Education & Classes in Orlando

Lisa R. Kraut, Hidden Lark Farm's head trainer, first saddled up at age six, and has been riding and training horses ever since. She and a crew of seasoned instructors share their expertise at the 25-acre farm, which encompasses rolling meadows and an outdoor ring of sand and clay. In a private or group setting, they adapt lessons for all ability levels, molding them around English equestrian techniques as well as pupils' ambitions, such as showing or teaching a horse how to take off his own saddle. Teachers further nurture rapport between rider and steed during trail rides and at horsemanship camps.

The experienced wave-riders at Surf Lessons Florida teach the subtleties to the art of surfing within calm and safe conditions. Instructors focus their tunnel vision on novice boarders during private surf lessons that encompass basic techniques and safety fundamentals. The Atlantic’s calm coastal waters greet riders with a wet embrace and small, manageable waves as instructors demonstrate the basics of body placement, foot positioning, and paddling. Students can also learn to cut across glassy waves during group lessons, which encourage surfers to travel in packs when confronting mermaids selfishly bogarting the best waves.

Before retiring in 1997, Todd Holland made the NSSA National Team and racked up Rookie of the Year, Coke Classic, and Pepsi Surf the Edge titles. Meanwhile, Lauren McLean Holland was riding the waves for University of Central Florida, claiming one East Coast championship after another. This impressive duo fits seamlessly into School of Surf’s team of CPR-certified teachers, all current or former pro surfers.

During lessons, teachers drill pupils on skills ranging from pop-up fundamentals to more advanced techniques, such as staying atop a groundswell while dueling a swordfish. In addition, teachers offer daily recreational classes and summer day camps, as well as coaching for dedicated surfers looking to win competitions.

Dennis Buice, a member of the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, unlocks the ocean's depths for students during diving courses that follow the PADI curriculum. Scuba-diver classes start out by introducing students to diving in monitored, shallow water, and advanced sessions span a spectrum from PADI open-water certification to professional training in the rescue-diver course. PADI specialty courses explore focused subjects such as snapping underwater photographs or maximizing underwater time by using enriched air nitrox. Kids’ classes or Discover Scuba lets youngsters and newbies breathe underwater for the first time in the safety of a pool filled with less than 6 feet of water and no starving sharks.

Teaching hips to swivel to new circumferences, dance instructors impart their masterful moves unto students in the respected tradition Arthur Murray schools have upheld since 1912. Students can bring a partner to their lessons or fly solo and dance with the instructor. Protégés may find their new moves applicable in a number of settings, such as when prepping for a wedding dance or when blending into an airport crowd that breaks out in the cha-cha. Embodying the three-count time of a stately waltz brings partners in close, and rumba moves or swing steps add vibrancy and playfulness to a repertoire.

The Orlando studio provides a warm, aesthetically sound environment for engaging in private and group dance lessons. The full class schedule is well suited to teaching feet to slice and dice a rug until it is no longer recognizable.

Yoga Girls by Allure’s team of instructors fosters a calming and supportive environment in which women can hone their physical forms and relax their minds. An extensive lineup of classes instills strength, balance, flexibility, and grace in students, a combination that allows for poised room entrances and dramatic crab-walking exits. Offerings include hot yoga, which helps yogis sweat out toxins and impurities, and sunrise yoga, which welcomes the day with gentle maneuvers and aromatherapy. Yoga Girls also offers less traditional practices such as aerial yoga, which employs soft fabric trapezes that allow students to levitate to help them access tricky postures and maintain proper alignment.