Arlington Community Education

Travel back in time and learn some dance steps with roots in African-American communities starting as early as the 1800s. Solo vernacular jazz dance is all about rhythm, individuality, and self-expression. Come dance to jazz and swing music while focusing on syncopated steps and learning to call and respond to the music. Develop a fresh bounce in your step as we learn classic steps like the Charleston, the Shorty George, Fall-off-the-log, Apple Jacks, Tacky Annie, and more. Remember, as Ella Fitzgerald sang, “Tain’t what you do, it’s the WAY that you do it.” No experience required. Wear comfy shoes! Photo: Dancers at The Savoy, Harlem, c.1950, courtesy of the New York Times

Share your work with other writers and receive the benefits of a collaborative, supportive, and fun workshop. We’ll address craft elements and do in-class exercises designed to get you thinking about your work in new ways. We will shape our course around the work and ideas that students bring, focusing primarily on the workshop process: feedback and discussion of student work in order to help you reach your writing goals. This workshop welcomes poets and prose writers of all genres, all experience levels, and those at varying stages of the writing process. Both returning writers and new faces are welcome. Please come prepared to share a portion of a current project.

You're getting close to finishing your project, and the anxieties of releasing it into the outside world lie before you. So in preparation, consider this course in self-editing for experienced writers who are far along in a prose fiction or nonfiction project. This small class emphasis will be on re-thinking the whole, reorganizing structure, correcting style and focus for maximum effect and impact, and rigorous rewriting. Please note: Before the start of class students will be asked to submit a 3-4 page writing sample, and the instructor will review the commitment and class requirements. Students in this class should expect to turn in between 1000-1500 words (about 2-3 pages) or more each week.