For a week, these kids are rock stars!

CALABASAS - Cecilia Bellissimo was ready to rock.

As a fog machine added atmosphere and a spotlight animated her face, the 9-year-old aspiring star struck her best rock 'n' roll pose and began to sing.

"I just like music, it feels good," said Cecilia, who plays the guitar and practices the piano at least twice a day.

Cecilia was posing for a photo shoot, part of the rock-star experience that she and 16 other youths are living this week at the "Rock & Roll High" summer camp held at a community center in Calabasas.

The program, which started in 2005, encourages individuality, collaboration and musical development. Founder Aaron Burch said since the camp opened, it's evolved into a program that is about more than rocking out.

"We're teaching the kids not just music but creativity and we make sure every kid has a positive social experience," Burch said.

For Cecilia, who lives in Hidden Hills, the experience had extra meaning. She is recovering from a type of cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma and credits music with helping give her strength and courage throughout the year-long treatment. Around her neck she sports a chain with a silver guitar pick, engraved with the word "Faith."

Cecilia and her sister Gracie, 11, - who is also participating in the camp - make

up two-thirds of a band named the Chicklets.

"It's really fun to have a band together and to be able to combine each other's talents," Gracie said. "I enjoy song writing. Hopefully one day we can have our own music; that would be a dream come true for us."

With a young class, Burch said he developed a special technique to teach his students. They learn how to play an instrument and about music through his "star theory," which is based on color coordination and rhythm. He uses different colored stickers of stars on the instruments themselves to help his pupils with proper hand placement and coordination.

Then he'll repeat memorable phrases like "Henry the hungry alligator chomps down on the red star, when he chomps down, he never lets go," as he teaches them to chomp down with their fingers on a guitar chord.

"The guitar is pretty complicated," Burch said. "The challenge was to give them an experience they want to continue after the one week."

During a song-writing session, Burch calls on his class to help choose a color combination, one they previously learned, followed by a topic.

For example, one suggested topic for an impromptu song was frozen yogurt. "Cookie dough and tart, with marshmallows on top," were the lyrics that the classroom rocked out to either through their instruments or voice.

Each band formed during the program writes its own song and records a demo and a music video. The Hooligans, a band made up of three 9-year-olds that formed at the "Rock & Roll High" camp, hope they have gotten good enough to someday score a record deal.

Their big single: "Darth Vader for President." (The chorus declares "Darth Vader for president ... It would be excellent.")

For Burch, the biggest satisfaction derives from witnessing his students express themselves lyrically or musically, regardless of their circumstances or abilities.

"It's incredible and moving. It's helped a lot of kids," he said. "One great thing about music is that physicality is not a barrier. For music, all you need is your brain to be creative."

Another aspect of the program is teaching students about social responsibility. Since writing and recording original content is on the camp's agenda, the original music will be available for sale on iTunes by the fall.

All proceeds will go to a new foundation started by one of the campers. Ella Gans, 8, and her 15-year-old brother, Jonathan, have launched a group they called "Grades and Giving" that provides tutoring and then donates the fees to the St. Jude Medical Foundation for cancer research.

"It's a fundraiser that really ties it all together," Burch said.

The camp program is set to continue with five-day sessions for the next 10 weeks. Locations vary throughout the summer, starting in Los Angeles County and ending in Ventura County. For more information call 805-907-8933.

Source: http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_18395209?source=rss

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