Just Dance

Like Lady Gaga tells us!

Today’s Big Picture Blog on Boston.com shows us images of dancing around the world.

Want to learn how to bust these moves?  Check out our Friday Night Dance Craze!  Classes start tonight – sign up for one, or take them all!

Or, check out all our great dance classes starting soon, and get your body moving!

We’re on YouTube!

Well, we have been on YouTube for quite some time.  But we’re resurrecting our account to give you more sneak peeks into what’s happening at the Cambridge Center!

Check us out!

Did you know you can also find us on other social networking sites?  Stay tuned – there may be great insights for you – if you’re our friend! 

One more chance to tell us what you think!

CCAE is conducting a survey about the catalog and the website. We’d love to know what you think! If you tell us by June 5, you’ll be eligible for one of these great incentives!

CCAE is offering the following prizes for those who complete the survey:

10% off a class for the first 50 new students (Spring or Summer 2009 registrations)

The chance at a free class for one of our returning students. (Prior to Spring 2009)

Go to this page to fill out the survey!

What are your plans for Summer?

Late May brings us warmer weather and June is right around the corner!  The Cambridge Center for Adult Education wants to know what you’re going to do this summer – are you planning shorter vacations, sticking closer to home, or do you have other fantastic plans?  If you’re tight on cash, consider a class at CCAE to jump start your creativity and keep you occupied.  Our Summer Term begins June 15, so there’s still plenty of time to register for a class!

Want to learn how to act?  This is what one student had to say about one of our acting courses recently:

“I attended an acting class yesterday at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education. It was taught by Stan, who’s probably 80 years old, and has been teaching the class for 42 years!…I learned about the four key emotions of acting; happiness, sadness, anger and fear. What was surprising is how one can fake physical actions that mimic the emotions, and start feeling these emotions…Loved the class! Also realized that I am probably not going to become a professional actor (duh!) but would certainly love to learn this art more to improve how I express myself.” -used with permission

New grad?  Want to learn to cook for yourself?  Our Friday Night Cooking Series is dedicated to all you twenty-somethings who are tired of late nights with Ramen Noodles.  Spice up your palate and try new cuisine!

Do you have an artist deep inside yourself?  Get in touch with it and take an Art class!  Draw on the subway, explore painting, make jewelry, and learn to blow glass!

The Cambridge Center for Adult Education is all about Social Networking.  And while you can fine tune your computer and internet skills, CCAE wants to be sure you get plenty of face time with instructors and fellow students.  So come on out, meet new friends, learn new things, and see that the Cambridge Center for Adult Education is a great place to thrive this summer!

Did you miss the discussion on Progressive Architecture with Nader Tehrani and Bob Cambpell?

No worries!

It’s been posted as a podcast on ThoughtCast!

Listen here:

Nader Tehrani and Bob Campell

Something for Everyone at CCAE

Even David Gergen.

“Great minds having important conversations is what Harvard Square is all about,” says Jim Smith, the Cambridge Center for Adult Education’s executive director. “With our new Wicked Smart program, CCAE and WUMB-FM are collaborating to share some of these conversations with the wider world.”

Wicked Smart with David Gergen represents the fourth and final offering in this year’s series and will take place on Wednesday, April 15 6:00 pm at First Parish Unitarian Church, 3 Church St., Harvard Square.

“We are very pleased to have David Gergen join us for Wicked Smart,” says Smith. “He has shown an ability to find non-ideological solutions to our nation’s problems. That’s the kind of pragmatic leadership we need right now.”

Mr. Gergen brings a unique perspective on current events, having worked in both Republican and Democratic administrations. A familiar face on CNN, he is a professor of public service and the director of the Center for Public Leadership at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Gergen is also an editor-at-large at U.S. News & World Report, and in 2000 he published a best-selling book, Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership, Nixon to Clinton.

Tickets are going fast!  Don’t miss your chance to see David Gergen.  Get your seats today, for only $4!

Exercise Your Brain

Did you know…?

Smart people think faster!

Researchers at UCLA have found that folks who actively exercise their brains are not only smarter, but think faster as well.  While genetics (what you’re born with) plays a big part in determining things like your IQ and aptitude, don’t lose hope!  The life-long pursuit of learning plays a significant role in flexing that grey matter muscle!

“…the good news is that we’re not necessarily stuck with the brain, or the brain speed, we inherit. He says thinking is like running or weightlifting. It helps to have certain genes. But anyone can get stronger or faster by working out.

