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Register Today: Middletown Arts Center’s Fall Session

Students of all ages: Register Now for classes and workshops in art, theater, music, dance + more

By Stacey Jones September 18, 2024

The Middletown Arts Center’s Fall Session Registration is now open to children and adults of all abilities for classes and workshops running September 18 – December 19, 2024. There is something for everyone on the curriculum with affordable classes offered in Theater, Improv, Dance, Visual Arts, Music, Wellness and more. The Middletown Arts Center boasts a 23,000-square-foot facility with a newly renovated state-of-the-art dance studio, theater, art gallery and art studios, plus the MAC Annex Education Building located minutes away. 

Free entire Fall Session offered for select Classes! 

To celebrate the addition of several new, accomplished instructors to our staff, we are offering select classes FREE OF CHARGE! Visit our website at www.middletownarts.org to learn more. This is an amazing opportunity, and we expect these FREE classes to fill QUICKLY…so don’t miss out, REGISTER TODAY!

Register online at www.middletownarts.org, by phone at 732.706.4100 or onsite. You do not have to be a Middletown resident to participate in their classes. Go directly to view and register for Youth Classes at this link. Discounted rates apply to MAC members. A complete class listing detailing all the programs is available on the website. 

Art Instructor Gianna Manzardo has joined the staff and will be teaching  Artsy Pals (A Child and Caregiver Adventure, ages 4-6 with adult),Youth Adventures in Art for Older Students (ages 13+) and Adult Intro to Drawing for Seniors (ages 55+). Gianna has over 20 years of elementary through high school education teaching experience. Also, new Instructor Laura Mandile will teach Adult Drawing Skills for Artists. Laura is an award-winning artist with a career spanning years as an illustrator, art director and art teacher. She has her BFA from the School of Visual Arts, NY.

 A huge addition to the class schedule is Adult Improv with Trish Tyler. Trish is a graduate of the Second City Conservatory in Chicago – studying Improv, Musical Improv and Directing. Notable improv credits include the Del Close Marathon, Philly Fringe Fest and the TBS Just for Laughs Festival. Some of her corporate improv clients include Northwestern University, MLB and Gwen Stefani.

The MAC Wellness Program features Adult Yoga with Mimi Cross (optional Meditation period available) and Relaxing Into Writing. Cross, a 200+ hour certified Kripalu Yoga Instructor, is the creator of Body of Writing, a practice that adds a dimension to the traditional mind-body-spirit discipline of Yoga: Story. Zumbini with Lisa Zwerin is a dynamic music and movement experience for adults with children ages 0-4. Zumbini celebrates the power of music to enhance our lives, stimulate learning, inspire dance movement and strengthen the bond between parent and child.

The Middletown Arts Center is excited to announce the new Fall Dance Program featuring celebrated instructors Njelama Dacas Johnson and Marissa Finkelstein. Njelama has an Ed.M in K-12 Dance Education and a BFA in Dance Performance from Rutgers University. She will teach Youth Pre-Ballet, Ballet 1-3 and Modern 1-2, as well as Adult Ballet and Modern. Marissa has been dancing for over 20 years and trained at Freehold Regional’s Fine and Performing Arts Magnet Program and earned her BA in Dance and Business from Muhlenberg College and her MFA in Dance from the University of North Carolina–Greensboro. She will teach Youth Jazz and Broadway Dance 1-2 and Tap in addition to Adult Jazz and Broadway Dance and Tap.

Other popular programs returning this Fall include the acclaimed Student Theater Academy led by award-winning director and teaching artist Kathy Connolly. The Academy offers a Fall Mini-Musical Theater Intensive, Beginning Acting (ages 6-8) and Acting (ages 9-12). Doodle Dude inspires students this winter with classes in Cartooning & Clay, Gaming and Holiday Crafts and Miss Fish offers her Watercolors & More, as well as Fabulous Art for Fantastic Artists

Adult Painting Workshops will again be held this Fall: Painting Workshop with Grace Graupe-Pillard and the Evening Adult Painting Workshop with June Wilson.

FULL LIST OF 2024 FALL CLASSES:

Youth Dance:

• Pre-Ballet with Njelama Dacas Johnson | Ages 3-6 

• Ballet 1 with Njelama Dacas Johnson | Ages 7-9

• Ballet 2 with Njelama Dacas Johnson | Ages 10-12 

• Ballet 3 with Njelama Dacas Johnson | Ages 13+

• Modern with Njelama Dacas Johnson | Ages 7-12

• Intro to Jazz  and Broadway Dance with Marissa Finkelstein | Ages7-9

• Jazz and Broadway Dance Level 2 with Marissa Finkelstein | Ages 10-14

• Tap with Marissa Finkelstein | Ages 10-14

Youth Art:

•  Artsy Pals (A Child and Caregiver Adventure) with Gianna Manzardo | Ages 4-6 with Adult

• Adventures in Art for Older Students with Gianna Manzardo | Ages 12+

• Watercolors and MORE with Miss Fish! | Ages 4-8

• FABULOUS Art for FANTASTIC Artists with Miss Fish! | Ages 8-12

• Halloween & the Holiday Scene with Doodle Dude! | Ages 5-12

• Cartooning & CLAY with Doodle Dude! | Ages 5-12

• The Art of Gaming with Doodle Dude | Ages 5-12

Youth Musical Theater and Theater:

• Fall Mini-Musical Theater Intensive with Kathy Connolly | Ages 6-9

• Perform Elf, J.R. with Kathy Connolly | Ages 10+

• Acting with Kathy Connolly | Ages 9-12

• Beginning Acting with Felicia Russell | Ages 6-8

Youth/Adult Music:

• ZUMBINI with Lisa Zwerin | Children ages: 0-4 with Adult

• Private In-Person Piano or Voice Lessons with Miss Peggy! | ALL AGES

Adult Dance: 

• Ballet with Njelama Dacas Johnson

• Tap with Marissa Finkelstein

• Jazz and Broadway Dance with Marissa Finkelstein

Adult Art:

• Drawing Skills for Artists with Laura Mandile

•  Artsy Pals (A Child and Caregiver Adventure) with Gianna Manzardo | Ages 4-6 with Adult

• Intro to Drawing for Seniors with Gianna Manzardo

• Painting Workshop with Grace Graupe-Pillard

• Evening Adult Painting Workshop with June Wilson

Adult Wellness:

• Yoga and Optional Meditation Session with Mimi Cross

• Relaxing into Writing with Mimi Cross

Adult Theater

• Improv with Trish Tyler

The Middletown Arts Center is located at 36 Church Street, Middletown 07748 (next to Middletown Train Station). Free parking is available onsite with additional free parking available in the station-metered lot on weekday evenings after 6 p.m. and on weekends. The MAC Annex Education Building is located at 121 Kings Highway, Middletown 07748 (next to Middletown Reformed Church). Register your family for some classes today at www.middletownarts.org, by phone at 732.706.4100 or onsite.