THOMASVILLE- There was no bad blood at Charla’s School of Dance this week, as the dance company hosted an “In My Dance Era” Taylor Swift-themed dance camp.
Owner and instructor Charla Marsh said the camp was inspired by her dancers’ love of Taylor Swift and the recent Eras tour.
“Every week in dance class, my girls are asking if they can listen to Taylor Swift, so I thought it would be a great camp,” she said.
Marsh was correct, as the camp slots filled up quickly, with girls of all ages eager to learn new moves to “Bad Blood” and “Bejeweled,” while making friendship bracelets in the meantime.
The dances were crafted by Marsh and her assistants for both novel and repeat dancers.
“We try to make the dances easy to pick up so the girls aren’t overwhelmed or anything,” she said.
The campers responded with excitement to the dances, with some of them showing up early each day, so they wouldn’t miss a beat.
“They are so excited to learn all of the dances,” Marsh said. “We made the dances partner dances, so they were so excited to be able to dance with their friends they brought to camp.”
Marsh said one of the young campers was so excited to share the dance with her mom, that she performed it for her in the parking lot on the first day of pickup.
After the camp, some of the dancers with prior ballet experience returned for a ballet intensive, taught by Ella McKinney, which is required for any dancer trying out for the performance and competitive company.
“It was open to anyone, but we did recommend that those in attendance have previous dance experience because it was an intensive and was a little harder,” Marsh said.
One of the young camp dancers in attendance was Meredith Mata.
Mata attended camp with her friend Elena Parmer, who said her favorite part of camp has been the ballet aspect.
However, Mata said she has been taking dance for nearly a year and wanted to take her skills to the next level.
“I want to take baby steps to see if I can get on the competition team,” she said. “I think I’ve made pretty good progress so far.”
Parmer and Mata were excited to “shake off” the jitters and perform in front of their parents what they had learned and how they had grown this past week.
For those still looking to attend a camp, Marsh is hosting a Barbie-themed dance camp next week, along with two mini-camps for younger kids to be introduced to camp. Thursday, June 20th, a Squishmallow Mini Camp will be held for ages 3-6. Kids are encouraged to bring their favorite stuffed animal for a time of dancing, crafting, and snacking.