Camp Was WONDERFUL!

but now it's in the past. Keep an eye on this page for announcements about next year's camp!

Here's the information for our most recent camp:

Fee Structure

We are offering sliding scale pricing so camp is available to more people. $700 covers your lodging, meals, and program. Youth (ages 30 and under) can opt for work-trade discounts. If you are over 30, please pay as much as you can, $500 or more. This means that to break even, for every dancer who pays $500, we need someone to pay $900. If you are able, please make a tax-deductible donation in addition to your baseline $700 to help sustain our fabulous week in the redwoods. Thank you for making camp affordable to those who otherwise could not join us.

Sliding Scale Guidelines: How much should I pay?

American Week is a six-day, residential, full food-service camp. The length of the camp allows a richer and deeper experience than a shorter dance weekend; you really have time to relax and get into a different rhythm. There is time to connect with old friends and make new ones. Over the course of six days, you can expand your skills and build new ones by attending multi-day workshops.

All of this comes with a price tag that is higher than a two-day or three-day event. We believe the immersive quality of a week-long camp is worth the cost…and we realize that the cost may be prohibitive for some members of our community. To make camp affordable for dancers, callers, and musicians in our community who otherwise would not be able to join us, this year we have adjusted the payment system. We’d like to be transparent about the camp costs and about our attempt to include everyone who wants to attend while also remaining financially solvent.

Equitable, inclusive — and solvent

This is our first time using a sliding scale payment instead of the set price of previous years. We’ve provided some examples below to help you. If everyone opted for $500, we would lose $20,000, which would make it hard to continue the camp in the future. Please consider fairly where you fall on the scale below and be as generous as you can:

• You are young, possibly a student, with little spending money but plenty of financial assistance from your parents. Try to work with your parents to pay the full $700.
• You are a recent grad who is unemployed or underemployed and student loans feel crushing. You sound like a great candidate for paying around $500 (or work trade for under 30).
• You have a steady job but finances are tough, and you don’t really have non-liquid assets. Pay $500-700, to help sustain camp without overstressing. If $500 seems out of reach, please contact us about possible work/trade scholarships.
• You have a comfortable income. Please pay at least $700, regardless of your age.
• Life is good and you treasure the magic of AmWeek Camp. Consider becoming an angel and sponsoring other dancers by contributing over $700. $900 covers your cost and completely offsets the cost of one low-income dancer. Any amount over $700 is considered a tax-deductible donation.

What American Week Costs to Run

Our amazing redwood camp charges us $369 per person for 5 nights lodging and 15 hot meals. We have to pay for a minimum of 98 campers, regardless of how many people sign up. We spend over $17,000 booking premium talent (salary, travel, camp) so we can enjoy fabulous bands, callers, and sound technicians. We also budget for snacks, publicity, and supplies, and we have a team of assistants to handle substantial functions who are allowed a discounted fee. The total cost to put on camp is a minimum of $51,000. The discounted fees of support staff reduce the remaining minimum cost below $47,000.

As the enrollment grows the cost per camper decreases, though there are additional costs that will be incurred, most especially the redwood camp charge. To compute a cost per camper, we must assume an average number based on recent years, in spite of our hope and anticipation that there will be many more. To cover the minimum we need at least 66 campers paying an average of $700 each. Additionally we will have twelve partial-paying team members and fourteen staff and non-paying committee members.

Scholarships

Youth rates and other need-based financial assistance may be available. Visit the scholarships page for more information.

Logistics

• Camp begins with dinner 5:30 pm Sunday, July 1, 2018 and concludes with a Friday night dance held in Palo Alto that is included in the camp fee.
• If you are flying in, camp is a 60-90 minute drive from Bay Area airports. Contact Hospitality if you need carpool assistance. Carpool options maybe more numerous from OAK and SJC than from SFO.
• Only full-time registrants will be accepted. The YMCA camp does not offer any reductions for partial week attendance or for program participants who stay off-site overnight. Participants 13-17 years old are welcome if accompanied by a responsible adult (with signed approval of parent or legal guardian.)
• Smoking is not permitted in any area of the site, and pets are not allowed. Alcohol is prohibited on the YMCA grounds. The YMCA camp requires all campers to complete and submit a release form prior to camp.
• Housing is dormitory-style cabins, each holding up to 12 people. For more privacy, you may wish to bring a tent and gear, and camp in the meadow. Please indicate your housing preference with your registration. We're sorry, but semi-private rooms are not available this year as they had been in the past.
• Detailed camper information will be sent to registered campers in early May.

We reserve the right to refuse registration or admission to anyone whose behavior has been judged by the camp organizers to be disruptive, harassing, or dangerous.