Conservatory announces registration open house Sept. 9
WINONA, Minn. — The Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts will conduct a semester I registration open house from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 9, at the Valéncia Arts Center, 1164 West 10th St.
Registration for semester I dance, music and theatre programming will be accepted at the open house. Tours of the facility will be available, refreshments will be served, and students will have the opportunity to meet new and returning faculty and staff. Additionally, students can be fitted for dance attire at the open house; MCA’s dance attire boutique offers quality basics including leotards, tights, ballet slippers, jazz shoes and tap shoes.
Classes begin Sept. 13. Dance class offerings — available for children age 3 to adults —include beginning through advanced levels in classical ballet, tap, jazz, creative movement, modern, hip hop, Pilates, and a special tuition-free dance program for boys and young men. This program is made possible in part through a grant from the Sewell Family Foundation. Semester I also provides classes in partnership with Winona County Community Education for teens and adults including: Teen and Adult Ballet, Clogging I, Clogging II, Dance Fitness, and Piyo.
Academic credit is available through Cotter High School and Saint Mary’s dance minor program for a variety of MCA dance classes.
MCA’s music division offers a tuition-free youth choir, the Winona Area Youth Singers, for students in grades four through eight. WAYS seeks to take young people who have been introduced to choir/music in their elementary, middle schools, or junior highs and further encourage and nurture their talent. WAYS members will participate in weekly sessions, a winter and spring concert, a special mentorship program with SMU choirs, and in community outreach events.
Additionally, WAYS will perform in a special collaboration with MCA’s dance division in the Dance Repertory Company’s production of “The Nutcracker” Dec. 2-5 at Saint Mary’s Page Theatre. WAYS is sponsored in part by the Young Singer’s Foundation.
MCA’s music division also offers private lessons in voice, piano, flute, clarinet and saxophone. Additional string, woodwind, and brass instruments lessons may be available upon request.
MCA’s theatre division offers stage combat workshops Sept. 18-19 and Oct. 9-10 for teen and adults 15 years of age or older. Students will learn the basics of faking unarmed fights onstage without sacrificing safety or dramatic effectiveness.
Semester I classes will provide 10 weeks of instruction, concluding with a demonstration week, Nov.15-20.
Tuition for MCA classes, lessons, and workshops varies depending on course length and level. Discounts and scholarships are available.
For more information, visit www.mnconservatoryforthearts.org, e-mail mca@smumn.edu or call (507) 453-5500.
