Suzanne and Nathaniel Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts

The Suzanne and Nathaniel Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts (often referred to as the Usdan Center) is a Wheatley Heights, Long Island-based summer day camp, situated on 200 acres (0.81 km2) in the middle of the woods. [1] Founded by tenor and violinist Andrew McKinley, it opened in 1968 to 1,000 students, and now 1,700 "Usdanites" ages 6-18, come back annually.[2] The camp was started by artists and Jewish community leaders. Its Executive Director is Dale Lewis. [3] It is named for the daughter and husband of Samuel Lemberg, a philanthropist.

Usdan is an intensive camp which focuses on creative and performing arts in particular. Famous alumni include singer Mariah Carey, actress Natalie Portman, jazz singer Jane Monheit, dancer Dara Adler, and musician Adam Abeshouse.[4]

The camp is divided into four divisions based on grade level: Discovery - Grade K and 1; Partners in the Arts - Grades 2 and 3; Junior - Grade 4 through 6; Senior - Grade 7 through 12. Students have a choice of classes from the following disciplines: art, chess, dance, language arts, music, or theater. They must then choose a "major" (two fifty-minute periods) and a "minor" (one period) activity. The schedule is based around these two activities along with swimming at the pools, assembly at the 1,000-seat McKinley Amphitheater, and lunch at picnic tables at his/her major department for the entire four or seven week camp.[5]

In 2008 Usdan celebrated it's 40th season.[6] That year also marked Dale Lewis's 25th year as director of the Center.

Contents

History

In 1968, one thousand New York-area children arrived at the newly created Usdan Center to pursue their love of the arts. This extraordinary inaugural enrollment was testimony to the vision and dedication of the Center's founders. They included artists, educators, and communal leaders. The Center was created in collaboration with Federation of Jewish Philanthropies, under the guidance of Federation’s dynamic and inspirational leader, Dr. Maurice B. Hexter. He embraced the concept of arts education in a camp setting, and enlisted the partnership of a great philanthropist, Samuel Lemberg. Mr. Lemberg provided the initial donations to establish the Center, and to honor his extraordinary generosity, the Board of Trustees named the new Center for his beloved daughter, Suzanne Usdan.

Arts educators created the educational and artistic plan for Usdan. The Center's founding Executive Director, Andrew McKinley, was a concert artist, a member of the Juilliard faculty, and a renowned opera singer. The Center’s Educational Coordinator and longtime Board President, Dr. Jerrold Ross, worked side by side with Mr. McKinley. Dr. Ross was then Chairman of the Department of Music Education at New York University. Together with Mrs. Usdan, Dr. Hexter, and Mr. Lemberg, a Board of Trustees was established, and Mr. McKinley assembled a superb faculty of prominent artists and teachers from the country’s leading conservatories and universities. A hallmark of Mr. McKinley’s leadership was his demand for the highest possible standards of performance and teaching, standards that Usdan is known for to this day. In 1983, following 16 years as Director of the Center, Andrew McKinley retired. The Board appointed Dale Lewis to become his successor, and Mr. Lewis has been Usdan’s Executive Director since that time.

Through the years, the Center's original curriculum of music, art, dance, and theater has expanded into additional fields of study in the arts. The program now includes major subject areas in writing, jazz studies, video arts, computer graphics, jazz and tap dance, chamber music, nature and ecology, organic gardening, fashion design, cartooning, animation, classical guitar, and chess. During the past ten years, Usdan has launched programs for beginners as well. Discovery is an arts exploration experience for children in Kindergarten and First Grade. In the Senior Division (students from 8th Grade through 12th Grade) music, art, or dance students are now eligible to apply for scholarships and student internships, and college or conservator students are eligible for consideration as Work-Study Interns as well. Minor classes now include Life Drawing, Actor’s Skills, and Tennis.

