Education & Classes in Encinitas

One should live to eat, not vice-versa. Cooking with Class's team of chef instructors includes Bill Sauer of The Marble Room, Christian Graves of Jsix, JohnAlonge', Chris Idso of Pacifica Del Mar, Danny Bannister of the Hyatt Regency Mission Bay, Brian Malarkey of The Oceanaire Seafood Room, and more San Diego culinary celebrities.

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.

Since 1994, the adventurous airpeople at Barnstorming Adventures have thrilled more than 100,000 restless prisoners of gravity with their air-lifts. During the scenic biplane ride, you and your best friend or building manager will occupy the front seats of a restored 1920s open-air plane as a skilled pilot flies from the back cockpit. The flight buzzes along the Southern California coast, over scenic beaches, through the blue sky, and under dangerous rainbows. With matching headsets, you’ll be in constant communication with the pilot, who will customize your journey to go at a leisurely drift or a grueling pace that would exhaust even the strongest yolk of oxen. Each safety-minded pilot will guide you along the bell-curve of thrills from takeoff to the peak of excitement to the gentle landing. No pilot’s license or experience is required for any of the flights, and the opportunity to match one’s hunger for adventure may be attained. Different height and weight requirements apply, so call ahead to check.

Each three-hour class at Laguna Culinary Arts caters to any skill level, from expert chefs to certified microwave users. With no more than 10 people per class, the intimate classes cultivate individual, hands-on instruction, and guarantee that no one gets lost and eaten by bears during training. De-hibernate your china and entertain friends, neighbors, or your glass menagerie collection with the skills you pick up in one of Laguna's party-throwing classes. Learn how to grill goat-cheese-stuffed radicchio wrapped in pancetta and brush up your Crème Catalan skills to throw a Spanish paella party. Or craft an elegant menu of blue-cheese-dressing salad and filet mignon with blackberry sauce, ending with a chocolate soufflé ($95 per person, or $115 with wine pairings). At the end of each class, sit down to enjoy the dinner everyone has worked together to create, minus the piled dishes usually left for gnomes to clean.

Arthur Murray Dance Studio's panel of experienced instructors earned the establishment an Orange County Register People's Choice award for Best Dance School in 2009 for their prowess at schooling students in the ways of balance and coordinated rhythmic motion. Across six southern California studios, teams of highly trained teachers emphasize holistic dancing skills as opposed to specific steps, ensuring students leave lessons with a greater understanding of their chosen form. They offer more than 29 available dance styles, including the waltz, the rumba, polka, texas two-step, and the merengue. During private lessons, instructors have dancers pair off with a partner as they dole out individual tips and techniques, preparing students for the more communal group lessons. Burgeoning boogiers can also attend one of the themed practice parties to test out their growing repertoire of skills with fellow classmates. Each studio announces party themes and times on its online calendars in advance.