Over the summer, the Westwood SunDancers participated in many activities to prepare them for the upcoming school year. SunDancer Summer Dance Camp (also referred to as Kiddie Camp), and Line Camp were particular highlights for the team as the summer ended, raising excitement for the upcoming school year.

The SunDancers’ summer was packed with fun activities that kept them all busy. Starting off the season, the team held Kiddie Camp, which was a summer camp for kids aged kindergarten through ninth grade.

“I love Kiddie Camp,” Payton Parsons ‘27 said. “It’s where kids sign up and [the SunDancers] teach [choreography] to them. Everybody [is in charge of] different grades but we teach them [choreography] and then at the end [of the camp] they do a performance for their parents.

Kiddie Camp gives the SunDancers an opportunity to learn to be leaders, and give directions to others. All of the SunDancers, but especially the Social Board Members, took on a leadership role by providing snacks and band-aids and running the whole camp overall. Kiddie Camp also gave the Line Officers time to hone the leadership skills they had worked on during Officer Camp earlier that summer. Many of the SunDancers felt that line camp not only prepared them for the school year but also helped them bond as a team. Swiftly after the SunDancer Summer Dance Camp ended, Line Camp began for the team.

“We [had] guest choreographers [come in to teach routines],” Caroline Johnson ‘26 said. “Angie and Trevor are hip hop choreographers that we have [come a lot]. And we also learned from Ms. Lori, who works at Dancers Workshop. The line officers teach some of our dancers, and [former SunDancer director] Shelby Kelly taught us our contemporary dance.”

However, Line Camp is so much more than having guest choreographers come in. Throughout the camp, the dancers learn football game halftime performances, competition routines, and pep rally dances. The team learns a massive amount of the choreography for the year, and the team’s new rookies get to learn the stand routines that the SunDancers perform at football games.

“My favorite part [of spending the summer with the SunDancers] was definitely Line Camp,” Payton Parsons ‘27 said. “It brought me so close to the team because we were still all getting to know each other and then we got our squads. Every squad [has] an officer, and then we have a group of five or six and we do squad outings. We just take that time to get to know each other and it’s like a team bonding kind of thing.”

Though the season doesn’t technically start until Kiddie Camp and Line Camp, the SunDancers take many intensives and master classes over the summer to prepare for the year.

“I participated at Dancers Workshop and did the Ovation Intensive which is just a ballet intensive,” Caroline Johnson ‘26 said.

Other dancers held jobs at dance studios to help them prepare for the dance season.

“I went to a dance convention and then at my studio I helped at kid[s] camps [as] an assistant,” Lexi Laughlin ‘26 said.

Overall, the school year is off to a strong start for the SunDancers and they can’t wait for the dance season to continue.
“I am really excited to see what everyone on the team achieves this year,” Caroline Johnson ‘26 said. “Everyone has worked really hard these past few weeks and I think the team is set up for success.”