Space still available for Recreational Camp and Session 4B. Enroll today!

Home / Blog / What's New With U? Week 1

Summer Newsletter | Jul 2, 2025

What's New With U? Week 1

Usdan Summer Camp for the Arts students attend Festival Performance in the McKinley Amphitheater

Love is...in the air

Dear Friends,

The first week of camp feels like a great big exhale — finally, old friends are reunited, new friends are finding their way through the winding paths of Usdan, and the campus is once again filled with music and laughter. As many of you may have heard, the element of the season is AIR. This week, AIR showed up as breath: breath that changes the direction of a floating bubble; breath that provides rhythm to a dance class; breath that becomes song in harmony with others.

How have you noticed AIR this week? Let us know on Instagram @usdanarts.

Read on for a recap of the opening week of Festival, for some tips on staying cool, and for a bit more information on our device-free campus.

 


Love is...

Community Day

Usdan Summer Camp for the Arts campus

Community Days are some of the best times to visit campus! Join us on Wednesday, July 23 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for a day filled with art, performances, raffles, and the magic of Usdan. Registration is required to attend the event, and donations are strongly encouraged.

 


Do you want a printed 2025 calendar? Email questions@usdan.org to request a calendar to be mailed to you or picked up on campus. You can also view the pdf calendar here

 


Festival Week 1 Recap

And so it begins

Usdan Summer Camp for the Arts student stands before gong on opening day

To mark the start of the season, students Milan Edge & Isla Miller (pictured) rang the Gong during Monday's Festival. Between the first ring of the gong and the one on the last day of camp, many memories will be made attending Festival with a community of students, families, and friends of Usdan. 

 

Dan Kiernan performs at Usdan Summer Camp for the Arts

At Monday's Festival, Usdan alum & singer-songwriter Dan Kiernan shared how he daydreamed of performing at Festival as a Usdan student studying Musical Theater in 2006 & 2007. This year, he opened the Festival season, singing Panic! at the Disco's "High Hopes," Stephen Schwartz's "Lost in the Wilderness," and "Pink Pony Club" by Chappell Roan as the grand finale. 

 

Olivia Wang performing "In Wild Is the Wind" at Usdan Summer Camp for the Arts

For the first time at Usdan, the work of A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham took the stage, with dancer Olivia Wang performing "Wild Is the Wind" set to the music of Nina Simone, and dancer Keturah Stephen performing, "Show Pony" at Tuesday's Festival. Following the performance, the professional dancers took part in a Q & A, answering questions about the auditioning process for a professional dance companies and how to survive a metallic body suit in the summer heat.

 

IMGE Dance perform at Usdan Summer Camp for the Arts

Before performing their dance called "JUNGLI (Hindi: 'wild'), Ishita Mili, the Artistic Director of IMGE Dance, told the Festival audience: “How I appreciate love in my dance is by observing the world around us and our ecosystem. Why I love dance so much is because it is so connected and rooted in nature.” IMGE Dance blends Indian classical dance, martial arts, and hip-hop for a "new form of global storytelling."

 

Chelsea Zak & Zach Mandernach performed together for the first time on Thursday, July 3. To celebrate the July 4th holiday tomorrow, Zak & Zach perform a song from Shaina Taub's musical "Suffs," called "Finish the Fight" at Usdan Summer Camp for the Arts.

Faculty members Chelsea Zak & Zach Mandernach performed together for the first time on Thursday, July 3. To celebrate the July 4th holiday tomorrow, Zach & Zak performed a song from Shaina Taub's musical "Suffs," about the women's suffrage movement. Before singing the song, "Finish the Fight," Chelsea reminded the students that women did not have the right to vote until 1920.

Reminder: We are closed for tomorrow's holiday. See you Monday!

 


Beat the Heat

Usdan Summer Camp for the Arts students cool down in the McKinley Amphitheater

It is already turning out to be a hot summer! Installed throughout campus are wet bulb thermometers measuring temperature and humidity to help teachers determine activity level and when to take breaks. There are also multiple misters on campus for students to cool off. 

Additionally, we encourage students to bring a reusable water bottle and to sip throughout the day.

