Fall semester registration at Renaissance Center ends Friday

Release Date: 8/15/2006. Expired: 8/18/2006

Registration for fall classes at The Renaissance Center officially ends Friday, but late registrations will be accepted until the first meeting of each class as long as it is not full.

The Renaissance Center kicked off fall registration with an open house on Aug. 5 to celebrate its seventh anniversary. More than 800 people visited the center that day to tour the facility, check out classes and join in Arts Fusion II, a statewide celebration of the arts. The two-week registration period ends Aug. 18 and the fall semester begins the week of Aug. 21.

“We have been thrilled with the turnout and interest in our fall classes and are expecting a rush of registrants trying to beat Friday’s deadline,” said Bob Kucher, senior director for Fine Arts at the center. “While we urge everyone to try to register before the semester begins next week, we will accept registrations until the first meeting of each class.”

The Renaissance Center’s fall semester includes more than 100 classes in visual arts, dance, music and theatre arts, with classes for children and adults, from beginners to advanced students.

“The hallmark of The Renaissance Center since it opened in 1999 has been the variety of classes we offer,” Kucher said. “The new fall semester is no different as many of our popular classes return along with a slate of new offerings.”

Visual Arts

Popular classes such as Just the Two of Us (a parent and child course), Art from Around the Globe, stained glass, calligraphy and a variety of pottery courses are joined by new offerings like Art and History of the Southeastern American Indian, Mexican Art, Tatting, Beginning Knitting, Beginning Crocheting and Batik. The center also continues its popular photography and darkroom classes along with a Studio Lighting course.

Dance

Beginning its second full year, The Renaissance Center’s dance program continues to grow with classes for children, teens and adults. New this semester are Bellydance Workout, YogaBelly, Musical Theatre Song and Dance and Jazz and Musical Theatre Dance. The join a long list of offerings that includes yoga, Beginning and Intermediate Ballroom, Beginning and Intermediate Cha-Cha, Salsa and Swing, Beginning Creative Dance, Beginning Teen Ballet, Home-School Ballet and Tap, Modern Dance, Lyrical, Creative Dance, Beginning Tap and more.

Theatre Arts

The popular Skit-A-Week class returns along with Acting for Kids. Adults can sign up for an acting class as well as classes in Musical Theatre.

Music

Private lessons are available in a variety of instruments, from the traditional guitar, piano, drums and strings to bagpipes, banjo, bass, dulcimer, harmonica, harp, mandolin, flute and woodwinds. The popular Kindermusik series returns with a new curriculum for parent and child as well as a new class for the whole family. New this semester is a class on The Art and Businesses of Songwriting being taught by singer/songwriters Templeton Thompson and Sam Gay.

In addition to the full slate of classes, a variety of workshops are offered throughout the semester, which ends Dec. 8. Registration for workshops is open until one week prior to the date of the workshop.

“We continue to expand our class and workshop offerings to provide new and exciting options for our students from all over Middle Tennessee. We strive to offer something for every age, every skill level and every interest,” Kucher said. “Many of our classes are already filling up and we will consider scheduling additional sessions if the demand is there.”

To find out more about the fall semester classes in visual arts, music, theatre arts and dance at The Renaissance Center, pick up a copy of the center’s Fall/Winter Program Guide or visit www.rcenter.org. To register for a class or workshop, call (615) 740-5533. The deadline for registration for classes is 5 p.m. Friday but late registrations will be accepted up to the time of the first class, as long as there is space available.

The Renaissance Center is a fine arts education center at 855 Highway 46 South in Dickson, just 35 miles west of Nashville on Interstate 40 at exit 172.