Rockbrook Camp alumnae will tell you there’s one special all-camp event that gets campers more excited than any other, and that’s the dance with Camp Carolina. It’s been a long tradition stretching back to the 1940s that gets the girls of Rockbrook and the boys of Camp Carolina together once a session for a camp dance. Last night we continued that tradition of big excitement for a big night out with the CCB boys… a night for dancing!
Both to tease the idea and to minimize over-preparation, we keep the exact day of the scheduled dance a secret. It’s more fun to keep the girls guessing, and we don’t want the event to be too serious. Just the opposite! We want it to be silly, light-hearted and fun! That’s why you’ll see our counselors dressed up in wild costumes, and the girls wearing plenty of shorts, tie-dye t-shirts, traffic vests, and even animal print pajamas. The older girls spend more time brushing their hair, but “getting ready” essentially means finding a clean shirt or putting on something brought especially for the dance.
For years now we’ve held two dances simultaneously, dividing the children into older and younger groups, and allowing the girls to feel more comfortable around boys their own age. The Senior girls and Hi-Ups loaded up our buses and vans to travel to Camp Carolina for their dance, while the youngest boys came to Rockbrook for a dance with our Middlers and Juniors in our gym. At Rockbrook, we had our friend Marcus (aka, DJ Dawg) spin up the music.
Both dances last night were a blast! As favorite pop songs followed one after another, the crowd jumped and sang along, mixing with screams of excitement. The playlist included classics like “Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield, and the Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.”, plus well-known group choreographed dances like the “Cha Cha Slide” and the “Macarena.”
For the most part, the younger girls have groovier dance moves to show off, with limbs fluttering, flashy twirls and shakes. The older girls prefer a simple move of jumping up and down to the beat of the music, clustered together and with hands raised high. Everyone is laughing and smiling, enjoying themselves only to take short water breaks or to enjoy a homemade Rockbrook cookie.
Our dances proved once again that these events aren’t all about the boys. Sure, they are to one degree or another “interesting” to the girls, but it’s the zany energy of our Rockbrook girls that brings the fun. For both the younger and the older girls, the dance means grabbing a friend, or a group of friends, sticking together and letting loose to the music. There’s an impressive power to this when you have the right conditions to let it out. Camp dances do exactly that.
We wrapped up the dances around 8:45 p.m. Even after about an hour of jumping around, the girls were reluctant to stop the party. On the ride home, the older girls were about as excited as you’ll ever see them. It was non-stop chatter on the bus, comments about “yo-yo boy,” the music, and how “it smelled funny in there.” Still, I could tell everyone seemed to have really enjoyed our night of dancing.
Thanks CCB! We had a great time with you all!
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