SPONSORED POST: Artists age 10 – 17, if your idea of the perfect summer would be throwing yourself headlong into an immersive program in dance, theater, or visual arts, then Walnut School for the Arts invites you to its beautiful campus in Natick. Each summer Walnut Hill welcomes hundreds of talented students from across the country and around the world where they delve into a rich, satisfying summer arts experience that allows them to develop their skills and work with expert faculty and peers who share their exceptional abilities and love for the arts.
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In the perfect blend of serious study and summer fun, Walnut Hill’s programs offer intensive training within a supportive, creative environment. Here’s a quick look at the programs:
Dance: In this comprehensive ballet-based program, students take daily classes in various dance styles and physical training, while also learning about related topics such as injury prevention and stage lighting.
Youth Dance: Participants experience a full range of dance classes—ballet technique, pointe or pre-pointe, variations, modern, jazz, yoga, and choreography—taught by a faculty of world-renowned dance educators.
Theater: Walnut Hill’s Summer Theater program’s unique combination of studio classes and professionally mounted stage productions allows students to both develop their craft and apply their skills in performance.
Visual Arts: Walnut Hill’s three-week Summer Visual Art program features a range of courses in ceramics, 2-D mixed media, sculpture, and technical drawing.
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Learn about Boarding vs. Day programs, the Campus Center, and more.
Boarding students: Summers are a special time at Walnut Hill, where students can live in our beautiful and historic dorms, each staffed with a team of trained and CPR-certified Resident Assistants who provide a safe, structured environment, along with ensuring that our students are engaging socially and having fun!
Each dorm has a Common Room equipped with a television and DVD player, as well as complimentary laundry facilities. Students live in single, double, or triple rooms with other students from the same program, matched with roommates by age.
Students from each boarding program will participate in off campus field trips on the weekends. In the past, these have included Boston Duck Tours, visits to Faneuil Hall and Harvard Square, and a day trip to Rockport on the North Shore.
The Director of Summer Student Life is available by phone or email every day from 9:00am to 5:00pm; outside of those hours, an administrator is always on call and available in emergencies.
Day students: Day programs are a great option for our local families. Students have access to our superb facilities and artistic faculty, with opportunities throughout the day to make social connections with other young artists and have fun. Day students eat lunch on campus in our Dining Hall.
The Campus Center: Students can go here during downtime for quiet, informal recreation, including reading, playing games, or watching movies. There is an adjoining Bookstore that sells snacks and apparel.
Other gathering places for students to spend time together outside of the daily schedule of their program including the orchard or field, the Gazebo, Bishop patio, and the adirondack chairs on Eliot Porch.
The Food: It is important for artists to take exceptional care of both the body and the mind, and healthy eating makes a major impact when it comes to this effort. The Walnut Hill Dining Hall serves meals three times a day (twice on Sunday with late breakfast/brunch). In addition to offering a variety of locally sourced options when possible, the menu always includes a salad bar as well as options for vegetarians and those with dietary needs or food allergies. I
Health: The Health Center is staffed by caring registered nurses who have years of experience working with young artists. We have an on-call physician and our campus is located only a few minutes from an Urgent Care facility and a hospital for emergency care. For dance and movement related injuries we have an on campus physical therapist and will send our students to the Sports Medicine Division at Boston Children’s Hospital when necessary.