Education & Classes in Montgomery Village

Professional dancer Michael Rye mesmerizes students with his agile movements and 100% bona fide Australian accent. To help students become fluid in the language of ballroom and Latin dance, he works alongside a team of expert instructors to helm group and private lessons seven days a week. During lessons, they prepare students for regular social-dance parties where guests partner up with able-bodied peers to practice their moves and toe wrestle over who is going to lead. The seasoned two-steppers can also prep engaged couples for their big event with wedding-specific lessons. They devote Monday to Latin dance fitness and Thursday to west-coast swing. The studio features two floors laid with sprung maple for a softer feel on the dancers’ feet and robotic joints.

Since 1976 Joy of Motion Dance Center, a nonprofit arts organization, has strapped on its ballet flats to kick down the doors that traditionally bar people from learning dance. Since then, it’s won two Mayor’s Arts Awards, one for Excellence in Service to the Arts, and the other for Outstanding Contribution to Arts Education. In 11 studio spaces across three different locations, instructors teach adult and youth programs, and lead an outreach initiative that gives disadvantaged kids the chance to learn dance with free classes or merit-based scholarships. Additionally, the center holds performances and showcases where students and patrons get a taste of professional performance without having to become zombies.

Supplying all materials, Art By The Glazz's artist-led painting sessions kindle brush-wielding talents during three-hour classes held on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. New artists capture shapes and shadows inspired by a number of pastoral- or wine-themed templates, with step-by-step instruction from pigment professionals. One complimentary glass of wine emboldens the pigment-shy, and those with a thirst for more can visit an onsite cash bar. Aprons protect against stray paint, wine drops, and the tears of fruit trapped in a beautiful but airless eternal present, although Art By The Glazz recommends wearing old clothes. Finished masterpieces chaperone each artist home, ready to be mounted on a wall or hung from the dining-room chandelier.

During Cookies and Milk sessions, kids or teens settle down with a complimentary dessert amid canvases ripe for realizing 2-D tableaux. During each session, one featured painting of a subject, such as the beach, Green Eggs and Ham, or Mickey Mouse, is perched mid-studio to kindle students’ imaginary fires. The company also hosts corporate team-building events, small groups, and birthday parties, giving guests an enjoyable ice-breaking activity.

Mintons Academy of Music immerses budding virtuosos in fun, intensive lessons taught by university-trained teachers. Private lessons explore all the main instrumental families, including strings, percussion, piano, woodwinds, and brass. Guitar lessons prep prospective pop stars to churn out blistering licks, and vocal coaching strengthens pipes for lucrative futures crooning or quickly subduing mobs of glassware. Group lessons surround kids with melodious coconspirators, making the learning process more enjoyable. Art classes unlock the wonders of painting, with students learning from the masters by imitating famous works.

Arthur Murray has been a leading name in franchise dance since 1912, when the entrepreneur began selling mail-order dance lessons. Expanding his reach, he enlisted teachers to spread his signature dance lessons on first-class steamships, and skyrocketed to fame in the '30s after introducing the public to such dances as the Lambeth Walk and The Big Apple. By the 1950s, Arthur and his wife Kathryn were hosting their own highly popular TV show on ABC, The Arthur Murray Dance Party, which ran for 12 years.

Today, Arthur Murray's team, in its 100th year of teaching, prepares students for rug cutting at special events and weekend jaunts in a fun setting that promotes learning, fun, self-confidence, and physical activity. Clients who arrive to lessons partnerless will be paired with an instructor, who will assess their current skill level and make recommendations on the most appropriate program. Throughout programs, instructors teach the foundations of two to four dances from a menu of 29 styles, including Latin and country western, helping students learn basic step patterns, timing, and the ability to lead or follow.

The Intro to Photography class is produced by Monte Zucker Photographic Education (MZPE), which provides quality professional photographic instruction. More than 30,000 enthusiastic students of all levels have attended their photographic tours on three continents over the past seven years to learn how to combine the power of technical expertise and artistic vision to create beautiful photos and films. In addition to offering the tours, MZPE produces instructional books and DVDs, as well as teaching in-depth photo-master classes around the world. The 2002 United Nations Photographer of the Year, celebrated photographer and mentor Monte Zucker once stated, "I don’t photograph the world as it is. I photograph the world as I would like it to be." Continuing on in his memory, current instructor Bob Ray teaches with an entertaining, passionate presentation that focuses on learning immediately in class. The experience provides an aspiring photographer a comprehensive set of tools to reach his or her artistic potential.