The brain is like a muscle, Haier says: “The more you work it the more efficient it gets.”

So people who practice the violin, or do math problems, or learn a foreign language are constantly strengthening certain pathways in their brains.

And Thompson notes that our brains, unlike our bodies, peak relatively late in life”

Read more of this NPR report here.

So this Spring, break out the books, dust off that guitar, and pull your bicycle out of storage, then head on over to the Cambridge Center for Adult Education and stretch those intellectual muscles! Our Spring Term begins on Monday, March 30 – so don’t miss out on your chance to make yourself a more efficient thinking machine!

Your brain will thank you!

Will McMillan: The Kid Inside

Will McMillan, Assistant Director at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education, tells us a little about his upcoming performance:

This week I’ve been happy to see the numbers rise for my benefit performance with Doug Hammer on Saturday, March 14th at our Blacksmith House performance space (and we even received a $50 donation from a local arts critic who was unable to attend but wanted to show her/his support!)

The fact that the Cambridge Center for Adult Education has two grand pianos – one in each building – is partly how I ended up working here 13 years ago.

Several performers – including Brad Conner, Ben Sears, Leslie Holmes, Mike Palter and Lynne Jackson – had done successful performances featuring voice and piano. They encouraged CCAE’s then PR director, Tracy Gibbs, to start the Cabaret Connection performance series, and I volunteered to help out as needed.

My offer to help became a part-time job, which several years later morphed into a full-time position.

Hundreds of people have performed at CCAE over the past few decades using the trusty old Steinert grand piano in our intimate Spiegel auditorium at 56 Brattle Street.

I am delighted to be helping to raise money to pay for its recent renovation, and grateful to CCAE for being my musical home for the past 13 years.

May live music continue to shimmer at CCAE for many decades to come!

Read more about Will’s upcoming performance in the Cambridge Chronicle.

Come hear Will sing at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education on Saturday, March 14 at 8:00 pm at 56 Brattle Street in Cambridge!  Tickets are available online here, and are going quickly!  Save your seat today!

Sociable Robots

Today’s Big Picture Blog from the Boston Globe features robots and the many ways they are improving the quality of life for humans.

From Big Picture Blog:

(Twendy-One demonstrates its ability to hold delicate objects by manipulating a drinking straw between its fingers at the Department of Mechanical Engineering laboratory in Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009. The sophisticated robot has been developed by the university’s team, led by Dr. Shigeki Sugano, in hope of supporting people in aging societies. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi))

“Robotic systems continue to evolve, slowly penetrating many areas of our lives, from manufacturing, medicine and remote exploration to entertainment, security and personal assistance. Developers in Japan are currently building robots to assist the elderly, while NASA develops the next generation of space explorers, and artists are exploring new avenues of entertainment. Collected here are a handful of images of our recent robotic past, and perhaps a glimpse into the near future.“

Take a peek at the blog, then stop by the Cambridge Center for Adult Education this evening for a glimpse into the world of Sociable Robots with Mikey Siegel from the Personal Robotics Group at the MIT Media Lab.

The lecture tonight begins at 8 pm at 56 Brattle Street, our Blacksmith House facility.  Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the door.  Get there early – seats are going fast!  See you there!

Peeking into Class: Decoupage

Judy Diamond, below, works on her Obama tray in Jenn Sherr’s Decoupage class.  Judy tells us about her experience in the class:

I retired last year from being a social worker and started taking the Decoupage class last spring.  I had little experience with any kind of creative art, and I wanted to try this medium.  Jenn Sherr has been an extraordinary teacher; her skill, enthusiasm, support and encouragement has been invaluable. Many of us have taken this class several times, and the ambiance of the class includes learning and sharing with each other.  Jenn has taught us how to apply decoupage techniques to furniture, boots, shoes, trays, and boxes .  I am happy with the variety and multiple projects that I have completed, including all of the above.

My first project was a tray with a travel theme from a recent trip.  The goal for me in doing the Obama tray. as well as its timeliness, was to learn the sponge painting technique . Jenn had valuable suggestions on placement of items and provided some items as well, as she has done before.  After completing this tray, I feel I will have learned another technique which will be helpful in future projects.

Decoupage classes are full for this term, but Spring Term begins soon!

Introduction to Decoupage classes begin on Tuesday, March 31 at 5:45 pm.  Register now and save your seat!