Education & Classes in Collingswood

Project Basho's experienced instructors cultivate creativity with a number of learning experiences for photogs of all skill levels. Start from pixel one with a three-hour primer course, such as the Digital SLR Tutorial - Basics, which imparts students with a better understanding of aperture and shutter speed to create stronger, more evocative pictures of people or department-store mannequins. Each session maintains a cap of 15 students, enabling participants to master ISO sensitivity, white balance, and focusing amid an intimate class atmosphere.

The nonprofit Philadelphia Photo Arts Center spreads the good word, acting as cultural ambassadors on behalf of photography through educational programs, events, and exhibitions. A team of fine-art photographers, curators, and other arts professionals initiates the snapshot curious in five-week classes that demystify portraiture and editing programs such as Adobe Lightroom, among other subjects. Shorter workshops present much of the same material in three-hour spurts, and one-on-one or group tutorials give learners plenty of individualized instruction and encourage them to design their own curricula. The teen program nurtures artistic impulses during afterschool hours, handing students loaner supplies and foraying into the city during field trips. PPAC also cultivates sources of artistic inspiration, from visiting-artist lectures to a library that showcases salient work in the field.

Dance instructors Brandi and Vuthy Ou performed and competed in dance competitions all over the world together before opening their own studio in 2006. They draw on their experience and chemistry to teach students of all experience levels how to tame skittish left feet through a robust schedule of ballroom-, social-, and Latin-style dance classes. Each 40-minute session begins with a brief warm-up before students learn how to synchronize steps. Students looking to hone skills in a specific dancing style may do so during American tango, swing, or rumba classes, and the social-dance program helps regular wedding crashers to feel comfortable while chicken dancing. Private lessons enhance rug-cutting skills with the advantage of one-on-one attention. Since partners are frequently switched during classes, both couples and singles are welcome.

As memory cards replaced film reels, many photographers—both professional and amateur—felt befuddled by the new technology. That's where Digital Photo Academy stepped in. Since 2007, the business has facilitated workshops that explore all aspects of digital imagery, from operating cameras and uploading digital files to editing images and airbrushing realistic mustaches. Seasoned professionals lead the courses, helping understudies hone their use of light, framing, and timing. Students furnish their own cameras, and can tote along any ancillary equipment such as tripods, laptops, and flashes that relate to the course at hand.

Many people think of acting as a mystical gift, but Bernard Glincosky knows better. Like any skill, acting requires practice, and that’s where The Philadelphia Acting Studio comes in. At the studio, aspiring thespians bulk up their skills through a variety of classes taught by seasoned actors, producers, and directors. Himself a Hollywood veteran, Glincosky employs a stable of experienced instructors including acting teachers who have worked with the likes of Tom Cruise, Denzel Washington, Ron Pearlman, and Martin Scorcese. Classes are offered throughout the week, covering scene work, audition tactics, and how to cry on command when the maitre d' can’t find an empty table.

For Maria de Sousa, tango dancing was part of her Argentinian heritage. She embraced the style as a way to reconnect with her native country, and traveled back and forth between her American home and Buenos Aires to master her steps. Conversely, for Pierre Baston, his passion for tango began as a foreign fascination. He watched a dinner show while visiting Buenos Aires that enraptured him, inspiring him to immerse himself not only in dance lessons, but historical and cultural research—he still collects authentic tango sheet music from the early 20th century. Both dancers became certified through a master's program at the Escuela Argentina de Tango in Buenos Aires, and now elucidate the art of dipping and spinning at eight Philadelphia locales.

Maria and Pierre walk students of all experience levels through tango's passionate choreography. They host group classes for social learning experiences, and lead private seminars at their studios or a venue of the client's choice. Because they coordinate all the necessary partner match-ups and music, their protégés needn't bring a companion or play Keep Away with a violin's bow to make it whine.