Summer Camps

David Carmona, age 13

One of the highlights of my three years at Saint Joseph Ballet is when I got the chance to go to Yosemite Sierra Summer Camp.  It was the first time that I had ever been away from home, and the camp lasted two weeks.  This was such a cool experience for me because I had never been to camp before, and actually, I had never even left the city of Santa Ana.  I got to see so many new things, like cows and horses, lakes, fields of green, and mountains…things that I had only seen on TV.  I got to make new friends too and get to know the camp counselors.  At camp I learned new things like swimming.  I never learned how to swim until I got to camp and my counselor taught me.  One of the most important things that I learned at camp was that camp isn’t just about having fun, but it’s a place where I learned to be myself and to work with others.

Each summer, about 50 Saint Joseph Ballet students pack up and head off to the wilderness for a week of camp.  For many of them this is a first time away from home.  While offering a recreational activity to refresh the mind, body and spirit, the summer camp experience exposes students to unique opportunities where they experience risk, challenged, and personal growth.  Camp activities include white water rafting, rock climbing, backpacking, high ropes courses, banana boating, and most importantly establishing friendships and learning more about themselves.

Saint Joseph Ballet has partnerships with many wonderful camps including Kidder Creek Orchard Camp, Thousand Pines, Yosemite Sierra Summer Camp and Woodleaf who have for many years generously enabled students to attend.