And the spirit of dance is returning to the heart of Newark through Ailey Camp, a six-week annual summer dance program that teaches more than the art of ballet or hip-hop, but a celebration of culture, confidence and community.

As senior correspondent Joanna Gagis reports, every step tells a story.

What resilience means to me is like really being tough and believing in yourself when you're going through tough, going through hard times.

Resilience means to me that you should always keep trying, you should never give up and you should always put in the effort.

Resilience is the theme of this summer's Ailey Camp.

Named after Alvin Ailey, renowned dancer and founder of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the camp has ten locations around the country and one of them is right here at Newark's Arts High School.

One of the highlights for me and it's something that Mr. Ailey wanted and it's still going on, this is the 36th year of Ailey Camp, is that the program is free.

So where can you go and send your child to have a quality summer experience?

Six weeks, 830 to 330, they go on field trips, they get all of their attire, their dancewear, breakfast and lunch daily.

And then there's the dancing.

Step forward, toes, heel up.

Which covers a range of genres and styles that these 88, 11 to 14 year olds may not otherwise have access to.

From West African dance, to ballet, jazz and modern dance, the students are selected to be part of the program but it's not based on their proficiency in dance, rather on their willingness to learn and grow, which is what this camp is really all about.

We're looking for campers who have an interest in the art form, but we offer a lot more than just dance.

There's creative communication, which is an art class, and they do learn all the different techniques but throughout it all, it's just about bonding and social interaction.

It's just six weeks of self-discovery.

And problem-solving skills that are taught in the personal development class, which they call PD, and that co-director Cherise Hill says is the cornerstone of this six-week program.

Our curriculum is very enriching.

We have a plethora of classes that teach our children resilience.

They learn hygiene, conflict resolution, how to manage peer pressure.

They're given a lot of tools, you know, to help them be full citizens of today's society.

Ailey Camp has taught me so much, not just about dance, but over the years I've learned how to be confident within myself, how to be resilient, how to grow and how to show my emotions, not just with dance movements, but like in PD we're able to express ourselves.

And starting Ailey Camp, I used to be shy, but now I'm able to express myself, not just with the movement, but with other people around me and my surroundings.

It's given me that space of emotional maturity.

It's definitely advanced me in that skill.

That's a big thing.

A part of me, mental health, is such a big thing.

When I talk to people, first thing I talk about.

So definitely that matured me and who I am as a dancer especially.

And then there's the growth they experience in their art form that these students say is directly tied to their emotional growth.

I've always struggled growing up expressing myself and I always try to keep it in.

But when I'm dancing, I'm expressing myself through the movement and through the algorithm of the music.

No matter if it's West African, jazz, hip hop, I'm able to express myself and I think that's what Ailey Camp showed me.

The program is possible because of funders like Prudential Financial and a partnership with the Newark Public Schools that provides the school space.

It's a beautiful partnership to see the doors of Arts High School open every summer, welcoming the youth to experience dance, the arts, creativity, and just personal growth.

The absolute most rewarding part of this job is actually seeing the campers go through the summer, come out with the other side enriched, empowered, pursuing their goal, being able to speak up for themselves, being able to understand that the world is their oyster and they can go ahead and conquer anything.

The program ends with a final performance on August 6th in front of family and friends at NJPAC, a moment where these young dancers demonstrate the transformation that happens when someone believes in them and they believe in themselves.

In Newark, I'm Joanna Gaggis, NJ Spotlight News.

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