 


The New "U"

Bubbles are in the air this summer

Usdan Summer Camp for the Arts U Bubble presentation on stage in the McKinley Amphitheater

At Thursday's Festival, students (L - R) Alexandra-KathleenCatalinaIsabellaOrenTsehaiBrendan, Jonah & Dean shared why they submitted a bubble "U" last summer. 

Today we announced our latest "U" graphic, inspired by 10 students' submissions to last year's design contest. Starting back in 2016, students have submitted sketches of different "U"s that remind them of spirit of Usdan. From ice cream to bees, student "U"s have joined the "U" graphic library filled with symbols representing the many facets of a day at Usdan.  

While usually one student wins the U design competition, this year we chose a "U" that 10 students submitted of bubbles. When asked why these students submitted this year, two referenced the bubbles that start every camp day at that Green Sign. Another student said, "studies show bubbles make people happy." 

To celebrate the latest "U", there are keychains in the Campus Store. Bubble "U" t-shirts will drop later this summer. Additionally, all 2025 students will receive a patch with the latest U design on it next week! 

 


2026 "U" Designs

Usdan Summer Camp for the Art U bubble logo

Encourage your student to submit a design for Summer 2026! They can pick up a submission sheets at the Green Sign and drop off finished designs in the boxes drop off the sheet at the designated boxes at the Green Sign, Welcome Center, and Amphitheater! Submissions are accepted throughout the summer.

 


Stay in the Zone, Leave Your Devices at Home

Usdan Summer Camp for the Arts students arrive on campus

Many students have shared that they use their devices to communicate with parents or guardians during while at camp. Please help us stay device-free by utilizing the phones in the Administration Office to communicate with your student(s).

 


We now have a Low-Sensory Zone! For students interested in an alternative to sitting in the McKinley Amphitheater during Festival Performances, please email dean@usdan.org or speak to a Dean in a green shirt on campus. We will note whether or not a performance is high-sensory every morning on the Green Sign. 

 


 

WEEK 1 IN MEDIA

For more photos and videos, follow us on Instagram and TikTok.

 

Usdan Summer Camp for the Arts students arrive at camp

Aurora & Ava were so excited to be together on their first day of camp. Aurora brought Executive Director Lauren Brandt Schloss a stuffed animal named Creampuff (viewer's right) to act as the unofficial mascot of the summer. Come say hello to Creampuff at the Green Sign!  

 

IMGE Dance teach a workshop at Usdan Summer Camp for the Arts

After IMGE Dance performed at Wednesday's Festival, they led a workshop in the Dance Department on how to connect with nature through dance.

 

Usdan Summer Camp for the Arts students arrive on campus

Students starting their summer, map & instruments in hand. We love spotting butterflies in different forms on campus!

 

Cindy Campbell teaching at Usdan Summer Camp for the Arts

Artist-in-Residence & the First Lady of Hip-Hop Cindy Campbell shows students her & DJ Kool Herc's vinyl records in her "Intro to DJ Basics & the History of Hip-Hop."

 


 

 

Calendar Highlights: Week 2


Here is what's coming up next week!

Families of students are welcome to attend Festival performances and join us after for a backstage lunch. Festival performances will also be livestreamed, as well as recorded and posted, to our YouTube Channel.

 

Monday, July 7

Festival Performance: Voices of Broadway

12:10 p.m. & 12:35 p.m. | McKinley Amphitheater | Usdan Campus

 

Tuesday, July 8

Festival Performance: Harlem Chamber Players

12:10 p.m. & 12:35 p.m. | McKinley Amphitheater | Usdan Campus

 

Wednesday, July 9

Festival Performance: Cocoon Bloom Faculty Ensemble

12:10 p.m. & 12:35 p.m. | McKinley Amphitheater | Usdan Campus

 

Thursday, July 10

Festival Performance: The Red Trouser Show

12:10 p.m. & 12:35 p.m. | McKinley Amphitheater | Usdan Campus

 

Friday, July 11

Spirit Day: Rainbow Day

All day


 

Festival Performance: Adam Cordero Arcadia Quartet

12:10 p.m. & 12:35 p.m. | McKinley Amphitheater | Usdan Campus

 

Do you have any Usdan news we should know about? Write to us at media@usdan.org, and we may feature it in our next newsletter, camp blog or on our social channels!