Spring 2024 Catalog
Course Dates: March 14, 15, 21, 22, 28, 29; April 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, 25; May 3rd and Off-Friday offerings in March, April, and May 2024
Spring Registration: Starts February 29 and ends March 24, 2024
Course Enrollment: First-Come – First-Served. Open to all members (free with your 2023-2024 membership).
Click on any of the titles below to see expanded information. The complete catalog with all course details (such as class size limits, classroom locations, dates, etc.) is in ProClass.
No class sessions will be held on April 26th.
There is a print button on the bottom of the page. Thursday courses will be held via Zoom; all Friday courses will be held in person on campus. Off-Friday courses will be held in person at their respective locations.
Go here to access the complete catalog in ProClass. Once there, choose Spring 2024 from the Select Semester drop-down menu and hit the Search button.
Registration will go live on February 29th at 9:00 a.m. and will end on March 24th. Log in to ProClass to register for courses.
zoom courses
THURSDAY, Period 1 = no classes
THURSDAY, Period 2
11:00 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
Thursday, Second Period: 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
March 14, 21, 28; April 4, 11, 18, 25
THIS COURSE MEETS IN ZOOM
Description: This introduction to meditation will focus on four aspects of practice: seeing things as they are, learning to be there in the present moment, noticing how things change, and non-judging awareness. We will explore understanding the nature of the mind, cultivating compassion for the thinking mind, and understanding the human experience. Each class includes a talk on the week’s topic and a guided meditation. There will also be time for students’ observations/questions about the practice of focusing on mindfulness of breath and body, emotions, compassion, and bringing their practice into the world.
Class Limit: 16
Presenter: Robin Bernstein, MSW, (LLI) is a clinical social worker and a certified mindfulness meditation teacher. She worked for 26 years at the Educational Alliance, a network of community centers and treatment facilities in New York City. She started there as a social worker and spent the last 15 years as president and CEO. Following Educational Alliance, she created a consulting firm and, for the last nine years, has consulted on projects in Africa, coaching executives, and serving as interim CEO in a few organizations.
Producer: Leslie Weinstock
Thursday, Second Period: 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
March 14, 21, 28; April 4, 11, 18, 25
THIS COURSE MEETS IN ZOOM
Description: Ronald Reagan said, “If Trivial Pursuit was designed by economists, it would have 100 questions and 3,000 answers.” Another comment has been, ”Why was astrology invented? So economics would seem like an exact science.” These remarks display the common view that the results of an economic analysis depend on which economist is doing the analysis. However, when economists apply the basic principles found in every college-level textbook, they usually come up with the same conclusions. This class will review basic principles of economics and, ignoring political considerations, apply them to the economic problems of the day.
Presenter: Andrew Weintraub, PhD, has taught economics at the university level for 40 years and at LLI for 15 years after that.
Producer: Margaret Moran
zoom courses
THURSDAY, Period 3
1:00 p.m. until 2:30 p.m.
Thursday, Third Period: 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
March 14, 21, 28; April 4, 11, 18, 25
THIS COURSE MEETS IN ZOOM
Description: Each week participants will discuss one short story, learning techniques to enter the text, paying attention to what the story means to them, and understanding its craft. Together, with these learned techniques and a safe space to practice them, participants will discover how to reach deep into great works of literature. Possible authors include Zora Neale Hurston, Ernest Hemingway, Anton Chekhov, Grace Paley, and James Baldwin. Required: reading one story each week before class. A link for the reading will be sent each week.
Class limit: 17
Presenters: Barbara Danish, PhD, (LLI) was director of the Writing Center at New York University, taught at Pratt Institute, and currently works at Family of Woodstock.
Laura Brown, MFA, (LLI) has worked in publishing for more than 40 years and is a former president of Oxford University Press.
