The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls. – Pablo Picasso
University Avenue Discovery Center Preschool strongly believes that children who are exposed to different forms of art enrichment develop an emotional intelligence and also enjoy higher academic achievement. Children learn a variety of healthy ways in which to express themselves and are able to try on different roles within a supporting environment. They are encouraged to offer their own perspective on a particular subject; all views are valued and encouraged. Not only do we see a children building a solid sense of self and uninhibited creativity, we also see how this transfers to the academic realm. We see them gain motor skills, vocabulary, creative problem solving skills and confidence in decision making, cultural awareness and higher success in school overall. Not to mention, the arts add fun to any learning environment. When children associate enjoyment with their learning environments, they are more available for learning throughout the day as well. Our students enjoy a different arts enrichment program each day to the week.
Preschool and 4K Arts Enrichment:
- Dance Lessons
- Spanish Language
- Music Class
- Drama Class
School Age Arts Enrichment (School Year):
- Dance Class
- Drama Class
- Spanish Language
- Piano Lessons
- Violin Lessons
School Age Arts Enrichment (Summer):
- Dance Lessons
- Spanish Language
- Music Class
- Drama Class
- Violin Lessons
- Piano Lessons
- Kitchen Science
Music and Drama
Krystal Lonsdale is the Managing Director of the Capital City Theater in Madison, WI. She has been involved in the performing arts and music education for over ten years. Madison is her new home after living and working in NYC for nearly 15 years. A graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in NYC, she has since then performed in productions Off-Broadway (A Funny Thing Happened…), in the UK (Gianetta in The Gondoliers), and across the United States (Philadelphia, Aspen). She has also done extensive work in television and film. Locally, Krystal serves on the board for the Madison Savoyards and has performed with MTM, Stoughton Village Players and at the Bartell Theatre. Krystal brings her unique talents and her guitar to sing and preform with our students.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Piano Lessons
Rachel Scheide is our UADC piano instructor. She fell in love with Madison while studying at the UW and recently moved back from the Twin Cities area. She is a life-long lover of music and has been playing, performing, and teaching for over 20 years. She is dedicated to helping kids develop their own passion for music, and loves working with the students and families here at the Discovery Center!
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Violin Lessons
Stacey Binder received the Master of Music degree in violin performance from the UW-Madison, where she was a student of Vartan Manoogian. In addition to teaching private lessons for almost years, Stacey was an Upper Strings Sectional Coach and a chamber music coach for the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra (WYSO) program. She also has served as a judge for WYSO and for WSMA’s Solo and Ensemble Festivals. Stacey has been a substitute violinist for the Madison Symphony Orchestra and has performed in productions by the Four Seasons Theatre. Stacey has an interest in teaching the violin to the visually impaired. Her article “Rewards and Challenges of Teaching Blind String Students” was published in the February 2002 issue of the American String Teacher.
Stacey’s primary goal as a violin instructor is for her students to have an enjoyable musical experience while learning how to play the instrument. Here is a bit about her teaching philosophy and methods:
I draw from several different methods/pedagogues when teaching students. I teach the skills needed to successfully play the violin in a very methodical, step-wise fashion. It is important for a student to be proficient with one skill before proceeding to the next, as each new skill builds on those that are previously learned. Therefore, posture will be heavily emphasized in the beginning stages. I will also introduce/reinforce music theory concepts during lessons. However, songs will be learned by ear until students demonstrate a mastery of posture.
As a student develops, we will explore playing all different styles of music, including classical, fiddle, folk, and holiday music. It is important to expose students to styles beyond classical music for not only a deeper appreciation of music, but also because it is fun to play all types of music.
Finally, I view teaching to be a partnership between myself, my students, and the parents of the students. Parental support, especially in terms ensuring regular practice, is a critical aspect of learning a new instrument. I also value open communication from parents and students about anything related our lessons.
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Dance Lessons
Elizabeth Gach is a very talented individual who teaches Dance at University Avenue Discovery Center. She has studied dance for 25 years and has worked as a Dance Instructor for 12 years. Currently she teaches at Kehl School of Dance, in addition she danced professionally in Chicago for 4 year.
Elizabeth has been practicing yoga for the past 10 years and has been an instructor for 4 years. She really enjoys taking more mature concepts of breath and relaxation and making them into age appropriate activities for our preschoolers. Her teaching in yoga emphasizes self-expression, fun in movement and self-regulation.
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Preschool and School Age Spanish Lessons with Luis Varela
Born, raised and educated in Colombia, Luis graduated from Universidad Javeriana with a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Engineering.
His love for learning and teaching is displayed through an experiential-based learning style, and he has taught Spanish for five years at private schools, using games, music, and the arts to share his passion for education.
Luis plays guitar, sings and is over-the-top energetic about his passion for teaching Spanish. An avid soccer fan and former youth soccer coach, Luis can still be found on the fields in Madison, where he belongs to a regular pick-up soccer group.
“Learning becomes natural though play. Games, music, movements, dancing and choreography make the children develop social and emotional, musical, and increased motor skills while learning about something new. How great it is to have fun and learn the basics of a language more without even knowing it!”
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Kitchen Science
Chef Michelle Hinze was born and raised on a small farm in Southwest Wisconsin where she developed a love of gardening and raising animals. However, the small rural life couldn’t provide the answers to what else was in the world
After graduating from UW Platteville with degrees in Geography and Social Sciences, she moved to Lexington, Kentucky, Los Angeles, California, Paris, France, Ann Arbor, Michigan and Vancouver, Washington before moving to Madison.
She’s worked in a variety of occupations from travel agent to fitness instructor to chef following completion of her culinary arts degree from Le Cordon Bleu in Hollywood, California. Michelle says that being in the kitchen satisfies her need for structure, loose creativity, OCD tendencies, controlling the quality and health of food my guests eat and, of course, eating.
UADC is lucky to enjoy Michelle’s many talents and spirit in working with the children, and sometimes families, here who are learning about healthy food choices, cooking, and the magic and science that happen in the kitchen.
Past UADC Events