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Tom McCarthy Jr./CR Staff

Leap of Faith: St. Clare dance camp nurtures body and soul

July 11, 2014
By George P. Matysek Jr.
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Local News, News, Video

One by one, girls as young as 5 sprinted onto the dance floor at St. Clare in Essex.

It was the end of a dance routine they had been practicing all morning June 25 as part of a daylong dance camp, and the youngsters seemed eager to express their personalities. Some leapt into the air. Others placed their hands on hips and grinned. Still others struck poses with just a bit of swagger.

“Can we do that again?” squealed one youngster in pink ballet slippers as the final notes of the accompanying music echoed in the hall. An instructor gave the go-ahead for yet another practice run, and the girls giggled.

“I just love all the people here,” said Savannah Hinson, a 10-year-old camper and a fifth-grader at Park Hall Elementary School. “I love making new friends and all the dances are so much fun.”

St. Clare’s summer girls’ dance camp, which ran June 23-27, attracted 24 participants ages 5 to 12 this year. The popular event was designed not only to teach girls ballet, jazz and modern dance techniques, but to strengthen faith.

For the last four years, the camp has been led by Sarah and Olivia Sears, sisters and St. Clare parishioners. The siblings had participated in the camp when it was run by a teacher at St. Clare School. After the school closed in 2010, they offered to take over. 

“When the school closed, a lot of the youths left,” said Sarah, a 19-year-old sophomore at Towson University. “It’s a good way to bring them back.”

Video follows; story continues below.

Olivia, a 16-year-old junior at The Catholic High School of Baltimore, noted that special themes were covered each day of the camp. They included healthy friendships, caring for the environment and loving God. During the June 25 camp, children were given St. Clare medals and prayer cards. Contemporary Christian music was often selected for the choreographed routines. 

“We have a big recital on the last day, and all the parents come and watch their kids perform,” she said. 

Dance vocabulary and technique were emphasized throughout the week, but not as much as simply having fun. 

“If they are not pointing their feet, I don’t really care,” Sarah said, “as long as they walked out and they’re like, ‘I can’t wait to come back tomorrow.’” 

Father Jesse Bolger, pastor, said the camp helped children to see a broad view of what it means to be Catholic. “It’s cool to be Catholic in many venues,” he said, “and this dance camp kind of exemplifies that.”

Email George Matysek at gmatysek@CatholicReview.org

Copyright © 2014 Catholic Review Media

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George P. Matysek Jr.

George Matysek, a member of the Catholic Review staff since 1997, has served as managing editor since September 2021. He previously served as a writer, senior correspondent, assistant managing editor and digital editor of the Catholic Review and the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

In his current role, he oversees news coverage of the Archdiocese of Baltimore and is a host of Catholic Review Radio.

George has won more than 100 national and regional journalism and broadcasting awards from the Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association, the Catholic Press Association, the Associated Church Press and National Right to Life. He has reported from Guyana, Guatemala, Italy, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland.

A native Baltimorean, George is a proud graduate of Our Lady of Mount Carmel High School in Essex. He holds a bachelor's degree from Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore and a master's degree from UMBC.

George, his wife and five children live in Rodgers Forge. He is a parishioner of the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland.

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