Education & Classes in Pennsauken

Project Basho's experienced instructors cultivate creativity with a number of learning experiences for photogs of all skill levels. Start from pixel one with a three-hour primer course, such as the Digital SLR Tutorial - Basics, which imparts students with a better understanding of aperture and shutter speed to create stronger, more evocative pictures of people or department-store mannequins. Each session maintains a cap of 15 students, enabling participants to master ISO sensitivity, white balance, and focusing amid an intimate class atmosphere.

Starting in 1998 in the Philadelphia suburbs, the women behind The Art of Exotic Dancing have strutted and hip-rolled their way to the forefront of a surge of interest in fun, sensual movement. At the foundation of heart-pounding routines drawn from floor work, belly dancing, and burlesque traditions is a philosophy of helping women of all ages and sizes shake hands with their inner siren. Dedicated to fostering a comfortable space where all participants feel safe, the certified instructors proffer encouragement and reassurance as they teach dances that emphasize self-expression, personal power, and natural movement. Pupils learn to dance to a full song during the 90-minute CoreMoves class, while the Signature Workshop fortifies confidence via flirtatious techniques such as sensual walking and slow-motion winking.

Atlantic Edge Dive Center's dive-masters might technically be classified as land mammals, but they spend enough time under water to earn the honorary title of amphibian. They spend days and nights teaching and leading dives, whether they're arming curious beginners with basic skills in one of their on-site swimming pools, or conducting open water certification tests off the coast. They go beyond simply certifying students for adventure: they provide rescue diving, dive master, and instructor training as well.

Their passion for the aquatic pastime draws them to all kinds of watery outposts. They lead excursions to the Florida keys to help rehabilitate the coral reefs surrounding the islands, and dive into the relatively calm waters of the tanks in the Baltimore National Aquarium, where they have a chance to see 53 species of fish feed in the secret underwater cafeteria.

Philadelphia calls Madame Saito the Queen of Sushi, and it's easy to see why. Armed with formal culinary training from Le Cordon Bleu and the Ritz Escoffier in Paris and experience from apprenticeships under premier Tokyo sushi chefs, she has committed the last 26 years to spreading her love for Japanese culture and contemporary fusion cuisine. Although she leaves time in her schedule to manage Le Champignon de Tokio—her sushi restaurant with French culinary influences—and to conduct an annual sushi-making competition, Madame Saito counts education as one of her highest priorities. She regularly commits her quadrilingual tongue to demystifying the art of sushi during classes for aspiring chefs and casual students alike, teaching them how to hand roll maki and slice fish into perfectly uniform dodecahedrons.

Like the quadruple-digit fire inside The Crefeld Glass Studio's furnace, instructor Josh Cole's enthusiasm for glassworking helps budding artists create things they could not have attempted on their own. Josh keeps his classes at four to eight students so that everyone gets both the full benefit of his master's of fine arts in glass from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University and a clear view of classmates as they work the furnace. Regular pop-ins from visiting artists imbue The Crefeld Glass Studio with a collaborative vibe, and an online gallery gives students a place to proudly show off the exquisitely rounded rims of their amber-streaked vases or the short-sightedness of their delicate glass sledgehammers.

Since the early 1940s, Hortman Aviation Services Inc. has carried on the passion of its founders, the Horton family, which has included pilots for commercial lines, crop dusting, and the U.S. Air Force. Today, the fleet of instructors boasts credentials as impressive as the 10 types of planes they maintain onsite for training and rentals. In addition to charters, the crew combines airtime, ground training, and practice in a flight simulator when guiding students in the CFR part 141 flight school.