In addition to its primary programs for children, Usdan also sponsors professional development programs for arts educators. Lifetime learning is another programmatic theme at Usdan, and these programs include alumni study days, lecture and concert workshops for adults, and a popular summertime event known as Usdan University. Usdan’s professional staff provides collaborative programs with schools on Long Island in New York City, and the Center hosts training events for young professionals in the arts, and for community events such as the Long Island Envirothon.

Usdan’s leadership includes it Board of Trustees, and a Leadership Council of Long Island community and business leaders. Since the Center’s inception, the Board has completed capital campaigns to build state-of-the-arts theaters and teaching studios on Usdan’s 100-acre woodland campus. These include the Lemberg Drama Center, Hexter Sculpture Museum, Goetz Art Gallery, Block Video Arts Center, Jerrold Ross Discovery Center, and Usdan's campus center, the 1,000-seat Andrew and Lily McKinley Amphitheater, completed in 1999.

The Mission: Usdan Center is a summer arts school and festival that provides an educational setting for children to develop artistic skills, regardless of their level of talent. Children acquire and develop these skills under the guidance of a professional faculty, and they participate in public performances and exhibits that reflect the high standards sought by the Center's faculty. While studying at Usdan, children discover new abilities and talents, and they form lifetime friendships with those who share their love of the arts. The goal is for them to leave the Center with the arts as a lifetime companion. The Center's philosophy is reflected in the phrase: "Lose yourself for a summer, and find yourself for a lifetime."

Art

Art majors choose one discipline to explore in depth. Students work in studios designed for their medium and learn from working artists who are specialists in their fields. Studios feature large skylights as well as indoor and outdoor courtyards to take advantage of natural light and the inspiration of nature. As well as Rachel Minkoff attending the photography program!

Minors

Majors

Chess

There is a certain kind of child, cerebral, free-wheeling, who is inclined to choose chess as a major. At the same time, the demand for chess as a minor attests to its popularity with all types of kids. With class time split between instruction and games, students learn chess notation and develop strategies to improve their skills.

Minor and Major

Dance

Dancers study technique, classic repertory and original choreography with New York City's nationally renowned dancers and choreographers. Instruction is rigorous but caring, and studios are spacious, with soft floors and generous skylights that give them an open-air effect.

Minors

Majors

Language Arts

Small groups of creative writing students engage the forms of poetry, short fiction and playwriting in covered, open-air studios. The program culminates in the publication of Usdan's literary magazine, a multidisciplinary publication which includes student-produced poetry and writing.

Minors

Major

Music

Minors

+For qualified students.

Majors

Theater

The Lemberg Drama Center houses an indoor air-conditioned theater, an outdoor amphitheater, 6 rehearsal studios, costume and set shops and dressing rooms. This extraordinary complex is the site of classes for students (grades 5 to 12) who participate in a program designed to increase acting skills, as well as offer performances in the Center's theaters. Recent productions included Once Upon A Matress, Me and My Girl, Paul Sill's Story Theater, Annie, and Fiddler on the Roof.

Minor

Majors

External links

This year, some of Usdan's theater productions include Li'l Abner, Oliver!, 13, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. All-Stars in this program are returning to do these shows.

References

  1. ^ "What is Usdan?". http://www.usdan.com/what.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-28. 
  2. ^ "The History of Usdan". http://usdan.com/history.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-28. 
  3. ^ "Newsletter". http://usdan.com/new.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-28. 
  4. ^ "Meet our Alumni". http://www.usdan.com/alumni.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-28. 
  5. ^ "Programs". http://usdan.com/programs.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-28. 
  6. ^ "The History of Usdan". http://usdan.com/programs.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-28. 
  7. ^ "Art Program". http://usdan.com/art.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-28. 
  8. ^ "Chess Program". http://usdan.com/chess.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-28. 
  9. ^ "Dance Program". http://usdan.com/dance.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-28. 
  10. ^ "Writing Program". http://usdan.com/writing.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-28. 
  11. ^ "Music Program". http://usdan.com/music.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-28. 
  12. ^ "Theater Program". http://usdan.com/theater.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-28.