There are many things we'd rather not recall from our time in school. The cafeteria, study hall, changing for gym—some of these memories are best left inside crowded hallways and fluorescent-lit classrooms. However, one thing we often forget too easily is our capacity to learn. Not memorize, recite, or regurgitate, but learn in its most organic sense. Unfortunately, there are cases in which this kind of education never happens in high school or even college. We often become entangled in academia and can no longer remember what it's like to have a true thirst for new ideas and skills. Though it may be buried under years of standardized tests and the stresses of adulthood, it's still there and it's never too late to quench it.
Maybe you've realized you want to try singing outside your shower. Maybe you miss your ceramics class from sophomore year. Maybe you'd like to start gardening but don't know where to begin. Across the Hudson Valley there are passionate people just waiting to be your new teacher. Learning to sing, make pottery, or grow an organic garden, they say, isn't just good for your mind, but also your body and soul. So go out to do that thing you've always wanted to do. Let the learning begin.
Glazed Over
Sometimes there's nothing more satisfying than getting your hands dirty—and then having a beautiful work of art to show for it. At Hudson Valley Pottery & Moring Studio in Rhinebeck, you'll reap the rewards of clay-covered hands after just a few visits. The studio offers one-week and six-week sessions where you'll learn throwing on the wheel, trimming, hand building, and decorating techniques. With 14 vibrant glazes to choose from and all of your tools included, all that's left is firing up the kiln. In addition to instructional classes, students can practice their newfound skills during open studio hours. Taking advantage of these extra opportunities is key to honing your skills at the wheel, says owner Ann Moring. "You're really working on your hand-eye coordination: Pottery is a physical thing, it's three-dimensional," she says. However, the very thing she says some students find challenging is what she finds calming about making pottery. "It's very relaxing and satisfying to make something out of a wet piece of clay and then turn it into something functional. It's rewarding to make a cup or bowl you can use to drink your coffee or eat ice cream out of," Moring adds. If you're just looking to get your feet wet, or rather your hands, new adult students are eligible to sign up for a trial class.
(845) 876-3190; Hudsonvalleypottery.com.
Planting the Seed
To learn about organic gardening, seed starting, and more, you'll have to travel no farther than your own backyard. Jay Levine from Hudson Valley Backyard Co. can come to you, fully equipped to teach everything you need to know to start growing your own fruits and vegetables. The benefits of tending your own garden, Levine says, even surpasses the reward of fresh produce at your fingertips—though he admits the greens you grow will always taste better than the store-bought ones. "Organic gardening itself is a way to get you into the world and in your yard: It counteracts the fact we spend so much time in offices and not outside," he says. Levine also teaches introductory classes to Thai, Vietnamese, Indian, and Chinese cuisine, though one of the most useful cooking classes he offers might just be Vegetables Kids Will Eat. "I take two approaches to the issue of getting kids to eat their vegetables: recipes where the children know they're eating vegetables and recipes to hide the vegetables, such as squash pancakes. I surreptitiously fed it to my in-laws and then told them afterwards it had vegetables in it—they never knew," laughs Levine. He continues, "If you can get your kids to want to eat vegetables then you'll build a whole lifestyle around healthy eating." So round up friends and family and schedule a lesson at your convenience. All supplies and ingredients are included in the cost and, as an added bonus, Levine lowers the price per person as groups get larger.
(845) 876-7903; Hudsonvalleybackyardfarm.com.
Rock the Boat
Maybe you weren't an angsty teenager dying to be in a garage band, but face it—there's still a part of you that wishes you knew how to play the electric guitar. Ben Senterfit understands. At Creative Music Space in Red Hook, Senterfit can give you the music edge you always craved. "A lot of times as people get older, they have stories they grew up with—like a teacher who told them they had a bad voice or parents who wouldn't give them lessons—and they carry that throughout their lives," he says. Part of Senterfit's mission is to help adults overcome these self-doubts. What once started out as a class called Singing for People Who Can't Sing evolved into Creative Music Space's current contemporary choir which now works on complex harmonies. You can join them in September, and Senterfit promises you too can sing. "It's a transformative process for them to go back to their childhood and get them to realize they can do all of these things people told them they couldn't do. It's empowering. Music is good for your body, good for your soul," he says. Year round Senterfit and his colleagues teach people guitar, saxophone, bass, drums, and more in private lessons. On the horizon is also a jamming ensemble and a comedy improv class. (845) 444-0607; Creativemusicspace.com.
If you're in the lower Mid-Hudson Valley, stop by Beacon Music Factory's new location on Hanna Lane. Though their summer sessions are well underway—High on Rebellion (Women Who Rock) and Rock Camp '77 both of which will have a final performance on September 7 at the city's waterfront park—there's one more chance for you to get in on the action this season. Director Stephen Clair is hosting a one-week intensive this month from August 26 through 30. Starting August 5, you can check out fall classes which start in the second and third weeks of September. In addition to rock camps, there are group adult classes for ukelele, guitar, jazz ensemble, and more. Still not convinced you could ever be musically inclined? "I tell people all the time, all you need is the inclination. If you've got an inkling of a rock and roll heart, you'll get somewhere good in these camps. And you're likely to become hooked," says Clair. (845) 202-3555; Beaconmusicfactory.com.
Though both locations offer programs for kids, you can also bring your rising rock stars to the Paul Green Rock Academy in Woodstock. The fall season begins in mid October, and students can choose guitar, bass, drums, or keyboard as their primary instrument in addition to taking optional voice lessons on the side. In just a few months your whole family can be jamming together. Rockacademy.com.