Producer: Barbara Danish
Thursday, Third Period: 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
March 14, 21, 28; April 4, 11, 18, 25
THIS COURSE MEETS IN ZOOM
Description: The New York School of Poets of the 1950s and 60s was newly experimental and attentive first to the art of Abstract Expressionism and later to Pop Art. Their poems, filled with everyday moments and spontaneity, are witty, sophisticated, conversational, and fun to read. We will look at poems by John Ashbery, Barbara Guest, Frank O’Hara, Kenneth Koch, Ron Padgett, Joe Brainard, Alice Notley, Ted Berrigan, Anne Waldman, and hopefully David Shapiro and Eileen Myles, as time permits. Additional information on the New York School of Poetry may be found here. Poems can be found online and downloaded at no cost.
Class limit: 12
Presenter: Lee Gould, MA, MFA, is a poet, retired English teacher, and translator. She is the editor of La Presa, a bilingual, biannual journal published by Embajadoras Press, Ontario, Canada. Her poems, essays, and translations have appeared in journals and anthologies in the United States, Mexico, Canada, and England. Her chapbook Weeds appeared in 2010. She taught writing at Goucher College, poetry and writing at Bard LLI, and has curated poetry readings in Columbia County, New York. She lives in Guanajuato, Mexico.
Producer: Margaret Shuhala
Thursday, Third Period: 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
March 14, 21, 28; April 4, 11, 18, 25
THIS COURSE MEETS IN ZOOM
Description: The course will cover mostly European and American women artists. Biographical information, when available, and images of works will be shown via PowerPoint. A good knowledge of art history is not necessary but is useful. The major periods of art history, from Gothic to Modern, will be covered in a chronological and thematic presentation. Feminist art historian Linda Nochlin’s influential and seminal essay “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” is available online and is highly recommended. A link will be sent before the first class.
Presenter: José Moreno-LaCalle, MA, taught advanced placement (AP) art history for seven years at the Lenox School, a private school in Manhattan. On several occasions, he took his art history students on trips to Europe. He also taught history courses covering Europe, Asia, Africa, and pre-Columbian America. He later worked for Sotheby’s auction house for 16 years.
Producer: Dorothy Baran
on-campus courses
FRIDAY, Period 1
8:30 a.m. until 9:50 a.m.
Friday: 8:30 a.m. – 9:50 a.m.
March 15, 22, 29; April 5, 12, 19; May 3
Description: This course tracks the United States as it grows in industrial and military strength, supplanting Great Britain as that nation sees its preeminence as the leading colonial powers fade. We examine the cultural, economic, and political shifts during these times.
Perhaps this is a good moment in our country’s history to examine not America’s current troubles so much as to explore some groundwork about how we got here.
Class Limit: 40
Presenter: Tom Walker, MS, is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and served in three Navy squadrons as a pilot and legal officer. He has taught at Bard LLI, Vassar LLI, and Dutchess County Community College. He recently retired as a senior counselor in the New York State Division of Veterans’ Services.
Producer: Emily Michael
Friday: 8:30 a.m. – 9:50 a.m.
March 15, 22, 29; April 5, 12, 19; May 3
Description: Despite and because of decades of being the victims of European colonialism, racism, war, and social and economic exploitation, filmmakers and poets of the non-Western world produced a magnificent body of work. Films may include Black Girl (Senegal 1966), Turtles Can Fly (Kurdish 2004), Incendies (Lebanon 2010), The Hour of the Furnaces (Argentina 1968), and Sugar Cane Alley (Martinique 1983). Poets may include Dunya Mikhail, Mahmoud Darwish, Samih al-Qasim, Tawfiq Ziad, and Léopold Sédar Senghor. Changes may be made due to the availability of the material. Films can be streamed at home at a nominal cost. A course syllabus is here.
Class Limit: 25
Presenter: Peter Scheckner, PhD, (LLI) retired professor of literature, Ramapo College of NJ, did his undergraduate work at Bard College. His publications include American War Cinema and Media Since Vietnam: Politics, Ideology, and Class (2013), co-author Patricia Keeton; The Way We Work: Contemporary Writings from the American Workplace (2008) co-editor, M.C. Boyes; An Anthology of Chartist Poetry: Poetry of the British Working Class, 1830s-1850s (1989); and Class, Politics, and the Individual: A Study of the Major Works of D. H. Lawrence (1985).
