Education & Classes in Linden

For 22 years, Richmond Music Center has provided the Staten Island community with an outlet for lessons, equipment, and services for musicians of all ages. Instructors with master’s degrees and professional careers lend their experience to new students and artists looking to improve, covering a wide variety of instruments for garage bands, school ensembles, and electric light orchestras. The center also believes in and practices the healing properties of music via music-therapy lessons for children and adults with disabilities or illnesses. A large collection of instruments, sheet music, and other necessities are available in the center’s shop, as well as repair and tuning services.

Retired trader David Green brings more than 25 years of Wall Street floor experience to his teaching at Equity Trading Capital. David and his team of full-time trader instructors coincide in-class sessions with the ringing of the New York Stock Exchange bell as they expound upon everything from stock-market lingo to optimal trading times, enlightening first-time traders and keeping experienced stock slingers up to date. Onsite lessons may include live simulated trading platforms where students can make trades, while online materials include a live chatroom for gleaning on the spot tips and advice.

With more than a decade of experience in business consulting, education, and training, Helen Hanying Liu helms Wall Street Chinese to help professionals develop the language and cultural knowledge they need to thrive in their industry. Trainers with an in-depth knowledge of international business teach skills ranging from the Mandarin language to Chinese calligraphy. Adult students can opt for a six-week general intensive course, or they can sign up for the 10-lesson course in business Chinese that exclusively teaches quotes from Warren Buffett in Mandarin.

Kids also can learn to speak Mandarin in a course with interactive lessons that include fun activities such as brush painting, debate, and Chinese chess. In addition to language pros, the team of instructors includes musicians and artists, which is reflected in the diversity of private and group instruction available. Classes in Chinese medicine and Chinese art help students become well-rounded, and special events include feng shui workshops and children's kung fu.

John Gizzi and Diann Greco, the American Wine Society–certified wine judges at Make Wine With Us, teach wine aficionados to create their own wines using grapes harvested in Californian and Chilean vineyards. At the start of the nine-month process (California grapes in the fall, Chile grapes in the spring), winemakers-to-be assemble with fellow enthusiasts to learn the intricacies of the trade. Patrons learn to crush and destem grapes in a machine called a crusher-destemmer, named after the device's favorite Germanic metal band. Following the crushing process, a hydraulic press forces juice into barrels, where it shall remain until the conclusion of its sweet, sweet metamorphosis.

When wine awakens from its hibernation, patrons remove suspended yeast cells and skin particles though a process called racking. At the end of the nine-month period, newly minted winemakers lean on family and friends to fill, cork, and custom-label the finished product. Budding vintners then tote home their vintages to share with family, friends, and robot butlers with built-in carafes.

Starry Night Dance Studio hosts a never-ending dance party atop its polished wood floors, inviting all to join and even offering free classes for beginners. Instructors wear the shoes of multiple ballroom styles to teach the centuries-old waltz alongside West Coast swing and merengue, a two-step dance outstripped in simplicity only by the one-step known as walking. Aerobic Zumba workouts and belly-dance classes loosen students’ hips while building muscle tone and cardio endurance. Additionally, Starry Night’s experienced dancers choreograph dances for special events such as weddings, quinceañeras, mortgage signings, and bar mitzvahs, and happily help students to prepare for landmark celebrations.

Hailing from countries such as Germany, Russia, Italy, Poland, and Argentina, Starlight Dance Center's all-star instructors channel their experience in global competitions and performances while guiding students into the land of ballroom dancing. Three high-ceilinged ballrooms and a 4,000-square-foot performance floor set an elegant, roomy stage as instructors prepare children for recitals at the end of each course. They also teach adults to whirl and jive during group classes, which include weekly salsa parties and free mortgage-refinancing tips. To mix things up, Starlight Dance Center has created a Fit & Dance department where students can explore Zumba, belly dance, ballroom fitness, and total-body workouts.