Education & Classes in Miami Shores

Every day, MIY Ceramics' spacious art studio begets a kaleidoscope of one-of-a-kind masterpieces made by students and staffers alike. With a bevy of supplies for crafting pottery, glass pieces, and jewelry, artists of every level can discover a new passion or hone existing skills under the trained guidance of the studio's helpful attendants and in-house Greek muses.

Technicolor liqueurs stream from bottles and shakers as 786-Bartend infuses the brains of students with 80-proof knowledge. Workshops for intro and advanced mixology—developed by founder Isaac Ergas—begin with international history lessons on the origin and evolution of the modern cocktail. Then barkeeps expound on the spirited synergies of high-quality liquors and common drink ingredients and share veteran bar-backing tips, such as how to open drink umbrellas in a windstorm. Prospective bartenders can opt to complete the 40-hour bartending course, which provides in-depth instruction on drink preparation and presentation, job-interview etiquette, and resumé construction. Taught onsite in an actual nightclub, 786-Bartend’s courses let students serve drinks to real customers who, like regular bar patrons, ignore last call and try to open tabs with library cards.

ATA Flight School’s trusty fleet of Cessna aircrafts provides students with a way to get hands-on experience to earn their private-pilot certification or instrument ratings. Based out of North Perry General Aviation Airport, the FAA-approved professional flight school employs a staff of certified flight instructors who coach aspiring aviators along the way and give pep talks to airplanes prior to liftoff. ATA Flight School also operates Miami Flightseeing, which whisks passengers aloft for tours including The Grand Miami Tour, which flies high over 80 miles of beaches and Downtown Miami, and The Miami Sunset Tour, which reveals beautiful views of the sun as it sets over the Everglades.

Mambo Con Cache owner Brian Anthony spreads his fiery brand of salsa up and down the East Coast with studios in South Florida and New York. Set to the pulsating beat of Latin music, his classes keep students swiveling and sliding across the studios' spacious hardwood dance floors. Though Anthony brings his background in hip-hop footwork to the classes he teaches in Hollywood and Coconut Creek, his heart belongs to the salsa music he fell in love with early in his career. Whether popping in for a group class or a more intimate private lesson, students quickly grow confident as they practice the fundamentals of salsa by side-stepping with partners or high-kicking piñatas strewn about the studio.

In Great Balls of Yarn's four boutiques, knitters and crocheters of all experience levels browse more than 20,000 balls of yarn, including luxurious fibers from Trendsetter and Noro as well as hand-dyes from Prism and Malabrigo. Talented fiber artists guide knitters and crocheters as they transform vibrant fibers into wearable works of art during beginner through advanced classes. Project-specific sessions focus on creating table runners, borders for blankets, and baby booties to keep wee ones' feet warm and steps soundless during midnight refrigerator raids. Amid the shops' soft lighting, tapestries intermix with shelves of color-coded worsted and washable yarns alongside cashmeres and silks. Great Balls of Yarn also arms textile technicians with needles, notions, and books full of inspiration and yarn-charming incantations.

The intricately designed, European-style buildings that populate the Buenos Aires cityscape enchanted the eyes of Argentina native Cari Cohen at an early age, inspiring her to earn a degree in architecture from the University of Buenos Aires. Driven to push the boundaries of architectural innovation, Cari began delving into other creative media to expand her horizons, sparking a newfound fascination with abstract art and jewelry crafting. She has since moved to Miami, where her original paintings have been showcased at events such as Art Basel and Art Miami.

Cari founded The Fun Palette as a way to share her passion for the visual arts with kids and adults, hosting a variety of imagination-spurring classes for students of all skill and experience levels. During the studio's painting sessions, students can closely follow their instructor's step-by-step instructions to create flowing landscapes or abstract pieces or go off the beaten path to compose self-portraits that reimagine the painter as a bowl of fruit.