Education & Classes in Rubidoux

Give a guy a fish, and he'll eat for a day; teach a guy to make perfect sushi rolls, and he'll be the culinary king of the cul-de-sac. Today's Groupon can save you from embarrassing Thanksgivings, disastrous dinners with in-laws, and foolhardy tamale-making face-offs. With today's deal, $12 gets you $29 worth of cooking classes of your choice from The Cooking Store (many classes are $29, but if you want to take a more expensive course, you can pay the difference). Find out why your soufflé always falls or learn the basics of braising and roasting and the dark art of broasting. Check out The Cooking Store's calendar of upcoming classes.

Avant Garde's retinue of international instructors teaches more than 20 types of group classes at the Newport Beach studio. Whether you opt for the waltz, Argentine tango, jitterbug, cha-cha, street hustle, or one of the kids' classes, you'll have plenty of kick and spin space in which to unfurl your lean limbs and cloven hooves. Avant Garde features floating dance floors and 5,500 total square feet of dance space. While the floors don't actually float without the proper incantation, they do offer flexible support for hours of dancing unaccompanied by hours of leg and back pain. Check the schedule for a full list of class options.

You'll also get to choose from a variety of instruments, including guitar, piano, trumpet, drums, and the instrument inside your throat-box. See the sidebar for a complete list of lessons.

After a course at Village Kitchen, accomplished chefs will inch closer to pro status, while those who've chopped more fingers than potatoes will have their clumsiness exorcised thanks to patient instruction from Village Kitchen's enlightened gurus of all things edible. Classes are held Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. (some classes are also offered on Wednesdays at 6 p.m.), while the theme varies from week to week. On Wednesday, February 2, learn to master the wok to easily turn out incredible delights such as Szechuan stir-fried green beans with ground pork. On Wednesday, March 9, discover the joys of pollotarianism with a complete tutorial in a four-course feast centered around a fennel pollen roast chicken with tarragon jus, or on Saturday, April 9, craft the perfect dessert including glazed lemon cake, custard éclair rings, or fudge pecan pie. You'll eat everything you make and get a beverage, so no one escapes hungry. Classes are limited to 18 people.

Each three-hour class at Laguna Culinary Arts caters to any skill level, from expert chefs to certified microwave users. With no more than 10 people per class, the intimate classes cultivate individual, hands-on instruction, and guarantee that no one gets lost and eaten by bears during training. De-hibernate your china and entertain friends, neighbors, or your glass menagerie collection with the skills you pick up in one of Laguna's party-throwing classes. Learn how to grill goat-cheese-stuffed radicchio wrapped in pancetta and brush up your Crème Catalan skills to throw a Spanish paella party. Or craft an elegant menu of blue-cheese-dressing salad and filet mignon with blackberry sauce, ending with a chocolate soufflé ($95 per person, or $115 with wine pairings). At the end of each class, sit down to enjoy the dinner everyone has worked together to create, minus the piled dishes usually left for gnomes to clean.

Arthur Murray Dance Studio's panel of experienced instructors earned the establishment an Orange County Register People's Choice award for Best Dance School in 2009 for their prowess at schooling students in the ways of balance and coordinated rhythmic motion. Across six southern California studios, teams of highly trained teachers emphasize holistic dancing skills as opposed to specific steps, ensuring students leave lessons with a greater understanding of their chosen form. They offer more than 29 available dance styles, including the waltz, the rumba, polka, texas two-step, and the merengue. During private lessons, instructors have dancers pair off with a partner as they dole out individual tips and techniques, preparing students for the more communal group lessons. Burgeoning boogiers can also attend one of the themed practice parties to test out their growing repertoire of skills with fellow classmates. Each studio announces party themes and times on its online calendars in advance.