Producer: Fern Fleckman
on-campus courses
FRIDAY, Period 2
10:10 a.m. until 11:30 a.m.
Friday: 10:10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
March 15, 22, 29; April 5, 12, 19; May 3
Description: What are we to make of a movement that claims both Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump as its champions? Unpacking that contradiction will be the objective of this survey of populism. Historically, populism tends to adopt a Manichaean, or binary, worldview in which a corrupt and immoral elite deprive the morally pure people of opportunity and a political voice. Among those movements we will consider are the Know Nothings of the mid-19th century, the People‘s Party, the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s, Huey Long and 1930s protests, McCarthyism, and, post- 2008, the Tea Party, Occupy Wall Street, and Trumpism.
Class Limit: 40
Presenter: Mark Lytle, PhD, is the Lyford Paterson Edwards and Mary Gray Edwards Professor Emeritus of Historical Studies at Bard. In addition to his biography of Rachel Carson and America’s Uncivil Wars, a history of the 60s era, he is the author of the recently published The All-Consuming Nation: Pursuing the American Dream Since World War II (Oxford).
Producer: Margaret Moran
Friday: 10:10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
March 15, 22, 29; April 5, 12, 19; May 3
Description: Debussy’s two books of Préludes, despite the short length of the individual works, are nonetheless monuments of piano literature. They afford deep insights into the composer’s dreamy world, drawing their inspiration from classical antiquity, nature, poetry, popular culture, and foreign lands. No works better demonstrate Debussy’s innovative mastery of the piano. This course will focus on Book I (1910), treating (with live performances) two of the 12 preludes in each of the six classes. The final class will feature music for four-hand piano by Debussy, with Frank Corliss, director of the Bard Conservatory, joining in.
Class Limit: 40
Presenter: Raymond Erickson, PhD, has given seven previous Bard LLI courses, all but one dealing with Bach. He is professor emeritus of music, Queens College and the Graduate Center, CUNY, and has also taught at Rutgers and The Juilliard School. He earned his PhD in the history of music at Yale and is a widely traveled keyboard performer. He is on the Bard College Conservatory of Music faculty: chamber music, harpsichord, and piano.
Producer: Cathy Reinis
Friday: 10:10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
March 15, 22, 29 and April 5 (4 sessions)
Description: There is considerable variation across the United States, as well as between the US and other countries, on major indicators of health. Although this course focuses on infant and maternal morbidity and mortality, its contours can be applied to other health problems. We will examine factors that explain poor outcomes, including the social determinants of health and shortcomings in such programs as Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Women Infants and Children (WIC). We will investigate current best practices in reducing poverty, fostering social inclusion, and improving the delivery of health care, both in the United States and abroad.
Class Limit: 30
Presenter: Mary Ruggie (LLI) received her PhD in sociology at the University of California, Berkeley. She was a faculty member at Barnard College; University of California, San Diego; Columbia University (where she chaired the sociology department); and Harvard University. She is the author of The State and Working Women: A Comparative Study of Britain and Sweden; Realignments in the Welfare State: Health Policy in the United States, Britain, and Canada; Marginal to Mainstream: Alternative Medicine in America; and several articles on related topics.
Producer: Mary McClellan
Friday: 10:10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
March 15, 22; April 12, 19; May 3 (5 sessions)
Description: This Opera as Politics series will explore how opera has reacted to racial issues and tensions in the United States from the early 20th century to today. The class will examine how opera participated in and influenced our racial narrative, and will include historical context as well as video presentations.
Class Limit: 40
Presenter: Chuck Mishaan, MA, (LLI) has been presenting courses at Bard LLI for many years, including his popular Opera as Politics series, the Leonard Bernstein Centenary Lectures, and recently The Roaring 20s. His commentary on the intersection of politics and the arts continues with this course.
Producer: Chuck Mishaan
Friday: 10:10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
March 15, 22, 29; April 5, 12, 19; May 3
Description: This course will provide an intensive survey of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex and Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, Part One, Millennium Approaches. The goal will be to examine how plays examine government responses to crises. The crises here are a plague in Oedipus’ Thebes and AIDS in Ronald Reagan’s America.
