Arts & culture, Campus & community, Events at Berkeley, Performing arts

AileyCamp: A six-week transformative dance experience for youth

Since it began in 2002, Berkeley/Oakland AileyCamp has had more than 1,200 students participate in the full-scholarship summer program

By Anne Brice

July 20, 2023

A dancing teacher wearing coloring pants teaches a dance to several young dancers in a gym — Berkeley/Oakland AileyCamp is a six-week, full-scholarship summer dance program produced by UC Berkeley's Cal Performances. (Credit: ©Gabriel Harber Photography)

About a dozen young dancers sit on the floor of a gym with a lot of windows as a teacher stands and explains something to them — During the six-week camp, students ages 11 to 14 attend daily classes in ballet, jazz, modern and West African dance. (Credit: ©Gabriel Harber Photography)

A young teenager sits on a chair and smiles to another person sitting next to her — AileyCampers also attend classes in creative communication and personal development, where they discuss topics that include responsible decision-making, setting goals, peer mediation and conflict resolution. (Credit: ©Gabriel Harber Photography)

Several young dancers wearing a black leotards hold their arms out straight to either side as they practice in a well-lit gym — “AileyCamp gives young people an opportunity to have a quality arts experience, make friends, express themselves and recognize that they matter,” said Nasha Thomas, national director of AileyCamp who also designs the national outreach for Ailey’s Arts In Education and Community Programs. (Credit: ©Gabriel Harber Photography)

About a dozen young dancers in black leotards hold their arms over their heads as they learn ballet in a gym — At Berkeley/Oakland AileyCamp, campers aren't allowed to use their phones. For many, it’s the first time they have been totally unplugged from technology, said associate director Spencer Pulu, who goes by SPULU. (Credit: ©Gabriel Harber Photography)

young dancers wearing black leotards jump in the air as they practice dancing — Since the Berkeley/Oakland AileyCamp began in 2002, more than 1,200 campers have gone through the program. (Credit: ©Gabriel Harber Photography)

Several young dancers wearing black leotards sit on a chairs in a row watching something out of the frame — Berkeley/Oakland AileyCamp is one of 10 AileyCamps nationwide and the only one held on a university campus. The program grew from Cal Performances’ nearly 60-year relationship with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. (Credit: ©Gabriel Harber Photography)

a person wearing a blue top smiles and sits against a cement wall — "We are pleased to have the opportunity to welcome the campers to our campus and for them to begin to see themselves succeeding in a university setting like Berkeley,” said Chancellor Carol Christ. (Credit: ©Gabriel Harber Photography)

a young dancer leaps through the air in a gym as other young dancers stand the background — This year, for the first time, there are more leadership roles for returning campers, so they can build their mentorship skills and help foster a greater sense of community within the camp. (Credit: ©Gabriel Harber Photography)

a few dozen young dancers dressed in black leotards strike poses on a fashion show runway — Every Friday, campers do something special outside of their usual schedule of classes, called Fun Fridays. One of the activities is a fashion show. (Credit: ©Gabriel Harber Photography)

Young dancers in black leotards sit in a row on the floor, talking to each other — “Every year, it is a joy to witness the campers’ transformation from the first day to the final performance, and it’s incredibly special to watch our former campers step into leadership roles that pay it forward to the next generation," said AileyCamp national director Nasha Thomas. (Credit: ©Gabriel Harber Photography)

about three dozen dancers dressed in colorful costumes perform on stage with a fashion show runaway in the center — “Performance is a means by which we can learn about ourselves and about the world around us,” said Jeremy Geffen, executive and artistic director of Cal Performances. (Credit: ©Gabriel Harber Photography)

Two young dancers wearing costumes pose at the end of a runway as dancers lining both sides of the runway watch — After six weeks of intensive training, campers give a final performance in UC Berkeley's Zellerbach Hall. (Credit: ©Gabriel Harber Photography)

two young dancers on a fashion runway as an audience watches — “They’re really blooming during their sixth week of camp,” said Berkeley/Oakland AileyCamp assistant director SPULU. “They get to walk away and know that they can contribute to this country and society in ways that they can make a difference." (Credit: ©Gabriel Harber Photography)

two young dancers perform a fashion show on a dark stage with a red light shining — The final showcase performance, called "Points of View," will take place Thursday, July 27 at 7 p.m. in Zellerbach Hall. (Credit: ©Gabriel Harber Photography)

It was 2005, and Spencer Pulu was having a rough year. He was in seventh grade at Roosevelt Middle School in Oakland. After getting into a physical fight with some other students, and then graffitiing all over the school’s campus, he’d been suspended and had fallen behind in his schoolwork.

The 13-year-old had a choice to make: He could repeat the seventh grade, go to summer school or attend Berkeley/Oakland AileyCamp, a summer dance program for youth produced by UC Berkeley’s Cal Performances.

