Alexandra Bolton invited members of Girls Inc. to a performing arts camp in working to earn her Gold Award in Girl Scouts. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – Alexandra ‘Alexi’ Bolton staged a performing arts camp in reaching the Gold Award in Girl Scouts.

Bolton, a 2015 graduate of Bob Jones High School, invited Girls Inc. members to the free camp at The Dance Company on July 21-23.

Campers studied two hours daily on theatre and dance. Bob Jones’ advanced production cast taught drama principles. The Dance Company owners Beth Cannon and Julie George taught hour-long jazz lessons, and instructor Haylee Blackmon taught hip-hop.

For theatre, campers completed scene work and learned basic acting techniques, which they later applied on one-minute monologues. “By the end of camp, they left prepared to audition. The performing arts require confidence … a major goal of this camp,” Bolton said.

Bolton first learned about Girls Inc. at their “You’re Amazing” event, where she met Condoleezza Rice. “The people with Girls Inc. are amazing,” she said. “They were the first people I called (about) participating in the camp. I was ecstatic when they” agreed.

Space was her major need for the camp. “Mrs. Beth and Mrs. Julie were extremely generous in letting me use The Dance Company,” Bolton said. “Lunches were generously donated by Which Wich, Asbury Community Thrift Store, Susan Taylor and many other incredible people.”

GarageWear Screenprinting and Embroidery donated camp T-shirts. Kristin Johnson with Girls Inc. worked tirelessly “to answer questions, bring the girls and ensure everything ran smoothly,” Bolton said.

Bolton is a member of Troop 10631, led by Donna Elegante and Staci Krupp. “They have taught me so many lessons and equipped me to plan this type of event,” Bolton said.

For 13 years, Bolton has studied with The Dance Company and has been a company member three years. She was a cast member in Bob Jones Patriot Players’ award-winning “The Standard Deviation.”

Her parents are Roger and Sandy Bolton. He works as an associate technical fellow at The Boeing Company. Alexi’s sister Cristina is a Bob Jones sophomore. The family attends Asbury United Methodist Church.

Alexi will attend the University of Alabama.