Opportunity Guide I Summer, Enrichment & Activities Guide

If your child loves singing, dancing, acting, playing an instrument, composing music or painting and designing, she will find a plethora of outstanding fun and instructional programs where she can develop her talents and meet people who love what she does. Check out extracurricular arts activities, including performance opportunities, at your child’s school or at local community centers. Specialized private weekend classes and summer programs for students of all levels are sponsored by various art institutes, music festivals, universities and professional music and dance companies.

To perform at the highest levels, many arts, especially music and dance, require private lessons and enrichment. If your child likes to perform, look for audition opportunities at local fairs, festivals, community orchestras and theaters. Many professional theaters and ballet companies sponsor summer intensive programs from talented youth. A child who enjoys competing may be interested in participating in arts contests where her work can earn recognition and win awards. The best students compete, at national arts contests that offer scholarship prizes.



  1. The Ailey School Summer Dance Intensive
    The Ailey School is the official school of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and offers world-class dance training to students ages 2-25 in the heart of New York City's theater district. The school… Read more
  2. Alfred University Exploration of Expanded Media Camp
    Residential camps covering topics such as: video, traditional and experimental print media, and large format digital print media. During the first morning of each of these camps, there will be an… Read more
  3. Alfred University Theater Camp
    Alfred University welcomes high school students to our beautiful campus each year to take part in this exciting overnight summer camp. This two-week program, for students interested in learning more… Read more
  4. American Ballet Theatre (ABT) Summer Intensive
    The curriculum of the ABT Summer Intensive includes advanced technique classes and critical lecture courses to contribute to the development of a complete dancer. ABT’s teaching philosophy is to… Read more
  5. American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) High School Summer Programs
    AMDA is the performer's alternative to summer camp. The High School Summer Conservatory offers intensive performing arts training in a college environment for high school students. Our unique… Read more
  6. Barnard College Summer Programs
    Summer programs offered: Summer in the City: Students take two courses of their choice over the span of four weeks. As part of the program, students both participate in admissions and career… Read more
  7. Brooklyn Cultural Adventures Program (BCAP) Teen Photojournalism Summer Internship
    Brooklyn Cultural Adventures Program (BCAP) is a partnership of six treasured cultural institutions in the heart of Brooklyn: Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Botanic Garden,… Read more
  8. Brooklyn Cultural Adventures Program (BCAP) Summer Camp
    BCAP Summer Camp is an award-winning day camp for kids ages 7-12. During our two-week summer program, Adventurers visit two institutions on our Cultural Campus each day, where they explore our annual… Read more
  9. Calhoun Performing Arts Summer Jazz Workshop
    Since 2010, Calhoun Summer Jazz Workshop has offered a one-week intensive series of day-long classes, workshops and ensemble playing opportunities designed to provide an immersion and/or introductory… Read more
  10. City College Architecture Summer Career Lab
    Housed in a state-of-the-art facility within an historic Manhattan neighborhood, The City College of New York, Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture (SSA) is now seeking applicants for its… Read more
  11. City College Architecture Summer Career Lab
    Housed in a state-of-the-art facility within an historic Manhattan neighborhood, The City College of New York, Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture (SSA) is now seeking applicants for its… Read more
  12. Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music
    During the four-week program summer program for high school students, you become entrepreneurs-in-training by studying how music is recorded, produced, and distributed to consumers. To complement the… Read more
  13. Columbia University Programs for High School Students
    Columbia University offers several summer programs for high school students, both in its home city of New York City, but also in foreign countries as well. For students that will be in New York, they… Read more
  14. Cooper Hewitt Design Scholars Program
    Get a head start on a future in design! Teens in New York City can apply to be a DesignPrep Scholar, a free program that features hands-on workshops with professional designers, design studio visits… Read more
  15. Cooper Union Introduction to Architecture
    The Cooper Union announces a new Introduction to Architecture summer program for high school students. This five-week intensive is designed to familiarize students with architectural thinking and… Read more
  16. Cooper Union Summer Art Intensive
    The Cooper Union Summer Art Intensive helps high school students prepare a portfolio for college applications, worthy of top undergraduate programs. Participants choose a two-day studio concentration… Read more
  17. Cornell Summer College
    Cornell University Summer College offers academically motivated high school students the chance to experience college life at a great Ivy League university, take regular college classes with Cornell… Read more
  18. Cornell Summer Sessions
    The Cornell University Summer Session traces its roots to summer courses in geology, zoology, and entomology that were presented in the late 1870s. The University offered these courses in the summer… Read more
  19. Eastman School of Music Summer Jazz Studies
    Pre-college day and residential programs for high school musicians at the University of Rochester Eastman School of Music. Programs include: Residential Programs: Summer Jazz Studies — a two-week… Read more
  20. Eastman School of Music Summer@Eastman Middle School Programs
    Summer music day camps for serious musicians at the Eastman School of Music. Non-Residential Programs: Adventure Music Camp (students entering grades 5-9 (current grades 4-8) ) Half-Day Programs:… Read more
  21. Eastman School of Music Summer@Eastman Music Horizons
    The premier program for classical musicians. This internationally acclaimed residential Classical Studies program is for academically inquisitive performers, conductors and composers currently in… Read more
  22. Ithaca College Summer College for High School Students
    In Ithaca College's residential pre-college summer program, high school students experience college life and college-level courses while living in a safe environment. The Summer College for High… Read more
  23. Jazz at Lincoln Center's Summer Jazz Academy
