Education & Classes in West New York

Each day during the Story Improv workshop, students ages 5–8 will enact the adventures of a children's storybook. The On the Spot: Improvisation session, best for students 8–14, will have students acting without scripts in order to build their quick wit and confidence. During the intensive two-week Piece Makers class, budding actors, playwrights, and directors ages 8–14 will create and perform their own original piece of theater. After learning many of the exercises and games used by the Irondale Theater Company, the class will become its own acting troupe and debut their show. This workshop includes pizza dinner for the players followed by post-performance refreshments for all.

The professional instructors at Fred Astaire Dance Studio North Jersey, a chain of dance schools that was cofounded by the legendary toe tapper himself, shepherd students of all ages and skill levels through lessons that span the style spectrum. Low-pressure private sessions allow enthusiastic teachers to fine-tune individual students' techniques and form using their expert eyes and mechanical dancing shoes preprogrammed to do the charleston. Patrons can learn how to cavort through classic waltz and foxtrot romps or swivel through the modern steps of salsa, swing, or samba. For dancers hoping to sashay in a social setting, the group practice parties provide a one-night extravaganza of instruction, demonstrations, and amateur fire walking.

Dance Times Square’s founders and professional Latin ballroom dancers, Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin, corral expert dance instructors into their studio space to teach students of all levels high-energy dance routines. With an impressive roster of celebrity clientele, such as Vanessa Williams, Pierce Brosnan, and Betty Boop, along with decades of experience in the dance and choreography world, Tony and Melanie remain leaders in competitive Latin ballroom dance. The nimble-footed instructors rolls out dynamic group and private lessons, leading participants in shimmying through a wedding dance class or mastering skills for such dances as the salsa, tango, cha-cha, or swing.

A graduate of the Natural Gourmet Institute, Naturally-Tasty's chef Gilda Mulero specializes in natural and organic foods. Her menus highlight seasonal dishes, which she sometimes tailors to fit diabetic and ayurvedic cooking practices. Rather than confine her talents to a restaurant, she travels to customers’ homes as a personal chef, crafting meals, teaching cooking lessons, and house-training new stoves. At each visit, her seasonal menus highlight international dishes as diverse as pecan-crusted chicken, potato-carrot pancakes, red snapper with corn-mango salsa, Argentine vegetable stew, and apricot-maple scones.

Gilda develops custom lesson plans, menus, and schedules based on a customer-submitted questionnaire, which details clients’ food likes, dislikes, and dietary needs. Her regular classes may focus on easy meals, basic kitchen skills, or cooking for children or newlyweds, and past classes have taught students how to make homemade organic baby food, reinvent their pantry contents, and perfect their knife techniques. All classes include copies of recipes from the lesson, and some involve educational tours to local markets that highlight which goods to choose and which food samplers are the easiest to bribe. When she isn’t cooking, Gilda also teaches private all-levels yoga lessons, in which she teaches the deep, fluid poses and stretches of the Vinyasa style in a calming, nurturing environment.

Professional dancer Francis Teri knows how to celebrate. He’s danced at Ziegfeld Theater for the party in honor of Dirty Dancing's 20th anniversary and at the 30th anniversary shindig for the iconic Saturday Night Fever. At Dance Fever Studios, he and a team of experienced dance instructors party down everyday, helping students hone specific footwork skills or nail the basics in beginner and intermediate classes. Attendees learn good timing and partner connection in beginner salsa, or how to pull off the waltz and foxtrot in ballroom dancing. During beginner and intermediate hustle classes, students learn how to do the basic dance step without disturbing the goldfish in their shoes.

Retired trader David Green brings more than 25 years of Wall Street floor experience to his teaching at Equity Trading Capital. David and his team of full-time trader instructors coincide in-class sessions with the ringing of the New York Stock Exchange bell as they expound upon everything from stock-market lingo to optimal trading times, enlightening first-time traders and keeping experienced stock slingers up to date. Onsite lessons may include live simulated trading platforms where students can make trades, while online materials include a live chatroom for gleaning on the spot tips and advice.