Totally Designed Body, Inc. Presents
SPARTS CAMP (SPORTS & PERFORMING ARTS CAMP 2007)

SPARTS CAMP COMES TO THE MAD RIVER VALLEY
By Kim J. Gifford

Parents looking for more than the traditional summer camp experience for their children may want to consider Sparts Camp, an innovative day camp taking place Monday July 9 through Saturday July 28 at Harwood Union High School in Duxbury, VT. Yes, the name may sound strange, but only because Sparts Camp, hosted by husband and wife Victor and Tara Dawn Bach (TDB) Martinez, specializes in two areas of concentration – sports and performing arts, creating an unique opportunity for children to fine tune their bodies and develop as performers while generally increasing their self-confidence and discipline.

Geared for ages 5 on up through the teens, Sparts Camp, gives children the choice between participating solely in sports activities, designed to strengthen their bodies and increase their balance and agility, and the performing arts of singing, acting and dancing, intended to make them more dynamic performers. Children may also choose to participate in some combination of the two.

Each day begins at 8:30 a.m. with children from both the performing arts and sports camps gathering in the Harwood auditorium.

“We sit on stage and use yoga breaths and some imagery to center ourselves,” said TDB, who then outlines for the group the day’s activities. Groups subsequently divide up with the sports camp going off with Mr. Martinez and assistant director Jenneth Fleckenstein and the performing arts kids remaining with TDB and two additional instructors to focus on the day’s chosen activity such as tap, jazz or musical theatre.

“If we begin with tap we start by doing basic drills. Even if experienced tap dancers are present, we start at the very beginning with the older kids in the front and the little kids who’ve never tapped in the back, so they have someone to follow. That’s how we nurture them along,” said TDB.

After tap, the performing arts camp may turn to jazz or to practicing Broadway songs with Joan Foster, TDB’s mother and a local Warren piano instructor whose resume includes years as a concert pianist and time spent working for CBS and NBC studios and The Tonight Show. Initially, all the children sing together, but eventually they break up into groups and work on the various parts. The camp dismisses the younger children earlier in the morning with the older children and teens remaining until the afternoon. The camp culminates with an unforgettable performing arts production and a choreographed demonstration by the sports participants.

Children in sports camp will be working out on mini trampolines and with physio exercise balls. Martinez will educate them in a technique called active isolated stretch, designed to create a more balanced body that will aid the athletes in any of their chosen sports.

“I want to be able to motivate these kids,” he said. “I work with kids here in the city and know how easily they can get distracted. I like to find ways to stimulate their minds as well as their bodies and keep them focused in the present moment. You do this by keeping it simple and educating them in ways that they are able to relate to.”

Although children participating in the sports camp can also choose to take part in performing arts activities, they do not have to. “The theater-phobic won’t have to sing and dance, although their final demonstration will be choreographed,” said TDB.

Background and History

Although Sparts Camp in its present incarnation is new, TDB first began holding a performing arts camp at Harwood 15 years ago, stopping during the last three because it had grown to such proportions that it had become overwhelming for her to handle on her own. She feels, however, that with the addition of her husband and new staff, she is ready to resume the program, this time adding a more developed sports component.

“Delegating duties, I will now be able to teach half as much as before and still create a great experience for the kids because the thing that kept drawing me back was my love of working with the kids and seeing them grow year after year,” she said.

TDB launched her first performing arts camp in Harwood after several parents in the region began requesting lessons for their children. At the time she was doing summer stock in Stowe and was choreographing plays at Harwood for which her mom, Joan, was musical director.

“We actually started the first program with six kids and I had no idea that it was going to grow the way it did. The next year we had 20 kids and by the third year it was up to 70. It just kind of turned into an annual event,” said TDB.

Many students returned year after year, and in fact, the camp boasted an 84% student return rate during the 12 years that it ran. Fleckenstein who will serve as assistant director at the new Sparts Camp, was one of TDB’s early students, having attended the camp for 11 years and acting as senior student assistant for six of these. She is also a state-licensed and nationally certified athletic trainer and strength and conditioning specialist.

