being tucked in a hillside valley between two rock mountains and waterfalls. Every session for generations, girls have sung this song. So much so, “In the heart of a wooded mountain” has become a shorthand phrase to refer to camp. Here’s the rest of the first verse.
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Today the girls woke up to a big breakfast of eggs, grits, sausage and OJ, along with the usual fruit, cereal and yogurt options. It’s been a little cooler than usual these past few days, so it’s nice to start the day with a good warm breakfast. After a few energetic songs in each line’s Lodge, our “Morning Assembly,” everyone launched into their morning activities. Down in Curosty, Kimberly has been teaching the girls how to weave on flat looms, a simple traditional hand weaving technique. With so many colors of yarn and strips of cloth, there are really cool things being made… hand-woven fabrics soon to become place mats, or sewn into pouches or bags. We’ve also seen really complex friendship bracelets being made in Curosty. That place is buzzin’!
The rest of the day was filled with more regular camp activities… painting and drawing, practicing for the play, riding horses, learning to kayak, learning to do a flip in gymnastics, or to throw a clay pot on the wheel. There’s also a nice amount of free time for the girls to just hang out, play in the creek, or head down to the lake for a swim or for some sunbathing.
The big surprise for the day, though, was our dance with Camp High Rocks, the boys camp just up the mountain from Rockbrook. We announced the dance right before dinner, giving the girls only about a hour (!) to get “ready.” After dinner (baked ziti, garlic bread, salad, and a shortbread with fruit for dessert), with hair brushed and dressed in clean clothes, we loaded up the buses and drove the whole camp up to High Rocks.
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The dance was held outside on three tennis courts. This allowed us to spread out and divide everyone into three general age groups for the dancing. It took a while for a few jitters to subside, but soon just about everyone was smiling and having fun. Of course, part of the fun is making mistakes and laughing when you turn the wrong way or grab the wrong arm. The whole event is lighthearted, a little silly, and surprisingly enjoyable for the girls, even though most of them have never tried square dancing before. The counselors are right in their too, so this also encourages everyone to relax and enjoy themselves. We all took a short break for lemonade and cookies, only to recharge and dance for another hour or so. As it began to get dark, we said goodbye and thank you, gathered all the girls back into the buses, and made our way back to RBC for the night. It was a wonderful evening.
80s Dance Party !!
On Tuesday night we also held a fabulous dance party for the whole camp, and the theme was the 1980s. The counselors decorated the gym with posters of pop slogans from the 80s like “Where’s the beef?” and “I’m a pepper, you’re a pepper, wouldn’t you like to be a pepper too.” For music, they gathered an amazing collection of 80s pop songs: Kenny Loggins, Culture Club, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Wham!, Thompson Twins, the Romantics, and so forth. But the really funny part of the evening was everyone’s costumes. You might think these “new millennium” children wouldn’t know much about the 1980s, but with a little help from the counselors we saw lots of big hair, light blue eye shadow, jazzercise leggings, baggy t-shirts pulled off one shoulder, and sweat bands. It was like stepping back in time! One highlight was Michael Jackson’s song Thriller, and everyone following along doing the Thriller Dance. The whole event was good, and sweaty (!), camp fun.
After dinner Wednesday, once one of our typical mountain afternoon thunderstorms cleared, we took all of the Middlers in camp to sliding rock. This is always an exciting trip. We load campers and counselors into our buses, drive into the forest along Looking Glass Creek to the big slab of granite that forms the natural water slide. Of course, the water is really cold. We describe it as “refreshing,” but the campers say it’s “FREEZING!” Though, what a excellent mountain treat! So many wide-mouthed squeals of delight as the girls zip down the rock and into the pool of water at the bottom: It’s just great. Once we’d slid enough, our next stop was at Dolly’s Ice Cream stand for a quick sweet treat. Whether it’s a cone of Rockbrook Chocolate Illusion or a cup of Carolina Cha Cha, there’s nothing more delicious after an outdoor adventure than Dolly’s ice cream. As you might guess, it’s a perpetual camp favorite.
CAs Hike
We took the CA campers on a hike to John Rock yesterday. All 20 of them, their 5 counselors, Jessi and Jeff made the mostly uphill hike from the fish hatchery to the rock. It’s a fantastic walk through the woods. Right now the mountain laurels are blooming, so parts of the trail wind you through a tunnel of white and pink flowers. Then at the top it’s a breath-taking view across to Looking Glass Rock (in the background of this photo).
We took the hike to discuss what this session’s banquet theme will be. Starting with almost 40 different ideas, these 9th graders slowly narrowed down the list and finally settled on a fantastic idea. For the rest of the session, they’ll work on decorations, costumes, skits, songs, dances, and a special menu to match their theme. It’s a big event, and a big surprise for everyone else in camp.
Birthday Fun at Rockbrook
Many girls are lucky enough to celebrate their birthday at Rockbrook, but last night, everyone got to be the birthday girl! On Birthday Night, campers and counselors sit at the same table as those who share their month of birth. For every month there is a deliciously decorated cake to feast upon, complete with candy and sprinkles. So much cake, yum!
Tonight is the dance with the boys from Camp Carolina. Nothing quite compares to the reaction from the campers when the much-anticipated dance is announced at dinner. All week long my campers have been trying to figure out when it will be, so I know they will have a blast tonight!
Will you dance with me??
It was lunch time when the girls got the announcement. The dining hall was filled with excited screams and a little bit of laughter. Tonight was the dance. All the girls wanted to shower and get freshened up for those Camp Carolina boys, but unfortunately, due to the massive amount of rain and mud that afternoon… cleaning up was a little harder than most would’ve liked.
The boys arrived soon after dinner, and the dance was on its way. The thing I love about the dance is it’s not even about dancing with the boys, it’s about dancing with your campers. I know it was a great bonding experience for me and my girls. I mean, what bonds you better than dancing crazy to some Backstreet Boys and totally being silly!? I was dancing with one of my campers and later that night she told me that dance had been her favorite because I was the one dancing with her!
Dance Summer Camp
One of the activities at camp that’s always popular is dance. It’s held in one of the historic stone lodges we’ve outfitted with mirrors on one end. In addition to playing games, we teach a wide range of dance genres from Jazz to Pop, Hip-hop and different forms of ballroom dancing. Last year, Kalin taught traditional Irish Folk Dancing too. Then at the end of each session, the campers put on a dance show for the whole camp. It’s casual and fun… and a great way to learn a few new moves.
Kids Dance Camp Picture
The second in our series of old camp photos is this picture of a dance performance from the 1930s (we think!). It’s taken on the lawn of the Carrier House. Styles have changed a bit, but dance is still popular, and we still have a performance for the whole camp at the end of each session.
