Grant brings youth dance camp to New Rockford

The New Rockford Area Betterment Corporation (NRABC) has announced a groovy new opportunity for New Rockford’s youth.

On Wednesday, Sept. 7, the NRABC received a $2,500 GIG Fund award from Arts Midwest, an organization dedicated to promoting creativity, nurturing cultural leadership and bringing vitality to midwest communities.

Director of the NRABC, Amanda Hegland, announced the award will be used to fund a boys and girls youth dance camp this fall for kids ages three through nine.

The camp will take place on Oct. 4-6 at the Brown Memorial in New Rockford, and classes will be taught by Northern Plains Dance - a non-profit organization from Bismarck that’s been providing professional training for dancers ages three and older since 1998.

Their mission, as stated on the Northern Plains Dance website, is to “inspire the appreciation of dance through artistic excellence and to enrich the cultural landscape of our community.”

Hegland said she’s excited for the ability to add yet another opportunity for kids in New Rockford to participate in the arts.

“I’m a big proponent of offering a well-rounded opportunity for kids,” she said. “I already think New Rockford does an awesome job with theater and music, and I think dance is a unique opportunity.”

Arts Midwest’s GIG Fund is a $300,000 grant program designed to support creative and educational projects for the summer and fall of 2022. The NRABC was one of 120 organizations across the midwest to receive the $2,500 awards.

Hegland said she applied for the grant a number of months ago, with the hope that a dance camp in rural America is exactly the sort of thing the GIG Fund was meant for - and she was right.

According to Arts Midwest’s website, priority consideration was given to organizations that engage artists from historically underrepresented or marginalized communities, rural communities, and under-funded areas.

When asked how the idea of a dance camp came about, Hegland pointed to the number of great activities New Rockford’s youth already have access to, and she noted the importance of expanding those opportunities.

“I think we are really lucky with all the things that we have going on for kids,” said Hegland. “We have the bowling alley, movie theater, all the different sports activities in the summer and fall, roller skating - we just offer so many unique things and I think that’s really special about New Rockford, and I want to keep offering stuff like that.”

Admission costs $10 per child, and every kid that registers will get their own t-shirt. Those interested can sign up their children at https://forms.gle/yugj4c6ptWQQSaSBA, or by calling the NRABC office at (701) 947-2205.

Hegland also noted the NRABC wants to ensure that every child, regardless of financial situation, has an opportunity to attend. Therefore, scholarships will be made available for those in need. To arrange a scholarship contact the NRABC office.

There will be three separate classes at the camp, each a different age group that will attend the camp at different times throughout the day.

Three and four-year-olds will attend from 12:15 - 1:15 p.m .; five and six-year-olds will attend from 3:30 p.m. - 5 p.m .; and children ages 7-9 will attend from 5:15 - 6:45 p.m.

The camp will conclude with a program on Thursday Oct. 6, so that kids can show their parents and community all the cool dance moves they learned at camp. The NRABC will post more information about the program on their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/NewRockfordAreaBettermentCorporation.

Hegland said any proceeds from the event will go towards making sure fun and exciting opportunities like this can keep popping up in New Rockford.