bodycraft Days

Schools out | bodycraft days

Dive Down the Rabbit Hole!

Create and Collaborate with BodyCraft on Missoula County Public Schools “No School Days.” 

BodyCraft Days give a taste of our year-round BodyCraft curriculum, as students strengthen their creative practice and develop their unique movement expression, all in one day.  The theme of Season 16 is all things Wonderland, and our BodyCraft Days will dive down the rabbit hole to culminate in an informal showing at the end of the day.

2027 Day Camps

January 18
Monday | 9 -3:30 pm

February 8
Monday | 9 -3:30 pm

February 15
Monday | 9 -3:30 pm

COST

$60/day

OR

$155 to sign up for all three!

Register for all three day camps
Register for Jan 18 camp
Register for Feb 8 camp
Register for feb 15 camp

FAQs ABOUT Bodycraft Days?

  • BodyCraft Days give a taste of our year-round BodyCraft curriculum, as students strengthen their creative practice and develop their unique movement expression, all in one day. BodyCraft Days take place on three Missoula County Public School “No School Days” from 9:00 - 3:30 pm. 

    Students will take a contemporary modern technique class, play and explore in improvisation, dive into costume and/or set design, and learn to choreograph and collaborate, as they develop an informal showing at the end of the day.  The informal showcase runs 3:15 - 3:30 pm.

  • Students enrolled in Kindergarten through 5th Grade are eligible. Older students (12 and older) who would like to serve as teaching assistants can email bodycraft@thewestsidetheater.com to check availability.

  • No!  With an emphasis on exploration, BodyCraft can truly expand to dancers of all levels as they explore their own creativity and art-making. Students need to be able to follow directions and have the emotional and physical stamina to get through the full day.

  • Not at all! Each BodyCraft Day is unique, and the three sessions are designed to build on one another rather than repeat the same information. Students can sign up for one, two, or all three sessions depending on their interests and availability.

    Taking all three offers an opportunity to deepen and expand their creative practice, while participating in a single session is a great option for students who can’t commit to the full BodyCraft season—or a wonderful opportunity to expand for students already participating in the full season

  • 9:00 am – Check-in at Westside Theater Lobby

    9:15 am - Opening Ritual and Introductions

    9:15-10:15 - Technique Class

    10:15-11:00 - Bathroom Break, Snack, Tea Time and Story

    11:00-11:45 - Improvisation and Creative Movement

    11:45-12:45 - Lunch and Play/Park Time

    12:45-1:45 - Composition and Rehearsal

    1:45 -2:45 - Costume and/or Set Design and Creation

    2:45 - 3:15 - Composition and Rehearsal

    3:15 - 3:30 Information Showing

  • No, students might create and wear a simple costume piece to wear over their normal clothing. 

  • Dancers should be in clothing that allows for freedom of movement, and long pants/leggings are preferred.  Dancers will move barefoot, with hair secured away from their faces, and without jewelry.

    Students need to bring a lunch, snack, and drinks for the day (water is preferred).

    Please bring a water bottle!

the Team

rachel oliver young

BodyCraft Director

Rachel Oliver Young brings almost two decades of experience as a dance educator, choreographer, and professional dancer. Rachel performed as a full-time company member with West Virginia Dance Company for three years and as a freelance dancer with companies and artists in San Francisco, Chicago, and New York, performing in theaters, festivals, site-specific work, and multimedia projects. Rachel’s choreographic work has travelled nationally and internationally, and has been commissioned by various dance companies and colleges. Rachel is currently an adjunct instructor in the Dance Department at the University of Montana, a teacher at Studio M, and teaches BBD’s Open Company Contemporary Ballet. Most recently, she served for six years as Director of Dance at Denver School of the Arts, where she choreographed and guided emerging young artists. Rachel holds an MFA in Dance, as an Arts and Sciences Fellow at CU-Boulder, where she was awarded the Beverly Sears Graduate Student Award and the Graduate Part-Time Instructor Teaching Excellence Award by The Graduate School at CU-Boulder. Rachel is an American Ballet Theatre® Certified Teacher who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum, has an Alternative Teaching Licensure through the Colorado Department of Education, and is Limón Teacher Trained, all of which have deepened her knowledge in dance education. Rachel has taught dance courses and served as a guest artist at public schools, dance studios, and universities throughout the U.S.

Toree wilson

BodyCraft Assistant Director

Toree Wilson (she/her) was raised in Iowa where she grew up in her mother’s dance studio. She then moved to Chicago, IL, and completed her BFA in Dance at Columbia College Chicago in 2020. During her time there, she studied performance, pedagogy, and choreography. One of her college highlights was the opportunity to perform, teach, and train at the Camping Dance Festival in Paris, France.

Since then, Toree has inspired young dancers from Illinois to Iowa, Colorado to Montana. She initially fell in love with teaching in high school, becoming a student teacher at her home dance studio. As she developed her teaching skills, Toree would go on to teach technique classes at Forevermore Dance and Theater Arts in Chicago, IL. Then, as part of Design Dance, an educational dance company also based in Chicago, Toree broadened her teaching skills to include movers at community centers and public schools, where she gained skills in community building and revelled in spreading the joy of dance to all ages and backgrounds. Design Dance provided a platform for Toree to focus on teaching creative movement and giving kids agency within art-making. It offered her a new perspective on dance education, which she hopes to continue through the BodyCraft curriculum.

Post graduation from college, Toree returned home to Iowa to teach dance at The Dance Konnection and Prestige Dance Studio, honing her skills for technique classes for youth. Later, after moving to Carbondale, Colorado, she joined the Dance Initiative to teach movement in their public schools.

Now firmly entrenched in Montana, Toree can now be found teaching technique classes at Montana Dance Works (Butte) and at Show Tyme Academy (Missoula). She continues to cherish the ability to teach dance to kids with all backgrounds and abilities.

Toree is excited about growing the Missoula youth dance scene, especially the opportunities to share creative and choreographic strategies to young dance-makers. She can’t wait to build new imaginative and physical worlds with BodyCraft movers!

If you have questions or want more specific information, please reach out to BodyCraft Director, Rachel Oliver Young: rachel@thewestsidetheater.com