Classes in Brooklyn

After earning his BFA at the nationally renowned Rhode Island School of Design, Kevin Tarasuk began exhibiting his darkly surreal paintings at galleries around his hometown of Miami before making the move to New York City. Now, he helms the Painting Lounge, a personable art studio where students learn the proper techniques of painting, such as composition, shading, and glaring at clocks until they melt. In workshops, Tarasuk has earned praise from his ecstatic students, who have heralded him as “a very, very talented artist” and “a patient and engaging teacher.”

Silky's Brooklyn’s team of skilled screenprinters bedeck T-shirts, posters, and canvases with custom-inked designs that reflect each member’s avant-garde sensibilities. Wielding plastisol and water-based inks, artists adorn otherwise humdrum garments with up to six spot colors. Silky's artists can also adorn surfaces with specialty hues including fluorescent and metallic shade, and offer Pantone and sample color matching to ensure that no customer leaves without the ability to blend in with their chartreuse kitchen counters.

Brooklyn Academy of Music is Frommer's recommended and received a four-star average rating from Yelpers:

The calm and cozy yogary offers a soothing sanctuary from the stress, stimulants, and screeching tea kettles that pollute the natural placidity of the urban city. Sangha Yoga Shala is dedicated to spreading the inner-calming side effects of yoga to novices and experienced yogis alike and offers six types of classes. Whet your muscles with the beginner or intermediate Vinyasa class, soak up the calming powers of a candlelight flow class, or explore an adventurous side by trying the Iyengar rope wall, a strengthening class that incorporates props to strengthen and align the body. With two to six classes daily, Sangha's schedule offers convenient scheduling options for busyheads.

Go Yoga molds limber bodies and dexterous minds with refined, Vinyasa-style instruction. During GoFundamentals sessions, pupils synchronize basic postures and rhythmic breathing to cure contagious hiccups and ignite caloric bonfires. In addition to leading intentions and dedications, the zen mentors at Go Yoga enlist meditations and Tibetan Buddhist teachings to inspire creative pose sequences in the GoDeeper tutorials. The staff members also flex their brains' ecologically and locally conscious muscles with a commitment to environmental sustainability and by hosting events and workshops that foster an intimate yoga community.

Bodhisattva Yoga's duo of yogis guide intimately sized classes through a signature synthesis of Vinyasa styles. Classes range from the neophyte-friendly kshanti style, which teaches patience and beginner breathing, as well as energetic Ananda flows, which sport upbeat music that makes visitors feel like they've entered a hot club where everyone sits still. The teachers adjust exercises day-to-day to accommodate each group's abilities, gearing their strengthening and toning demonstrations to the class's average capabilities. Comfortable clothes grant ease of movement while yoga mats ($1 rental) make for a comfortable posing session or a delectable after-session snack.