Creative Dance Center & Kaleidoscope Dance Company

🎉 We have SO MUCH to celebrate! As we enter fall, we want to share what we've been up to here at CDC, in the Seattle community, and beyond!

Anne Green Gilbert, CDC Founder and creator of Brain-Compatible Dance Education, retired from teaching the Summer Dance Institute for Teachers this summer. She capped off 31 years at the helm of SDIT by leading this year's cohort of 43 students from around the world with her co-teacher, Dionne Kamara. While SDIT will continue on, we are so grateful to Anne for pioneering this powerful, impactful program!

CDC Director and beloved teacher Terry Goetz just finished her 25th year at CDC! In 1997, Terry brought her toddler to one of Anne's classes and the rest is history. Deeply inspired by Anne and the mission of CDC, Terry went on to attend SDIT five times and started teaching here in 2000. Terry specializes in movement in the early years, sharing how creative dance supports brain development, language growth, confidence, and social-emotional connection. Dance with Terry this Fall!

Kaleidoscope had a blast this past June at the daCi USA National Gathering in Towson, MD! The company enjoyed a wonderful week of connecting, learning, and performing with young dancers from across the country. We love being part of daCi, an amazing organization that brings together young dancers from all over the world. Next summer we travel to Malaysia for the 2027 daCi International Conference!

This was our third summer supporting Hunger Intervention Program (HIP)! HIP provides free meals during the summer to King County families who rely on free and reduced lunches during the school year. As part of their Summer Eats program, they provide lunch and activities at several North Seattle locations. Thank you to HIP for the work you do and to the creative, inspiring children who danced with us. And thank you to our teachers, Olivia Evans and Ruby A. Moore, for your wonderful work in the community this summer!

The celebration isn't over yet—get ready to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Creative Dance Center! It's going to be another banner year!

Join us as we dance into fall! We can't wait to welcome you!

⭐ Join us on Saturdays from 11:50am – 12:50pm for our *newest* class, DANCE & DRAMA (Grades K-2)!

🎭 Move, create, imagine, and play! Dive into dance and drama through movement, storytelling, and dramatic adventures as students collaboratively explore imagined worlds and transform into characters. Along the way, they will build dance and theater skills, confidence, collaboration, and creative problem-solving, all while bringing their own ideas to life through BrainDance and movement exploration.

🗓️ The Fall/Winter session begins September 8 (just a few short weeks from now)! Register today to make sure you're part of the fun! Visit creativedance.org or the link in our tree for more info and to sign up. As always, tuition assistance and payment plans are available—contact [email protected] before registering to confirm eligibility.

📸 by Bronwen Houck

☀️ We're bummed that summer is almost over, but we're revved up for our FINAL WEEK of camps!! We've got a variety of options for everyone ages 4-13!

NEXT WEEK (August 17-21):

🎤 We invite campers ages 10-13 to join fan-favorite 𝗞𝗣𝗼𝗽 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 (9:30am - 12:30pm) and 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗨𝗽! 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗲 (1:00-4:00pm) so they can harness the power of their voices!

🎨 For kiddos ages 4-5, our morning-only 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 camp (9:30am - 12:30pm) blends kinesthetic and visual/spatial learning as young dancers discover a new artist each day and explore their unique style through movement, music, and creating their own artwork!

👟 And for our 6-to-9-year-olds, our afternoon-only 𝗛𝗶𝗽 𝗛𝗼𝗽 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝗼𝘃𝗲 camp (1:00-4:00pm) introduces foundational dance concepts that build strong, confident dancers—develop performance skills and discover the history and cultural roots of Hip Hop!

👉 Savor the last taste of summer by signing up today at creativedance.org or through the link in our tree! We look forward to welcoming you into our space!

⚠️ There are only two weeks left in our summer camp series! Sign up today, before the season gets away!

NEXT WEEK (August 10-14) we have 3 camps:

📚 𝗢𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗨𝗽𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 – Ages 4-5 – This morning-only camp (9:30am-12:30pm) opens a magical window of imagination where storytelling, movement, and art come together! Stories come to life through dance and art projects as campers get acquainted with the elements of character and plot through the rich language and art of children's literature. Everything we explore will inspire an Original Dancing Story that we create as a group throughout the week!

🎵 𝗞𝗣𝗼𝗽 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 – Ages 7-10 – This morning camp (9:30am-12:30pm) brings the movie out of the screen and into the studio! Enter a bold world where heroes emerge through music, dance, and storytelling—campers will explore themes of friendship, identity, and triumph through high-energy movement, creative projects, and artistic adventures that will have them feeling unstoppable as they find their voice and come together as a golden ensemble!

🎶 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗨𝗽! 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗲 – Ages 7-10 – Keep the power tunes going into the afternoon (1:00-4:00pm) as you celebrate courage, creativity, and finding your voice! Through choreography and character-driven performance, singers and dancers work together and explore what it means to be heard. With songs from musicals such as Newsies, Matilda, and School of Rock, campers step into the roles of young characters who take control of their own story and rise up!

Check out our website for more about the FINAL week of camp (August 17-21)!

👉 Don't forget, full-day camps include lunchtime supervision at no extra charge! Register today at creativedance.org or through the link in our tree, and join the hottest performing arts camps in town before summer is over! We can't wait to move with you!

Registration is NOW OPEN for our Fall/Winter 2026-27 class session!

Classes begin September 8, 2026, and run through January 23, 2027. Our most popular classes fill quickly, so claim your spot before they are all gone at creativedance.org or through the link in our tree! We can't wait to dance with you!

As this month comes to a close, we're looking ahead to August and Week 5 of our Summer Camps series!

August 3-7, we'll blend song, dance, and narrative in Creative Music: Peter & the Wolf and go full gumshoe with Mystery at the Museum, both for campers ages 5-7 years.

𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰: 𝗣𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿 & 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗹𝗳 (9:30am - 12:30pm) weaves together music, movement, and storytelling as curious minds discover a beloved tale where animals, music, and imagination come to life! Campers will explore how dance and music concepts help tell stories through improvisation, composition, and dance-making inspired by Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev. Using movement, body percussion, voices, and simple instruments, students will create their own musical story over the week.

𝗠𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘂𝗺 (1:00 - 4:00pm) opens a world of imagination and intrigue! In this fun-filled drama and dance camp, children bring the playful whodunit Mystery at the Museum to life. Campers explore creative drama and movement activities that build confidence, collaboration, and storytelling skills—it’s a week of creativity, discovery, and theatrical fun!

Just the facts: half-day and full-day camps are both available, with savings if you sign up for the full day, which includes lunchtime care from 12:30-1:00pm at no extra charge! Visit creativedance.org or the link in our tree for complete details, online registration, and more camp options (swipe to see it at a glance)! Sign up now to save your spot!