IRISH DANCE DAY CAMPS
Winter Break - Spring Break - Summer Break
Winter Camps
December 2022
9:00 am - 3:00 pm
We will not be able to hold Winter Camps in 2021. We are hopeful that we will be able to offer them in 2022.
Spring Camps
March 21st through 26th, 2022
9:00 am - 3:00 pm
We are hopeful that we will be able to hold Spring Break Camps in 2022. If we are able, enrollment will open online late February at the earliest.
Summer Camps
June, July, & August, 2022
9:00 am - 3:00 pm
We are hopeful that we will be able to offer Summer Camps in 2022. If we are able, enrollment will open online late May at the earliest.
DESIGNED FOR BEGINNERS!
And no dance shoes required!
Held in Portland at our Children's Gym location, OIDA Dance Camp is for ages 5-14, with campers divided into age-appropriate groups each day. Camp is an extra fun way for new students to try out Irish dancing (no dance shoes needed!), and a great way for current students to keep up their skills and continue progressing during school breaks. We structure each camp day to accommodate brand new campers as well as returning campers, so you can sign your dancer up online (easy!), and they'll always have a fantastic time!
WHAT'S INCLUDED IN EACH DAY
Light Shoe Lesson
Jump, jig, and learn to float across the floor! Light shoe is full of energy, height, and excitement! Campers get a light shoe lesson each day of camp. Campers new to Irish dancing learn basic moves and patterns and are introduced to the 10 technical elements of how we dance. No dance shoes required!
Heavy Shoe Lesson
Stomp, pound, crash, bang, boom! Campers get a chance to make noise, connect with the music, and feel the rhythm in their heavy shoe lesson. Campers new to Irish dancing learn basic moves and patterns and are introduced to the 10 technical elements of how we dance. No dance shoes required!
Ceili Lesson
Ceili is an Irish word, pronounced kay-lee, that refers to social group dancing. Campers learn and dance a group routine with their friends to wonderful Irish music, and it is SO much fun! Ceili dancing dates back hundreds of years and brings a special element of tradition to our camp day!
Craft Time
"You made this?!"
"How do you come up with these?!"
"OIDA always has the best crafts!"
Just a few common parent responses at pick-up time! At OIDA, we love-love-love craft time, and it shows! Our crafts are something special. You'll have to see them to believe them!
Nonfire Bonfire
"The kids told me 'the parrot story' the whole car ride home!" ~ a common greeting we get from parents the second day of camp.
Inspired by our dear friends at CRC, Nonfire Bonfire has become a staple at Irish Dance Camp! We sing traditional Irish songs and some funny camp tunes, as well as tell some special campfire stories!
Coloring Cafe
"Who is 'The Chef'?"
"What is the Daily Special?"
"The Chef" may become a household name for you once your dancer has been to our camp. We don't want to spoil all the surprises, so all we can tell you is the Coloring Cafe is an extremely popular end to each camp day -- campers don't want to leave!
Park Playtime
Weather permitting, we walk next door to the park for some fun in the sun! There is a grass field, a play structure, turf, and a track. Whether it's playing group games like Capture the Clover, doing conditioning exercises on the track, or learning a ceili dance, we love to get our Vitamin D! D is for dance, after all!
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Games & Activities
We start each camp day with free play during check-in time, providing Irish books in our special reading corner and an impressive array of adorable custom-made Irish games and puzzles. Throughout the camp day, we also sneak in the occasional Irish limbo, Irish bingo, group games, and dance parties!
Earning Beads
Campers go bonkers for our camp beads! Inspired by our own experiences at outdoor school as kids, campers can earn beads throughout the camp day. There are 36 different types of beads to earn: hearts, stars, and flowers, and then some extra special beads that we hand-make out of shrinky dinks prior to camp! They're pretty cool!
WHAT PARENTS SAY
"I just had an hour and a half lesson from my 5 year old who has spent the last 4 days with Christina and Victoria. I have never seen her this intense about anything. It's because of Christina and Victoria, who combine talent, discipline, and skill in teaching with what seems to be an unlimited store of sunny sweetness. I don't have a particular connection to Irish dance, but I feel so lucky to be able to offer my daughter the influence of teachers who bring such joy to their work."
~ KATE, MOM OF A DANCER ~
"The whole car ride home I heard "the parrot story" over and over. It's the little things like that that make OIDA's camps phenomenal. So many camps my kids try out are just daycare - Irish Dance Camp goes above and beyond to make camp fun. My girls always want to go back."
~ JILL, MOM OF 2 DANCERS ~
"This camp is incredible. It's not just learning to Irish dance, it's beads, "The Chef", ubby dubby, crafts -- the most awesome crafts! The point is, it's FUN. They fill a day for my daughters with fun activities that they talk my ear off about when they get home. We love OIDA!"
~ STEVE, DAD OF 2 DANCERS ~
"My daughter asks me when the next Irish dance camp is, how cool is that? She can't wait for the next one. She loves Irish dancing for sure, but she says her favorite part of Irish dance camp is the crafts. Miss Christina is definitely the craft queen!"
~ HANNAH, MOM OF A DANCER ~
2021-22 CAMP TUITION & FEES
Exact camp tuition and fees will be posted here when enrollment for camp opens online. In order for you to be able to roughly plan ahead, past camp tuition has been around $400 per week, and there is also a required uniform Irish Dance Camp shirt, which in past has cost $10. The pandemic may affect tuition and fees, when camp is offered, and how many dancers can attend. If we are able to hold camp, we will announce all camp details when we open enrollment online.
