Arts After School and Out-of-School Time Training Program
Building character, confidence, and community one step at a time

Add arts programming at your Y to open new revenue streams through funding for Arts Education, Social & Emotional Learning, Childhood Obesity & Diabetes Prevention, Mental Health, STEAM programs, Equity in Arts Learning, Senior Isolation, and more!

We offer trainings for staff to incorporate arts including ballroom and line dances,

ukulele, music, and singing, creative writing, theater games, and more in summer and afterschool programs.

Our programs build:

• Respect • Teamwork • Confidence • Cooperation • Kindness • Healthy boundaries • Self-expression • A sense of accomplishment • Skills in the arts • Resilience

Save the Arts programs are tailored to the needs of different age groups:

• Grades 4th-8^th – Ballroom and line dances, how to play simple songs on an ukulele and sing along, creative writing, theater games, and more.
• Teens – Ballroom and line dances, how to play simple and complex songs on an ukulele and sing along (peer led), creative writing, theater games, and more.
• Adults and seniors – Ballroom and line dances and ukulele classes to be offered as programs for members – healthy living, community building, and isolation prevention.

Our ballroom dance program addresses the artistic performance and cultural heritage of the American Ballroom social dance forms of Swing, Salsa, Foxtrot, Waltz, Rumba, Tango, Merengue, Cha-Cha, Charleston, line dances, and more.  Ukulele training teaches how to teach basic notes and chords, strum patterns, and fun songs. Teaching Artists will teach children and adults to play a song the first day!

Recommended schedule: Dance twice per week, Ukulele twice per week, Creative Writing and Theater Games once per week, for 10 weeks. At the end of the ten weeks (or twenty lessons), a performance for parents, funding partners, and the public takes place. Witness the student’s confidence, manners, self-esteem and of course, their new skills. This event can also be made into a fundraising event for your Y.

Pricing:
YMCA staff members receive training in how to teach ballroom dances, ukulele, creative writing, and theater games and obtain certification for Save the Arts.
Price includes a grant template, school contract, grant support, support for organizing the culminating event at the end, and one year subscription to music and video training updates available each month.
1-9 staff members per association: $1,450 per staff member
10 or more staff members per association: $1,250 per staff member
20 or more staff members per association: $950 per staff member
Note: Staff members can attend different trainings within a year period.

NAYDO Special: Sign up during the conference for a discount – only $750 per staff member (five or more staff members). Honored for any trainings in 2023.

Upcoming trainings (Four day intensive training – over 30 hours to receive certification).
  • May 18 – 21, 2023 – Phoenix, AZ
  • June 29 – July 2, 2023 – Wilmington, NC
  • Aug 24 – 27, 2023 – San Diego, CA
  • Feb. 17 – 25, 2024 – Training on a cruise from Tampa, FL to Panama Canal

NOTE: We can also schedule a training at your Y if you have 10 or more staff to be trained.

About us: Steve Conrad, Executive Director, is also a certified Teaching Artist trained by World Champion Ballroom Dancer Pierre Dulaine who can be seen in feature films “Mad Hot Ballroom”, “Take the Lead”, and the award-winning documentary “Dancing in Jaffa”. Steve Conrad has appeared on ABC’s “The Bachelorette”, “Little Big Shots: Forever Young”, and in numerous music videos. He has toured the US, Europe, and China teaching dance and performing. As a teaching artist, Steve believes that the arts and the joy they can bring should be accessible for all.

Camille Hartley, Director of Curriculum, received her undergraduate degree in K-12 Choral Music Education at Northern Arizona University. She has taught K-12 grade music including piano, ukulele, musical theater, and choir for the past 6 years both in North Carolina and Arizona. Camille is also the director of children and youth music at Pine Valley Methodist Church, a private piano and voice instructor, and enjoys playing live jazz around Wilmington with her husband and their band, Gin Fizz. As a performing arts teacher, she believes that music and performing is an important part of holistic education that aids in teaching teamwork, presence, and overall confidence.