    Jazz at Lincoln Center's Summer Jazz Academy is the premier high school program for advanced high school jazz students. This two-week program, designed and instructed by a select team of faculty,… Read more
  24. Julliard Pre-College
    The Pre-College Division offers a comprehensive conservatory-style music program for students 8 - 18 years old who exhibit the talent, potential and ambition to pursue serious music study at the… Read more
  25. Manhattan School of Music Precollege Program
    MSM’s Precollege program gives talented students professional instruction and multiple performing opportunities in a supportive environment — and collaborative time spent with like-minded peers, many… Read more
  26. The Metropolitan Museum of Art High School Internships
    Calling all artists, writers, thinkers, and designers! Interested in finding out about careers in museums? Apply for a high school internship at The Met to meet experts, find mentors, make friends,… Read more
  27. Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) Artslife Summer Internship Program
    Artslife is a paid summer internship program for rising sophomores and juniors in high school that combines art and design with leadership training, museum studies, and community engagement.… Read more
  28. New Victory Theater Usher Corps
    The New Victory is New York City's premier nonprofit performing arts theater devoted year-round to kids and their families and classmates The New Victory Usher Corps, created to address the urgent… Read more
  29. New York Film Academy (NYFA) Summer Camps
    Our summer and year round camps are like no other in the world. Whether you enroll in our Filmmaking, Acting for Film, Screenwriting, Broadcast Journalism, Photography, Musical Theatre, Game Design,… Read more
  30. New York State Summer School of the Arts (NYSSSA)
    Founded in 1970, the New York State Summer School of the Arts (NYSSSA) is a highly-competitive summer arts residential program funded by the New York State Education Department and student tuition.… Read more
  31. New York University (NYU) High School Programs
    6-Week, 1-Week, & Everything In Between NYU’s varied array of high school programs offer flexibility and options that can be tailored to your individual needs and schedule. Most programs are… Read more
  32. New York University (NYU) Steinhardt School's Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions Summer Programs
    NYU Steinhardt’s Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions was established in 1925. In 1968, the Department merged with the New York College of Music. Since that time, Steinhardt Music and… Read more
  33. Open Jar Institute Summer Intensive
    New York City's most Broadway-integrated actor training program, The Open Jar Institute provides select students intensive one-on-one training with some of Broadway's biggest stars, performers,… Read more
  34. Parsons School of Design Pre-College Academy
    Providing diverse classes and certificate options for students in grades 3 through 12, Parsons Pre-College Academy meets Saturdays during the school year and for two weeks during the summer. Age… Read more
  35. Parsons School of Design Summer Intensive Studies
    Parsons Summer Intensive Studies: New York is a three-credit introductory-level art and design program enriched by the vast resources of New York City. This immersion in the art and design college… Read more
  36. Pratt Institute Precollege Programs
    Pratt PreCollege programs provide high school students with rigorous college level art, design and creative thinking courses, modeled after Pratt Institute’s undergraduate offerings. Classes are… Read more
  37. Prospect Theater Company Summer Musical Theater Program
    See website for current information regarding Prospect's musical theater summer intensive program for students. This program is an opportunity for students ages 12-17 to build their performance… Read more
  38. Sarah Lawrence College Pre-College Programs
    Summer students connect their passions with the wider world and see firsthand how their endeavors improve our community. They work closely with top-notch professors, getting real-time feedback,… Read more
  39. School of Creative and Performing Arts (SOCAPA) Summer Programs
    With summer camps ranging in length from one to six weeks, and campuses in New York, California and Vermont there's no excuse for not taking action. Since it was founded in 2001, SOCAPA, the School… Read more
  40. School of Visual Arts (SVA) Art for Kids
    Art lessons for kids at SVA: Foundations learning. Drawing and painting. Explore a wide variety of materials. For kids from Kindergarten through 9th grade. As part of its mission to meet the diverse… Read more
  41. School of Visual Arts (SVA) Pre-college Program
    SVA's Pre-College Program is designed for high school students who want to enhance their creative skills, learn more about a particular field of art, develop a portfolio and experience the challenges… Read more
  42. Skidmore Jazz Institute
    For over 30 years, the Skidmore Jazz Institute has been providing the opportunity for intermediate and advanced young musicians to learn in an intimate and supportive environment. Director Mark… Read more
  43. Sotheby's Summer Institute
    Sotheby’s Summer Institute for pre-college students  invites high schoolers who are curious and passionate about art to immerse themselves in one of the most vibrant art capitals in the world: New… Read more
  44. Summer at Rensselaer (RPI) Academic Enrichment Programs
    Summer day and residential opportunities for outstanding elementary, middle, and high school students to explore the academic environment at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Summer@Rensselaer… Read more
  45. SUNY Stony Brook Southampton Arts Young Artists and Writers Project (YAWP)
    The Young Artists and Writers Project (formerly the Young American Writers Project) is dedicated to mentoring middle and high school students in the development of creative expression and critical… Read more
  46. Syracuse University Summer College
    For over 50 years, Syracuse University Summer College has been giving high school students the opportunity to learn about potential careers and college majors through its renowned pre-college program… Read more
  47. TADA! Youth Theater
    Since 1984, TADA!’s mission is to provide young people from different backgrounds with musical theater programs that inspire them to be creative, learn, and think differently. TADA! is a unique… Read more
  48. University of Rochester Pre-College Programs
    At the University of Rochester, students pursue only what they’re interested in. With Rochester’s Pre-College Programs, high school students get that same freedom. Students make significant… Read more
  49. Writopia Lab
    Writopia Lab is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in New York City in April of 2007. Writopia runs creative writing workshops for kids ages 6 to 18. All of the workshops have a maximum of… Read more