He chose AileyCamp.

When he got there, he didn’t know what to make of it. He came in with the mindset that dancing was for girls and women, not something that boys and men did — at least not the sort of men that he’d had as role models growing up in a large, religious Tongan family.

But as he started to take classes in dance, he began to feel more free, more himself, able to express his emerging queerness through movement. He didn’t feel like he had to name what he was feeling, but instead he could explore it in a way that felt natural.

“I had done a lot of Pacific Islander traditional dancing and performing at school assemblies and at church or family reunions,” said Pulu, who goes by SPULU. “But Tongan tradition is very grounded, very gender-specific to what the movements are, and it’s limited to cultural practices.

“I think having modern dance instructors who were also men and who were also masculine gave me a different outlook of what it looks like to be a man in a dance space. I could move freely and express and explore other dance vocabularies.”

Now, nearly two decades later, SPULU is the associate director of Berkeley/Oakland AileyCamp, a six-week, full-scholarship dance program where students ages 11 to 14 attend daily classes in ballet, jazz, modern and West African dance.

This year, 70 campers from the Berkeley, Oakland, Richmond and Albany unified school districts are participating in the program. Berkeley/Oakland AileyCamp is one of 10 AileyCamps nationwide and the only one held on a university campus. The program, which grew from Cal Performances’ nearly 60-year relationship with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, has had more than 1,200 campers participate since it began in 2002.

“Cal Performances’ underwriting and producing of Berkeley/Oakland AileyCamp is an example of what makes Cal Performances such an invaluable contributing member of our UC Berkeley and greater Bay Area community,” said Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ. “We are pleased to have the opportunity to welcome the campers to our campus and for them to begin to see themselves succeeding in a university setting like Berkeley.”

“Performance is a means by which we can learn about ourselves and about the world around us,” said Jeremy Geffen, executive and artistic director of Cal Performances. “And as we know from experiences with AileyCamp, this ability to foster growth and empathy can be transformative at an often-tumultuous time in young people’s lives.”

In addition to learning dance, students also take classes in creative communication and personal development.

“A lot of the campers, they really have so much to say,” said SPULU. “They are learning to express themselves through writing, through poetry, through painting, through collage. And they’re having heavy discussions about decision-making, and about peer mediation and conflict resolution. They’re having these deep discussions that they aren’t having at school or at home.”

two photos of people - one wearing a white necklace and smiling widely, the other with facial hair and long hair with a serious expression

Patricia West (left) is the Berkeley/Oakland AileyCamp director and SPULU (right) is the associate director. (Credit: ©Gabriel Harber Photography)

SPULU works with camp director Patricia West to help create a structured and supportive experience for youth that is as warm as it is demanding.

Every camper is given the same dance attire — black unitards — and is required to pull their hair back so that it’s not a distraction during class. They all eat breakfast and lunch together in Berkeley’s International House dining commons. And phones are not allowed. For many campers, said SPULU, it’s the first time they’ve been totally unplugged from technology and the first time they’ve moved their bodies for hours every day.

“They’re activating muscles they haven’t used as much,” said SPULU. “They’re exploring what healthy food choices look like. They’re trying to use their brains more. Because we’re pushing them to move, a lot of them are seeing changes in their bodies.”

By the end of the camp, said SPULU, students have so many more tools than when they first arrived. Not only are they more confident and self-expressive in dance, they’re able to communicate with their peers and voice their needs and opinions in constructive ways. This year, for the first time, there are more leadership roles for returning campers, so they can build their mentorship skills and help foster a greater sense of community within the camp.

“They’re really blooming during their sixth week of camp,” said SPULU. “They get to walk away and know that they can contribute to this country and society in ways that they can make a difference. As I share my story and my experience, that’s a connection that I have with the campers.”

After SPULU participated in AileyCamp at 13, he went on to come out as queer and find his voice in activism. He became a student organizer and participated in peer health education programs in middle school. He advocated for greater access to books and resources in the Oakland public schools and has participated in countless other demonstrations and rallies in Oakland.

As a college student, SPULU came back to AileyCamp to work as group leader. He said having been an AileyCamper himself years before helped him learn to lead with empathy and honesty, always open to growing and learning from the AileyCamp community.

After six weeks of intensive training, campers will give a final performance in Zellerbach Hall on campus to celebrate their progress and showcase their new skills to their families and friends and anyone else who’d like to attend.

The final showcase performance, Points of View, will take place Thursday, July 27, at 7 p.m. in Zellerbach Hall. The performance is free and open to the public. Reservations are recommended and can be made online, with a limit of four per person. Tickets may also be available at the door the night of the performance, based on availability.

Watch a video about a day in the life of an AileyCamper on Cal Performances’ blog, Beyond the Stage.

Learn more about Berkeley/Oakland AileyCamp and watch videos of past performances on Cal Performances’ website.