DANCE

Jennifer Wolbrecht (dance) has served in several arts and fitness related roles at St. Mark’s since she became a member in 2008.  These roles include leading a 12-week Fit & Trim course, presenting adult forums on health & nutrition and the history of dance in spirituality, teaching dance/movement arts classes to St. Mark’s youth music & drama team,  and serving as St. Mark’s Movement Arts Artist-in-Residence in March 2011.  Jennifer studied Theatre/Dance (dance emphasis) and Arts/Business Administration at Luther College in Decorah, IA.  While at Luther, she performed and choreographed several modern dance pieces, studied and performed at the American College Dance Festival in Detroit, MI and interned at the world-renowned Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in Massachusetts. Jennifer is a board member of the BareFoot Collective, a non-profit movement arts group, and has studied and performed Polynesian dance, Capoeira, and Contemporary dance in the Seattle/Tacoma area.

MUSIC

Danielle J. Lemieux (instrumental/vocal arts; camp coordinator) is the Director of Music Ministries for Children and Youth at St. Mark’s, is a professional French hornist with the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra, Auburn Symphony and other local groups, and teaches private horn and piano lessons.  Danielle studied Music Education (choral and instrumental) at the University of Puget Sound (Bachelor of Science, 1998) and Horn Performance and Conducting at the New England Conservatory of Music, Boston, MA (Master of Arts, 2003).  She was a Fulbright Scholar to Norway in 2001-2002, studying Horn Performance with renowned hornist and teacher, Frøydis Ree Wekre, at the Norwegian State Academy of Music in Oslo.  Danielle will be leading the vocal and instrumental ensembles of the camp.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Joani Easterlund (photographic arts) an avid amateur photographer who has taken many classes and seminars on photography to further her ability in this art form.  Joani’s area of expertise is capturing photographs of nature (flowers, ocean, etc.).  Joani will be guiding campers in the role of “photographer of the day,” taking pictures of all camp activities to be put in a slide show for the final program.

Traci Gallegos (photographic arts) is a professional photographer in Tacoma who specializes in capturing people in everyday life.  Traci will be helping campers learn how to take the best pictures they can, utilizing what the digital camera has to offer, and how to use computer programs to bring those images to life.  She will help campers with the slide show for the final program as well as present prints for a camper art show.

SIGN LANGUAGE

Helen Conroy will join our camp for the first time this year to teach sign language.  Helen is a St. Mark’s member and has a lifetime experience with signing.  She will be teaching campers Celtic-related poems, songs, and conversational American Sign Language. Helen has a grown-up son who was born profoundly deaf. In order to communicate with him, the family learned sign language. In joining this workshop, campers will learn to paint language with their hands.

THEATER/CREATIVE WRITING

Emilie Shimkus (creative writing/theater) studied writing, theatre, and singing at Pacific Lutheran University and has led summer writing and improvisation theatre workshops at Tacoma’s Annie Wright and Seabury Schools.  Emilie was recently recognized as 2011′s Best Actress in a Play for her portrayal of Patsy Cline; she is currently filming the second season of the fan-favorite web-series, JourneyQuest.  Emilie is a published poet and makes her living as a technical and marketing writer–she spends many of her weekends on-stage as the lead vocalist for the Tacoma-based dance cover band, Igneous Rocks.  Emilie will work with Dana to help campers write and present a theatrical performance for the final program.

Dana Lemieux (theater/creative writing) is an English teacher from Yakima, WA, where he’s taught for 20+ years.  Dana has acted in many drama productions throughout Eastern Washington and has experience developing drama programs for teenagers.  He also plays guitar and sings!  Dana will work with Emilie to help campers write and present a theatrical performance for the final program.

VISUAL ARTS

Kate Kuhn McCall (visual arts) is joining our team for the first time this year.  Kate is a high school art teacher and a member of the St. Mark’s bell choir.  Kate will be teaching campers to create different Celtic symbols through visual art mediums (clay/sculpture, paint, pencil, etc.).