Navigating the DC Performing Arts Camps | Meet the Sugarfoots Instructors
Unlike Other Performing Arts Camps
From June to August, Sugarfoots creator, Barbara El Wilson will be hosting one of the best Performing Arts Camps in the DC area. The camp will be held Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm (though your children might beg to stay longer since they’ll be having so much fun) and there will be no extra charge for early drop off at 8:00 am or late pickup at 6:00 pm.
Campers will enjoy learning the fundamentals of acting, dancing, music, art, and voice from the following professionals; Barbara El Wilson (Acting Coach), Robert Northern (Music Director), Janet Jones (Choreographer), Frances Jones (Voice Coach), and Angela Peterson (Art Director). At the end of the six weeks, campers will present what they have learned to parents and friends at an exclusive dinner theatre performance.
Unlike other performing arts camps, Janice Robert (Company Chef) will create the theme driven cuisine for the closing delectable dinner theatre performance. Want to learn more about the exciting Sugarfoots Performing Arts Camp? Visit our camp page.
Barbara El Wilson | Executive Director and Acting Coach
Barbara El Wilson is a graduate of Howard University's Drama Department, She is an accomplished actress, comedienne and storyteller and has performed throughout the Washington metropolitan area and the East Coast. She has worked with celebrity artists such as Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, Patti Labelle, and Bill Cosby. She is a dedicated and committed performer and delights audiences wherever her path may lead her. She founded her multi-cultural rag doll company in 1992, debut Sugarfoots Performing Arts Camp in 2009 and has been thrice featured in Essence Magazine.
Robert Northern (Brother Ah) | Music Director
Robert Northern specializes in Wind Instruments, African Drums, and Percussions. He has composed and directed numerous extended works. As a French hornist, he has played and recorded with musical greats including Thelonius Monk, Miles Davis, McCoy Tyner, Freddie Hubbard, Sun Ra, Dizzy Gillespie, Eric Dolphy, Max Roach, John Lewis and many more. He has studied at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City, the Vienna State Academy in Vienna, Austria, and he is a graduate of Howard University in Washington, D.C. Working with performing arts camps and inspiring children is a true passion and Sugarfoots is thrilled to have him on board with us for our fifth season!
Janet Jones | Choreographer
Janet Jones started formal training at Duke Ellington High School of the Arts. She later trained and performed at the Jones & Haywood School of Ballet, where she danced with the Junior Company and apprenticed with Capital Ballet. She also danced with D.C. City Ballet, D.C. Youth Ensemble, Lavern Reed, Mike Malone, and Bobbi Collins. She studied at the Dance Theatre of Harlem, Martha Graham Studio, N.C. Academy of Dance Arts, and East Carolina University, where she received her B.A. in Theatre and Dance. She has taught Summer Programs for Duke Ellington’s, Jones & Haywood, School of Dance Arts, and Fillmore Arts Center after School Ballet. She has also performed for various church and community organizations. She continues to train and perform to hone her skills as dancer and teacher. This is Janet’s third year with Sugarfoots. Her patience and dedication in teaching children the fundamentals of dance and choreography always leave one awestruck!
Frances Jones | Voice Coach
Frances Jones is a Mezzo-Soprano by trade and has studied at North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, NC and completed her studies at the Hartt School/University of Hartford in Connecticut as a vocal performance major. She has performed with opera companies throughout the US, Canada and Europe as a soloist in concerts works such as The Christmas Oratorio by Camille Saint-Seans and The Messiah by G.F. Handel as well as several in operatic and non-operatic works such as Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell, Suzuki; Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini, “Queenie” in Show Boat by Jerome Kerns and Oscar Hammerstein, “Maria” and “Serena” in Porgy and Bess by Gershwin, “Flora” in La Traviata by Verdi, “Anna Douglas” in Fredrick Douglas by Dorothy Rudd Moore and Leo Edwards, and “Mona” in Ellen Craft by Sean Jeremy Palmer in it’s NYC debut at the Fringe NYC. This is Ms. Jones first year with Sugarfoots and we look forward to hearing her melodies at work!
Angela Peterson | Art Director
Angela Peterson has a BFA in Graphic Design. The Corcoran School of Art and Design is a visual artist as well as a freelance graphic designer. She has taught art at Our Savior’s Private School in Maryland from 1998 until its closure in 2009 working with grades from 3-8. She joined Fillmore Arts Center in 2012 as a Visual Arts Teacher. Her goal is to help give children a better education as well as teaching them how to freely express themselves. In 2011, Mrs. Peterson pursued her passion for art further by launching her CREATIVE ROCKZ Company. CREATIVE ROCKZ sells innovative and edgy handmade adult and children’s jewelry. This is her first year with Sugarfoots and as she takes the children step by step to create the art work for the performance, they themselves will be in pure delight of their accomplished masterpiece at the end of the season!
Janice Roberts | Company Chef
Janice is a certified District of Columbia Food Protection Manager. She has worked in the system for many years and it shows with her experience. Cook2Serve is her delectable catering company providing variety selections of pure exquisiteness! This is her fifth year with the camp and her hands on approach; to creating Sugarfoots theme based cuisines are always so satisfying to the palate!
Navigating the DC Performing Arts Camps
We know that navigating through the endless performing arts camps in the DC area can seem daunting. We hope that after being introduced to our talented instructors, the decision will be that much easier. Not only are all of the above instructors extremely passionate about their art, but they have the experience to back it up.