In Full Swing
Yes, dance trends have changed since the last time you were in school, but some styles are timeless—and swing dancing is certainly one of them. Though at Got2Lindy, which offers classes across the Hudson Valley, it's about more than just dance. "The thing that is really different about our classes is that you don't need a partner to attend, so it becomes a very social thing and it's fun for everyone to learn together," says Director Linda Freeman. Beginners can start out with Swing Foundations, a four-week session held on Monday evenings in Kingston or on Wednesday evenings in Highland. Swing dance parties take place the first Saturday every month, an event where dancers can come learn the basics at 7:30pm and then try out their new skills at a DJ dance party from 8 to 10:30pm. In addition to making new friends and learning new moves, Freeman says swing dancing has invaluable health benefits. "It's great for your brain. And emotionally, it makes you feel good—you can't swing dance without smiling. People come right from work from high stress jobs who are tired, but in the first few minutes they're laughing, they're moving, they're having a great time," she says. If you're looking to try different kinds of partner dance, Hudson Valley West Community Dances teaches the Texas Two-Step on August 23 in addition to their swing dance class later the same evening, both at the Poughkeepsie Tennis Club.
(845) 236-3939; Got2Lindy.com. Hudsonvalleydance.org.
The Silent Treatment
With the fast-paced nature of everyday life, it can be difficult to find your inner peace. The monastics at Zen Mountain Monastery in Mount Tremper have the answer. Every month they offer an Introduction to Zen Training Retreat, a prerequisite for many of the monastery's other retreats and programs. This month's session is already full, but you can catch the next one on September 6 through 8. During this time, visitors adopt the monastic lifestyle: waking up at 4am every morning, meditating, chanting, silent work practice, and more. Ryushin Sensei, abbot of the monastery, says all of these things are important in beginning to understand Buddhist practices. "Buddhism is based on the willingness for each person to look deeply into their own experience. Mediation is central to that, but all of our practices give people an opportunity to see how it is they use their mind and how they create the reality they experience—how they create harm or good in the world and take responsibility for that," he says. If you're looking for a milder introduction to Zen practices, the monastery also hosts a weekly Sunday morning program from 9am to 1pm. The itinerary includes a chanting and bowing service, beginning instruction of zazen, formal discourse about the history of Buddhism, and an afternoon lunch.
(845) 688-2415; Zmm.mro.org.
To Bee or Not To Bee
Though bees might be your least favorite part of summertime, there's good reason to keep them around and help them thrive. Hudson Valley Bee Supply in Kingston can not only give you the means to do so, but can guide you through the entire process of becoming an expert beekeeper—a necessity if you hope to enjoy these insects' golden rewards. The bee season starts in January, which is when you can start contacting Megan Denver and her colleagues at the bee supply to set you up with some new striped friends. As spring approaches, you can take classes like Queen Rearing, Starting Right with Bees, and Beekeeping Spring Essentials. which will help ensure you'll be up to your ears in honey by July. In the meantime, try a wax processing class where you can learn how to make your own candles, soap, and more using honey and beeswax. "You know where your ingredients are coming from, you can customize your creations to your own needs and fragrances, and if you have any allergies you could easily accommodate them," says Denver.
(845) 336-6233; Hudsonvalleybeesupply.com.
Soften the Blow
When considering the prospect of a 2,000-degree furnace, a long blow pipe, and the piece of molten glass at the end of it, it might seem as though glassblowing is an art best left to the professionals. However, everyone was once a beginner. Gilmor Glass in Millerton could be your place to start, offering intimate two-hour classes for two to three people at a time. Owner John Gilmor says these workshops usually take place the third week of every month and students can leave with their own handmade glass goods like a tumbler, paperweight, or small vase. "It's unusual, it's not something you're going to get anywhere else and it gives you a greater understanding of how glass is made—it's very challenging," says Gilmor. Though it's certainly an intricate art form, John Gilvey of Hudson Beach Glass in Beacon insists that it's something even a child can tackle. At their Christmas ornament making class in the fall, Gilvey and his colleagues work with kids as young as five or six as well as adults. "I don't know who gets more out of it, the parent or the child. When the parent sees their six-year-old standing in front of a hot furnace, it's thrilling and terrifying," he said. You can book an Intro to Glassblowing class at your own convenience and work one-on-one with an instructor. On August 17 and 18 you can also try out a beadmaking class—for six hours each day students work closely with a small torch to craft elaborate beads. By the middle of the first day Gilvey guarantees you'll get the hang of it, and by the end of the second day you'll leave with a handful of art.
(518) 789-8000; Gilmorglass.com. (845) 440-0068; Hudsonbeachglass.com.
Kicking Back
You might not be looking to earn a black belt or take anyone down to the mat anytime soon, but a boost in self-esteem and self-control never hurt anyone. At Doug Cook's Chosun Taekwondo Academy in Warwick, taekwondo is only a combat sport if you want it to be. "We teach the martial art of taekwondo rather than the sport. We focus on meditation, self defense drills, forms—a solo practice very similar to tai chi that allows the practitioner to move through different motions of self-defense by themselves," he says. By offering a curriculum that focuses on these essential principles, Cook says his academy is more adult-friendly than most. "Most martial arts schools really cater to kids more than anything else. Adults tend to be reluctant because they think it's something for children and don't realize there's an avenue for them," explains Cook. For adults looking to give it a try, Cook offers a $29 no-commitment special, which lets students take unlimited classes for a month. Throughout August, stop in for classes like Hatha yoga, sunrise instruction for all belts, and even sessions in Warwick Town Park on August 11 and 25.
(845) 986-2288; Chosuntkd.com.