Usdan Center 12/8 Open House; $100 "Early Bird Discount" Through 1/31

Children from Fort Greene/Clinton Hill and throughout New York City and the Tri-State Area annually attend Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts (www.usdan.com), the nationally acclaimed summer arts day camp, transported by air-conditioned buses.  Usdan is accepting registrations for its 2014 season, and announces a $100 Early Bird Discount for all registrations received through January 31, 2014.

The Center will present several new programs for its 47th season, which begins June 30, including: Musical Theater Dance and Musical Theater Audition Workshops, both for grades 7-12; and Sewing and Fashion Production, for grades 4-12.

Usdan Center alumni include Natalie Portman, Mariah Carey and Jane Monheit, and the Center will hold the next of its Open Houses for the 2014 season on Sunday, December 8 from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM. In addition to the Center’s frequent Open House dates, Usdan also offers individual weekend guided tours available by appointment. Weekday self-guided walks are also available, on the Center’s magnificent 200-acre woodland campus at 185 Colonial Springs Road, Wheatley Heights (Huntington), New York 11798. For directions to the Center, visit www.usdan.com.

For an appointment, call 631-643-7900, write to info@usdan.com, or visit www.usdan.com (Visitors must be 21 years of age or accompanied by a parent.) Families who cannot attend an Open House may make individual appointments for visits on weekends or weekdays throughout the Fall and Winter.

Sewing and Fashion Design is an introductory courses focused on sewing basics and beginning design. Students learn how to create fashion from concept to construction, including hand and machine sewing and basic design. The course is an expansion of Usdan’s popular Fashion Design course, in which students model their creations at the end of the season, made up by professional makeup artists and photographed by Usdan photography students.

Theater Dance, for grades 7-12 is a 3 or 4-week course (students may attend for either), in the Theater Department, in which students learn dance routines from popular and classic musicals. Choreography may be drawn from the works of Bob Fosse, Jerome Robbins, Susan Strohman and others. The program culminates in a studio workshop. A minimum of one year of previous dance training is required.

The Audition Workshop, open to Theater majors only, is a 7-week course including training for the acting and singing components of a musical theater audition. It also instructs students in choosing material that highlights the strength of each student.

Usdan Center offers more than 40 programs in music, dance, theater, visual arts, creative writing, nature and ecology and chess, annually hosting more than 1,600 students from towns throughout the Tri-State New York area. No audition is needed for most courses, and transportation is provided in air- conditioned buses that depart from most New York-area neighborhoods. One-third of Usdan’s students receive scholarship assistance based on family need. Video from many of Usdan’s programs and special events, may now be viewed on the Center’s website, http://www.usdan.com as well as on YouTube. Also, families can check out Usdan’s Facebook site, where additional information and late-breaking news is featured.

Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts, whose alumni include actors Natalie Portman and Olivia Thirlby and singers Jane Monheit and Mariah Carey, has introduced the arts to more than 60,000 Tri-State Area children since its founding in 1968. The Center is open to all young people from age 6 to 18. Although the mission of the Center is for every child to establish a relationship with the arts, the unique stimulation of the Center has caused many to go on to arts careers. Alumni include members of Broadway shows and major music, theater, and dance ensembles such as the Boston Pops and the New York City Ballet. In addition to its regular programs, Usdan offers special opportunities for advanced high school- age performing and visual artists. These include Music Staff Internships, a Summer Ballet Intensive. Usdan Center is an agency of the UJA-Federation of New York.

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