Regardless of your background or experience in the arts, individuals and groups can enjoy these video-based lessons, using only supplies found in the typical home.

Lessons can be enjoyed at the viewer’s own pace and are designed to provide participants with a fun and educational creative experience.

Note: Individuals interested in following the Academy’s pathway to obtaining a certificate in creative aging should visit the Professional Development page.

Indian Classical Dance

The participants will learn to use their bodies as well as their minds and improve their flexibility, dexterity, and mobility. They will use hand gestures and body positions from Bharatanatyam, an ancient classical dance style that originated in the temples of Southern India.

Rachita Menon is a professional Bharatanatyam artist with over 35 years of experience in this classical dance style from Southern India.

Still Life Self-Portraits

This visual/ creative movement/ writing session invites participants to explore the question: who are you? Learners will use objects, play, writing, and photography in this exploration.

Liz Faist is a photographer and mixed media artist from Northeast Pennsylvania. She became a Rostered Artist with the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the Northeastern Educational Unit 19 in 2004.

Jenny Hill is a published poet and multidisciplinary artist who works in circus arts (multi-hoop performance, and clowning) and movement theatre.

Theater

The participants will explore and use “aesthetic operations” and distinguish meaningful “qualities of movement” (space/shape, time/rhythm, force/action) to effectively and enjoyably tell stories.

Mark McKenna teaches in colleges, schools, and community centers – helping people rediscover their creative voices to find agency and play in their lives.

Jazz Singing

This lesson is designed to teach the unique characteristics of jazz singing and how to apply these characteristics to create an original sound.

Tara Middleton is a 2022 Grammy Nominee and a 2019 Pew Fellowship nominated vocalist, violinist, and lyricist.