Summer Camps for Beginners!
Three fun-filled days of Irish dancing, unique crafts, engaging activities, silly songs and stories, collecting camp beads, and so much more!
Enrollment for our 2024 Summer Irish Dance Camps will be open sometime in spring.
To start dancing now, schedule a free trial class with us in Portland!
Where
The Children's Gym
1625 NE Sandy Blvd
Portland, OR 97232
(OIDA's entrance is the back door on 16th Ave)
When
9 am to 12 pm
Mon - Wed (all 3 days)
Exact dates TBD
for 2024
Check-In/Out
Check-in is from 9:00-9:05 am and check-out is from 11:55-12:00. Campers must enroll ahead of time and provide names of those approved to pick up their camper. We will require a matching photo ID to the name at check-out.
Tuition
Camp tuition is charged at the time of enrollment, is non-refundable, and non-transferable.
Exact tuition TBD for 2024
Yes Beginners!
Camp is an extra fun way for new students to try out Irish dancing, plus, an extra cool way for current students to keep learning! You get 3 days with all the same Irish dancing fun from class, but revamped into a magical, unique, and exciting summer camp experience!
(New beginners also get a FREE trial class with us anytime!)
Ages 5 to 10
Campers tend to have a more engaging and overall fun dance camp experience with smaller & similar age groups, so our camps are just for ages 5-10! We have a coach to camper ratio of 1 coach to every 8 campers!
Dance Camp is even better with friends - consider coordinating schedules with a buddy and signing up together!
No Dance Shoes
No dance shoes needed! Campers are welcome to do all the dance classes in socks, or if they happen to have some ballet, jazz, or tap shoes at home, those work great, too! Current OIDA students should have their Irish shoes.
If your child also wants to also take Irish dancing class, we can help you get sorted with some dance shoes then!
Safety is #1
Safety is always our top priority. Our camp day is held entirely inside of The Children's Gym, which is a secure-access facility. Only current clients and staff are allowed inside, and staff manages the doors during all check-in/out times. Masks are optional, and campers are not required to be vaccinated. The facility recently updated its air filtration system, and we have an air purifier in the dance studio.
WHAT IS INCLUDED IN EACH CAMP?
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 camp session. 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. Again, no dance shoes required for camp!
Ceili Lesson
Ceili is an Irish word, pronounced kay-lee, that refers to social group dancing. Campers learn and dance these group routines 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! So fun & easy - no experience needed at all!
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! We even have the Craft Queen come help and guide craft time! Our crafts are quite creative and 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 activity in our camps -- your camper will explain the rest with their art!
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Engaging Classwork
In all of our kids' camps and classes, we love to use fun and engaging props and activities! Some of our unique camp classroom activities include custom sticker charts, mirror chalk markers, a piggy bank with dance coins, counter items, parachute time, and so much more! Some of these are exclusively for camp - your dancer won't want to miss this! Our camps are designed to be an excellent and extra-fun environment to start learning Irish dance - a great way to add something memorable to your dancer's summer!
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Games & Activities
We start each camp day with some free play in our gorgeously decorated camp room, providing Irish books in our rainbow reading corner plus an impressive array of adorable custom-made Irish games and puzzles. We'll then do some Team Time to get to know each other and get ready for our first activity! We also sneak in the occasional Irish limbo, Irish bingo, group games, and dance parties! We then start collecting our camp beads...
Collecting Beads
Campers go bonkers for our camp beads! Inspired by our own experiences at outdoor school as kids, campers can collect beads throughout each camp session! There are so many different types of beads: hearts, stars, flowers, even some extra special kinds! They're pretty cool, and the campers love sharing which beads they've collected over the years and what they represent - some even have jars full of our camp beads!
WHAT PARENTS SAY
"I just had an hour and a half lesson from my 5 year old who has spent the last 3 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 ~
