Education & Classes in Azusa

Give a guy a fish, and he'll eat for a day; teach a guy to make perfect sushi rolls, and he'll be the culinary king of the cul-de-sac. Today's Groupon can save you from embarrassing Thanksgivings, disastrous dinners with in-laws, and foolhardy tamale-making face-offs. With today's deal, $12 gets you $29 worth of cooking classes of your choice from The Cooking Store (many classes are $29, but if you want to take a more expensive course, you can pay the difference). Find out why your soufflé always falls or learn the basics of braising and roasting and the dark art of broasting. Check out The Cooking Store's calendar of upcoming classes.

Avant Garde's retinue of international instructors teaches more than 20 types of group classes at the Newport Beach studio. Whether you opt for the waltz, Argentine tango, jitterbug, cha-cha, street hustle, or one of the kids' classes, you'll have plenty of kick and spin space in which to unfurl your lean limbs and cloven hooves. Avant Garde features floating dance floors and 5,500 total square feet of dance space. While the floors don't actually float without the proper incantation, they do offer flexible support for hours of dancing unaccompanied by hours of leg and back pain. Check the schedule for a full list of class options.

You'll also get to choose from a variety of instruments, including guitar, piano, trumpet, drums, and the instrument inside your throat-box. See the sidebar for a complete list of lessons.

After a course at Village Kitchen, accomplished chefs will inch closer to pro status, while those who've chopped more fingers than potatoes will have their clumsiness exorcised thanks to patient instruction from Village Kitchen's enlightened gurus of all things edible. Classes are held Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. (some classes are also offered on Wednesdays at 6 p.m.), while the theme varies from week to week. On Wednesday, February 2, learn to master the wok to easily turn out incredible delights such as Szechuan stir-fried green beans with ground pork. On Wednesday, March 9, discover the joys of pollotarianism with a complete tutorial in a four-course feast centered around a fennel pollen roast chicken with tarragon jus, or on Saturday, April 9, craft the perfect dessert including glazed lemon cake, custard éclair rings, or fudge pecan pie. You'll eat everything you make and get a beverage, so no one escapes hungry. Classes are limited to 18 people.

The Los Angeles School of Comedy fills its studio spaces with classes in standup comedy, improv, and film and television acting. Resident comics Sunda Croonquist and James Harris share the knowledge they use at gigs at the Laugh Factory and writing for television, guiding their charges from building their acts to their first performances at Hollywood comedy clubs. Actors David Kano and Victor Cruz train screen workers of all ages in character development, scene study, and mock auditions.

With 30 years of high-quality home cooking beneath her belt, owner and chef Deb Swartz crams studious brains with recipes for seasonal delights in succinct demonstration classes that pepper tongues with sample tastings of a complete meal’s worth of recipes. Hosting 30 students each, the Cooking Essentials series fills Sunday afternoons with simple home recipes based around versatile techniques such as broth making, meat braising, or meat praising, which boosts protein self-esteem with compliments written in butter. Attendees can register for the January 15 session on winter soups to discover the secrets behind simplified gumbo or to craft a slurpable, sugary treat in the form of blueberry dessert soup. Alternatively, January 29’s session on winter fish dishes explores the methodology of seameats such as crab bisque or fish baked three ways.