Along with providing year-round music lessons, ASTEP started and ended the summer season with a two-week arts camp at Shanti Bhavan, a school and home for disadvantaged children in India.

Held in May and then again in September Shanti Bhavan’s student body of over 200 kids, the aim of the arts camps is to encourage students to collaborate with their peers, strengthen their ommunication skills, problem solve creatively, try new things and gain confidence through visual arts, dance, theatre, and music classes and activities.

Throughout camp, students took part in a variety of activities. For example, in one collaboration class, students experimented with movement exercises that resulted in some amazing visual art!

“ASTEP Camp is the best part of the year. We get to do all sorts of crazy stuff, to do things we don’t get to do throughout the school year. I’m a music student, and I like playing the piano. Through ASTEP I have been able to improve my skills and my way of playing the piano. From camp, I learned to have an open mind, to imagine what I want. I learned from visual arts that nothing is ever right or wrong, don’t let other’s judge what you do. Be confident and do what you feel is right.” – Berkmans, 12th Grade

You can check out all of the photos on Facebook that captured our moments together but here are a few!