If you’re looking for classes in NYC that can help you take the stress out of living in this hectic city, you’re suffering from an embarrassment of riches. NYC is filled to overflowing with awesome classes that give instruction in everything from basket weaving to pole dancing. Listed below are just a few.
Mangia!
You’re dating an Italian who has a picky, picky mama. Or maybe you are so very, very tired of ordering from Seamless what you know you could make in your own kitchen. Or maybe you’d like to bring something to your next potluck that you didn’t pick up from the rotisserie counter at your local grocer. There’s a simple solution for this: Take a pasta-making class. And by pasta-making, we don’t mean “making a pasta meal.” We mean making the actual dough. Taste Buds Kitchen in Chelsea offers a two-hour course during which you’ll learn how to turn the company’s special dough recipe into delectable pasta that can then be used to make tantalizingly delicious meals like butternut squash ravioli or lemon, butter, and pepper linguine. To keep the evening appropriately silly, the class is BYOB, so bring your Barolos or your Lambrusco or your Two-Buck-Chuck (and your $75 class fee) and get to cooking. If pasta isn’t your thing, the school’s got all kinds of cooking classes, from ones that teach you how to make sushi and dumplings to courses that will teach you how to serve up the perfect steak every time.
Taste Buds Kitchen
109 West 27th Street, 10th Floor
New York, NY
212-242-2248
Find Your Inner Iaidoka
You’ve watched all of those chambara films (classic Japanese sword-fighting films), and you’ve imagined yourself flying slow motion through the air like the Bride in Kill Bill: Vol. 2. You think, “Wow, imagine how cool my life could be if I only I knew how to mimic the moves of a samurai warrior!” Imagine no more. Resobox in Long Island City is one of the best places in the city to learn the art of iaido, the art of traditional Japanese swordsmanship. With the use of wooden swords, you’ll learn how to seamlessly and safely unsheath and draw your sword, defeat your opponent, and safely re-sheath the sword. As an iaidoka (a student of iaido), you’ll learn that ultimately, the art of iaido is ruled by the practice of mindfulness, which is meant to instill peace and calm rather than excitability and over stimulation. It’s the perfect class for New Yorkers looking for alternative ways to study mindfulness. Classes are an hour and 15 minutes long and cost $25.
Resobox Studio
44-02 23rd Street, Studio 210
Long Island City, NY
718-784-3680
Channel Bob Ross … Be Bob Ross!
Painting is an excellent way to de-stress from the non-stop rigors of NYC living. If you’ve never picked up a paint brush, the very idea of painting may seem overwhelming. Bob Ross, that magical, laid-back, chill television host from the 70s, taught his television audience that learning how to paint wasn’t as difficult and overwhelming as it looked. For art-obsessed viewers, his show, The Joy of Painting, was a relaxing and informative way to spend an afternoon. Get that same feeling by signing up for the beginner’s painting class at The Art Studio NY. The class fee for one of the most popular classes in NYC is just $324 for a season-long eight sessions. You’ll learn to express your creativity, learn painting techniques, and explore color via the use of acrylic paints.
The Art Studio NYC
145 West 96th Street, #1B
New York, NY
212-932-8484
Image Source: Flickr/heipei
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