Performing arts camp turns out budding actors

Instead of sending her children to a regular summer camp, "where they learn swimming and martial arts", Heba Al Bdour decided to give her children a new experience. "This is different, unlike any other summer camp. Children don't simply let off some steam, their characters develop and change," the 31-year-old mother told The Jordan Times on Thursday. Bdour's two boys, eight-year-old Karim and five-year-old Awn, attended a three-week summer camp at the National Centre for Culture and Arts, receiving training in acting, break dancing, hip-hop, music and art. "Every day they came back from the camp, they had learned something new. This really helped boost their self-esteem, and now they have the courage to go onstage and speak up," she said, noting that her children refined their taste in music. At the end of the camp on Thursday, Bdour's children, along with some 34 other youngsters aged between five and 16, staged a short performance to demonstrate the skills they gained during the three-week camp. The amateur performers acted, break-danced, sang, rapped and mimed, along themes relevant to them as young Jordanians and Arabs. The hip hop segments written by the young performers reflected their concerns about their identity as Arabs in the face of Westernisation and foreign culture. Other sections depicted the dangers of smoking on children and the importance of love in people's lives. "When we used to think about great acting, only Hollywood would come to mind," participant Saja E. Badran said. "But participating in this camp opened our eyes to the professional art scene here. With better resources, I think we can achieve so much," the 15-year-old noted. "This kind of experience helps enrich our character, inspiring us not only to take centre-stage in a performance, but also in life in all fields. For me, these were life lessons, not simply performance lessons," added Badran, who aspires to be a political analyst. Music instructor Saba Fraij said the children taught her as much as she taught them and more. "Children are still pure; over these past three weeks, they helped me get rid of some aspects in my character that I thought were negative," she said, noting that music helps release the negative energy and maintain the positive one. "Some of the children were very aggressive when they started the camp, but are now very cooperative and relaxed. Others were not interested in music or only wanted to sing and dance along Western music at first," Fraij added. "But when I insisted that they were to sing in Arabic because they listen to English songs all the time, as they rehearsed, they grew to love the idea," the fourth-year musicology student explained. The 24-year-old voiced hope that more parents change their negative views on the arts, including music, and encourage their children to participate in similar events.