Fall Registration Begins for Community School and Trudl Zipper Dance Institute, Featuring New Online Programming

Dance Academy student smiling

This fall, students in the Community School of Performing Arts and Trudl Zipper Dance Institute will be able to take new online classes and workshops, including Music Production, Violin Sight Reading and Musicianship, Artists of Influence, and more.

Over the past few months, as we have pivoted and adjusted to our collective new reality, Colburn has remained dedicated to providing the best possible online education for our students. As we transition to an online Fall semester, the School will continue this commitment. Academic leadership and faculty have spent countless hours exploring best practices in online learning, investigating new resources, and planning a variety of unique opportunities for students in each unit to create the most enriching, rewarding, and effective learning experience for all our students.

As the Fall semester begins for the the Community School of Performing Arts and Trudl Zipper Dance Institute, students will benefit from new online offerings to help them perfect technique, build musicianship and artistry, and develop new ways of learning throughout this challenging time.

Community School of Performing Arts

Community School students will be able to continue their private lessons and group classes (early childhood, instrumental group classes, jazz workshops, chamber music, and drama) remotely. Students who register for private lessons prior to August 31 are eligible for special incentives including no payment plan fees, the same tuition fees as last year, a $25 loyalty discount for continuing students, and a sibling discount.

Students can also take advantage of new classes for the fall, including gap year packages for students planning to defer their undergraduate studies; a master class series with celebrated guest artists; and new online group classes. Additional classes will be announced as they are confirmed.

One such class is the Music Production course taught by Brian Langsbard, which teaches the basics of Logic Pro X, recording, engineering, and mixing—especially valuable for students who may want to share recordings digitally.

Music lovers will be able to take a new Music Appreciation and History course for adults: a four-week lecture series on Beethoven and the Ninth Symphony taught by Music History Chair and A Serving of Beethoven host Dr. Kristi Brown-Montesano.

In addition, string players can also choose from two levels of Violin Sight Reading and Musicianship and two levels of String Workshops for Violin, Viola, and Cello. These group classes are designed to give students the feeling of community while providing them with the necessary skills that will enable them to evaluate and analyze their own musical progress. Additional classes for advanced violinists will be added soon.

Registration begins on August 1 for returning students and August 15 for new students.

Trudl Zipper Dance Institute

The Trudl Zipper Dance Institute has outlined three goals for students in the Colburn Connected virtual dance program this fall: engagement, progression, and inspiration. Even in the students’ at-home studios, the study of dance is productive and meaningful. There are many ways to keep students connected to their Colburn family in their dance technique and in their personal artistry while staying safely at home.

Engagement: Each upper-level student will receive private lessons to assess progress and set achievable goals for the semester. Class sizes for all levels will be small to increase the amount of personal attention each student receives.

Progression: Each individual student will be made aware of their technical goals for the year and will work with their teachers to accomplish those goals. We will support student progress by increasing their strength and stamina with cross-training opportunities and helping them to create an optimal home studio learning environment.

Inspiration: The faculty and staff of the Trudl Zipper Dance Institute will work to inspire students by adding film and choreographic projects for all levels that will provide the students an outlet for their creativity, keep them dancing, and help them develop their artistry in new ways.

In addition to the 100+ dance classes offered each week in ballet, modern, tap, and musical theater, Colburn Dance is including new “Plus” classes to supplement our students’ dance training and physicality. Students will be able to take master classes with notable professional artists, create solo dance videos and audition videos for advanced students, and take cross-training classes and wellness lectures.

In particular, a new Artists of Influence curriculum series will be offered to enhance students’ historical knowledge, highlighting dancers of color. Later in the semester, all dance students regardless of genre will be able to participate in a new winter film, recorded remotely. The working title is Sweets from the Nutcracker, performed to the music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, arranged by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn.

Registration begins on July 28 for returning students and August 10 for new students.