Class Limit: 40
Presenter: Lou Trapani is the artistic and managing director of The CENTER for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck. This is his 15th year teaching at Bard LLI. He also teaches in the LLI programs at SUNY New Paltz and Vassar College.
Producer: Emily Michael
on-campus courses
FRIDAY, Period 3
11:50 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.
Friday: 11:50 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
March 15, 22, 29; April 5, 12, 19; May 3
Description: Neurological diseases are among the most feared, perhaps because they affect behavior. Alterations in behavior seem devastating to us, much more so, for example, than the symptoms of, say cirrhosis of the liver. We will take a look at rabies, clearly an infectious disease, Huntington’s disease, clearly an inherited disease, and five others that are much less well understood: strokes, seizures, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and frontotemporal dementia. Supplemental readings will be available before each class. No previous background in science is required.
Class Limit: 40
Presenter: John Ferguson, ScB, PhD, (LLI) is professor emeritus, Biology Program, division of Science, Mathematics, Computing at Bard College This is his fifth time teaching at LLI.
Producer: Leslie Weinstock
Friday: 11:50 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
March 15, 22, 29; April 5, 12, 19; May 3
Description: For the layperson, this is a reprise of last spring’s look into the Supreme Court, its principles and processes. The course includes new material to provide a deeper understanding of the justices’ philosophies of originalism versus living constitutionalism; the influence of the Federalist Society and its leader, Leonard Leo; the impact of the far right on the court and the entire federal judiciary; the increasing use of the emergency shadow docket; and ethics and reform efforts. Also discussed will be significant recent cases on voting and gun rights, gerrymandering, the Internet and social media, the power of federal agencies, and the newly added historical Trump cases.
Class Limit: 25
Presenter: Jackie Olivet, JD, (LLI) practiced law in the Hudson Valley for 20 years while also serving as a City of Kingston assistant city attorney, as an Ulster County assistant district attorney, and as a law guardian for children. She then became a full time secondary ed social studies teacher for 20 years teaching history, government, economics, and criminal justice in addition to being an adjunct instructor with Dutchess Community College teaching law courses.
Producer: Kathryn Clark
Friday: 11:50 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
March 15, 22, 29; April 5, 12, 19; May 3
Description: There is nowhere left to hide. Every week it’s another breach: PayPal, Equifax, DMV, IRS, American Airlines, Facebook, and Dropbox. Even the so-called cures like password managers and LifeLock have been hacked. Before you give up, there is a solution: a process of behavior protocols you’ll put into place so you are no longer a target. It’s all about understanding criminal and victim behavior, shrinking your personal attack surface, and transforming your personal data for sale on the dark web into misinformation. In this hands-on class, participants will go through that process. For more information, go to cybercrimedispatchunit.com.
Class Limit: 15
Presenter: Rivka Tadjer is a cybercrime and cybersecurity expert with more than 20 years of experience in cyber investigation, profiling, cryptocurrency fraud, Artificial Intelligence, criminal behavior, cybercrime incident response, prevention, and mitigation consulting. She specializes in fraud, theft, and impersonation of seniors, high net-worth individuals and executives. To learn more about Rivka go to her website cyberteamsix.net.
Producer: Eleanor Wieder
Friday: 11:50 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
March 15, 22, 29; April 5, 12, 19; May 3
Description: This class will explore the concept of the timeless goddess across world cultures, examining her powerful role in human history, art, music, and literature, dating from the Paleolithic era to the current marginalization of the divine feminine in the West. Students will learn about the once-revered crone goddess, who is making a comeback. Patriarchal culture presents a limited perspective on spirituality and religion that influences everyone in profound ways. Whatever one’s belief system or gender, this class will encourage students to envision an awakened world where elder women (and all women) are honored and respected change-makers.
Class Limit: 25
Presenter: P. M. Vincenza Dante, MS, MSW, is a mental health consultant and educator with a lifelong interest in cross-cultural spiritual traditions. She is a presenter for Vassar College’s LLI on the timeless goddess throughout human history. She posits that gender roles and treatment of women are determined by a community’s traditional celebration or suppression of the divine feminine.
