At The Virginia Beach School of the Arts' "Music Mommy & Me" classes, kids and parents sing together to learn musical terms such as rhythms, notes, piano, and orchestral instruments. These classes work hand-in-hand with "Baby School", another entertaining program to help kids learn things such as sign language, academic information, and mathematical concepts through music and movement. "Five layers in the Earth's atmosphere," the song begins. "Troposphere from here to 10 miles up. Stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere. Pass these, and then you're in outer space." So goes the song "Atmosphere," set to the tune of "If You're Happy and You Know It." By setting these easy-to-confuse scientific terms to a familiar song and adding in simple hand motions, kids can absorb knowledge better than a paper towel set on an encyclopedia. This is the concept behind Acadamiacs, one of the programs that combines education and fine arts at The Virginia Beach School of the Arts. At the school, students learn important educational concepts such as reading and math; fine-arts concepts such as art, dance, and music; and social concepts such as following directions and listening skills. And while most classes are geared toward kids as young as 3 months old, adults are welcome in some courses, including private music lessons.

What services does your business offer and what makes your business stand out from the competition? We are a mom-n-pop business started from the ground up in 2009. We give you the personalized touch that you deserve. When it comes to learning music, we have the passion and the knowledge and we want to share both with YOU! Do you provide any materials? What should your students expect to bring? We have instruction books available for sale. You can also bring anything you've already been working with and your instrument (except piano & drums - we supply those). :-) What was the inspiration to start or run this business? Our love of music and teaching. Watching students learn and feeling their enthusiasm and excitement for the whole process, that's our motivation! Our motto is: We take our students from the lesson room to the stage! Watching you blossom is what fuels us. What do you love most about your job? Watching and being a part of the students growth in music is the best part! Icing on the cake.....putting them on stage and watching everyone's reaction!

What services does your business offer and what makes your business stand out from the competition? We offer kids dance fitness classes in a fun environment. There are no rules, just keep moving and having fun. Exercise is challenging. How do you keep clients motivated and engaged? We teach the kids a new dance routine every 2 weeks to keep the excited and motivated. What was the inspiration to start or run this business? We incorporated our kids dance fitness class a year ago to help get kids up and moving. Kids love to dance, but they don't all want to take traditional dance classes, so our Dance Trance Kids program is perfect for them. What do you love most about your job? Watching the kids have fun, laugh, make new friends and express themselves through dance. I love seeing their excitement when we teach them a new dance to their favorite song and they've nailed it by the end of the class!

Paint 'n Sit's resident artists come from a wide variety of backgrounds: art school, corporate America, living inside Garfield comics. Despite these differences, each of them began painting as an expressive outlet—something that they now share with kids and adults at Paint 'n Sit. During classes, parties, or open sessions, teachers walk aspiring painters—regardless of his or her experience—through the process of painting display-worthy masterpieces. Along with provided supplies, students create everything from portraits of famous musicians to works in the style of Picasso. Paint 'n Sit's studio space surrounds visitors with ample inspiration, exhibiting examples of student paintings on the pastel-colored walls. To foster a party-like atmosphere, Paint 'n Sit's instructors invite visitors to bring along food, nonalcoholic beverages, and prerecorded small talk.

The instructors at Studio Rio's Twisted Fitness approach their job with sensitivity and expertise that earned them 2010 and 2011 Best of Virginia Beach Reader's Choice awards. But the staff refuses to rest on its laurels, pushing themselves every day during sultry dance and cardio classes to help women of all abilities ramp up their sensuality while getting fit. The more than 35 weekly classes range from kickboxing to the signature pole dancing classes, held in an all-lady, judgment-free environment for participants with experience levels from beginning to advanced. The pole dancing sessions target specific body parts including the core and glutes and incorporate strength training, choreography, and challenging inverted poses made hyper-feminine with the inclusion of inverted knitting. The instructors reinforce that sexiness is both ageless and timeless—all classes are designed to help women of all ages over 18 to not only reshape their bodies, but boost confidence as well.

Before beginning any sort of treatment at Simply Well, the ayurvedic nutritionists help attendees discover which of the three personal constitutions, or doshas, best reflects them. Based on the assessment, the staff recommends a naturalistic course of therapeutic action, shepherding clients through anything from weight-loss programs and management of diabetes to addressing chronic fatigue or arthritis. Trainers lead boot camps and workouts, therapists organize personalized consultations, and nutritionists lead cooking lessons that teach clients which foods stave off disease and promote energy, or which flowers to plant around refrigerators to keep rabbit roommates away. This combination of physical activity and study aims to invest guests with a sense of whole-body wellness by giving people the tools they need to keep practicing ayurvedic lifestyles at home.