Both Martinezes are also highly qualified to lead a sports and performing arts camp for children. The two presently own the New York based Totally Designed Body (www.totallydesignedbody.com), a fitness company specializing in personal training, Pilate’s and bodywork. In addition to working with junior Olympians and other competitive teen athletes, Mr. Martinez is also an avid tennis player, long distance cyclist, and runner and was a semi-pro ball player. He also holds certifications from the American College of Sports Medicine, the American Council on Exercise and is a certified Pilate’s instructor.

TDB has been dancing since she was two. She performed with her family’s singing group, the Bach Family Quartet Plus One, and began studying piano with her mother at age three or four. She also studied ballet with the Royal Academy and came to New York City on a full-time performing arts scholarship to study with Nat Horne. She was drawn to his “triple threat” emphasis on singing, dancing and acting.

TDB has extensive experience working with children. At a young age, she ran the tap and musical theater department of a program called Culture in Black and White, serving underprivileged children in Mobile, AL. She went on to run a school of 300 students in St. Martens for four years and while there held a command performance for the Queen of the Netherlands. She was also resident choreographer for three years at Artists Raising the Consciousness of Humanity (ARCH) in Pennsylvania. As she grew older, TDB realized that she needed to prepare for the day when she would no longer be able to dance and began pursuing a career in fitness and exercise physiology. She holds a Master’s Degree in Exercise Physiology from Columbia University Teacher’s College and a Master’s Degree in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica. She is pursing her doctorate in spiritual studies and physical therapy and also holds certifications from numerous fitness organizations.

Keys to Success

The Martinezes are hoping to draw students from throughout the Mad River Valley and beyond and will be offering several work-study scholarships. Although both the sports and performing arts programs are highly disciplined, the Martinezes claim they offer something for children of all ability levels.

“Even if kids have no athletic background or experience in the performing arts, they can come and benefit. Many of the kids who participated in the past had never sung or danced before. It is my goal from the very beginning that if a kid comes in with his or her head down, that kid is not going to be a piece of the scenery,” said TDB, who relies on the older children to help out with the younger ones. “Everybody helps everybody, so it becomes like a team.”

Parents such as Susie Forsthuber, whose daughter Chelsea attended TDB’s camp throughout its run, admit it is “strict, focused, and very demanding.” Yet, most feel their children rose to the occasion and benefited from it.

Edie Beatty, mother of another long-time student, Alex Kilgore, said, “It’s for kids who are really interested in this kind of creative and physical outlet. I know my daughter likes things with a lot of structure and discipline and this program was really right for her and I think it would be right for a lot of other kids. It really changed her life.”

Many of TDB’s students go on to study dance and music either with area teachers or in college. Kilgore, in fact, is planning to make a career in the performing arts. Not only does the camp help children improve their overall fitness and performing arts skills, but most parents commented on the confidence it gave their children as well.

Hallie Tamez, whose children Ryan and Kendra both attended the camp, said, “Participating in a summer dance company gave them an understanding of commitment even in the face of exhaustion, hard work, and achievement. The concept of working towards a final performance gave importance and context to the hard work and physical skill development.”

TDB agreed. She feels one of the keys to the camp is the fact that her students work towards an end goal of a final production. “If we just had a rigorous summer program with no end production the kids wouldn’t be as excited,” she said.

The children also seem to love the pageantry – the bright lights and sparkling costumes. Parents also attributed the camp’s success to TDB. “She doesn’t win their love by telling them what they want to hear and being nice all the time. She wins their respect,” Beatty said.

Sparts Camp, however, is not only about discipline and hard work. It also holds the promise of fun.

“Many parents in the past told me they had never seen their children so happy,” said TDB.

“The program, for me, was an amazing summer of doing what I loved to do. It taught me how to carry myself and how to move. It gave me strength to do anything,” concluded Kilgore.