Producer: Fern Fleckman
Friday: 11:50 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
March 15, 22, 29; April 5, 12; May 3 (6 sessions, no 4/19)
Description: Long-lasting weight control is something that many would like to achieve without constantly being on a diet. In this interactive course, Roberta Schiff will guide participants through the highlights of How Not to Diet: The Groundbreaking Science of Healthy, Permanent Weight Loss by Michael Greger, MD, FACLM, renowned plant-based physician and nutritionist. His companion book, The How Not to Diet Cookbook, will also be explored. Participants will be able to develop a plan that works for their way of living. Purchase of books is optional.
Roberta will offer appetizing food samples during each class.
Class Limit: 25
Presenter: Roberta Schiff, retired teacher of health education, life sciences, and social studies, also has a master’s degree in Community Health Education from the University of Kansas. For the past two decades, she has served as the coordinator of the not-for-profit Hudson Valley Vegans, an organization that combines social events and social action. She has presented lectures and cooking demonstrations at conferences and other venues throughout the country. Roberta also performs stand-up comedy.
Producer: Emily Michael
Friday: 11:50 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
March 15, 22, 29; April 5, 12, 19 (6 sessions)
Description: In this course students will be presented with the basic ideas and teachings of Thorstein Veblen (described by some as America’s most creative and critical social thinker). In the following weeks, we will apply his ideas related to evolutionary economics to the problems we face today (e.g. climate change, finance capitalism, for-profit health care, endless wars). We will discuss how he might have examined and understood those problems in the context of his ideas to possibly glean insights and answers to those problems.
Class Limit: 25
Presenter: David Bly grew up in Northfield, MN, 12 miles from Nerstrand, where Veblen lived, and attended St. Olaf College. He taught language arts in K-12 schools and psychiatric hospitals, worked as a farm laborer, actor, hotel clerk, mental health worker, and spent 10 years in the Minnesota House of Representatives, serving on education, energy, housing, and agricultural committees. He is the author of We All Do Better—Economic Priorities for a Land of Opportunity (2016) and The Middle Class Amendment (organizing pamphlet 2012).
Producer: Fern Fleckman
Friday: 11:50 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
March 15, 22, 29; April 5, 12, 19; May 3
Description: The smartphone is probably the most significant camera invention in photographic history. Every year, about three trillion digital photos are taken around the world. The methods and photographs you can take with smartphones, however, are the same as a camera built in 1880—or your own. We will look at the basic factors in good photography and how you can apply them to your creative efforts, smartphone, or any other camera. During class, you’ll have the chance to share your photos and learn from those shared by others.
Class Limit: 15
Presenter: Gary Miller (LLI) is a veteran photojournalist, writer, filmmaker, and live television director with more than 40 years of experience working for clients such as Time, Newsweek, Children’s Television Workshop, Fortune 500 companies, museums, and galleries. He has taught freelance photography at The New School for Social Research and is the author of a book on the subject.
Producer: Gary Miller
Friday: 11:50 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
March 15, 22, 29; April 5, 12, 19; May 3
Description: The course will feature live performances of chamber music, classical repertoire, and some original compositions by students of the Bard Conservatory of Music. The course will be presented by Bard professor and Grammy Award-winning composer Joan Tower, who will introduce the musicians and moderate a Q&A period following the performances.
Class Limit: 50
Presenter: Joan Tower (LLI) has received several recent awards including Musical America Worldwide’s 2020 Composer of the Year; induction into the Classical Music Hall of Fame (2019); and the Golden Baton 2019, the highest honor conferred by the League of American Orchestras. The complete collection of Joan Tower compositions has been archived by the Library of Congress.
Producer: Dorothy Baran
on-campus courses
Friday - Period 4
1:40 p.m. until 2:50 p.m.
Fridays, Fourth Period: 1:40 p.m. – 2:50 p.m.
March 15, 22, 29; April 5, 12, 19; May 3
Description: The framers of the late 18th century were a diverse group of well-educated individuals with conservative values. They were also committed to creating a new type of government based on liberal ideas of the Enlightenment. On one hand, they compromised on slavery, banished natives, overlooked rights for women, and strictly limited the vote. Yet they created a flexible constitution that allowed for new rights to the people and new power to the government, as changing times required. This course will examine the historical background that informed decisions made and language used in the US Constitution, the amendments, and related documents.
Class Limit: 40
Presenter: Robert Beaury, MS, (LLI) is a retired high school social studies teacher and college adjunct. He earned a BA in history and political science from Hunter College, an MS in education from Sage Graduate School, a Certificate of Advanced Studies in education administration from SUNY New Paltz, and a Certificate in Tax Law from NYU. He also devoted a few years toward a PhD in history at the Graduate Center, CUNY.
Producer: Emily Michael
Fridays, Fourth Period: 1:40 p.m. – 2:50 p.m.
March 15, 22, 29; April 12, 19; May 3 (6 sessions, no 4/5)
Description: During this course we’ll be exploring the work of an additional seven United States Poets Laureate, reading and discussing a few poems by each. However, you do not need to have completed Poets Laureate I. You might even find a new poet in the mix to explore further after the course. To see a complete reading list along with full texts of all poems included in the course, click here.
Class Limit: 15
Presenter: William Joel, PhD, (LLI). All things are connected. That’s the premise of what William J. Joel does. Each of Joel’s interests informs the others. He has been teaching computer science since 1983 and has been a writer even longer. His works have appeared in Chronogram, Common Ground Review, DASH Literary Journal, and North Dakota Quarterly.
Producer: Gary Lachmund
Fridays, Fourth Period: 1:40 p.m. – 2:50 p.m.
March 15, 22, 29; April 5, 12, 19 (6 sessions)
Participants will be required to wear a mask.
Description: A holistic overview of the Bauhaus movement in Germany from 1919 to 1933 and its enormous influence on art, architecture, painting, music, and theater.
Class Limit: 40
Presenter: Carol Bassin (LLI) received her Master of Arts in the History of Design and Curatorial Studies from Parsons School of Design in partnership with Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Her undergraduate work in Elementary Education and Art was completed at SUNY New Paltz. She has taught art history classes for Bard LLI and Lifespring LLI.
Producer: Cathy Reinis
Fridays, Fourth Period: 1:40 p.m. – 2:50 p.m.
March 15, 22, 29; April 5, 12, 19 (6 sessions)
Description: The mystery/detective story was invented in America in the 1840s, developed in England (notably in the Sherlock Holmes stories), and then returned to America in the early 20th century, where it exploded. We will be reading stories from both the 19th and 20th centuries. The 20th-century stories will be drawn from the anthology The Best American Mystery Stories of the Century, edited by Tony Hillerman and Otto Penzler. It’s available from Amazon.com for under $25 but is also available elsewhere or from libraries. Stories from the 19th century can be downloaded from the Internet.
Class Limit: 25
Presenter: Steve Bassin JD (LLI) is currently writing a mystery novel in addition to teaching. He is a retired trial attorney and a retired member of the Director’s Guild of America. He has taught courses in literature and history at Bard LLI and Vassar LLI. He has also taught at The New School and The School of Visual Arts. His specialty is mystery fiction, and he has taught previous courses on Sherlock Holmes, George Eliot, Charles Dickens, Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and others.
Producer: Gary Lachmund
Fridays, Fourth Period: 1:40 p.m. – 2:50 p.m.
March 15, 22, 29; April 5, 12, 19; May 3
Participants will be required to wear a mask.
Description: Tai Chi is a blood-freshening, moving meditation and slow-motion martial art. It promotes longevity and increases cognition, strength, confidence, balance, and flexibility. The gentle, stress-lowering exercises allow the chi, or life force, to follow the blood in the body rather than stagnate. The practice of Tai Chi helps us to heal ourselves in both mind and body.
Class Limit: 20
Presenter: Annie LaBarge (LLI) is a poet and painter who has taught art at all levels in schools and colleges. She studied Tai Chi with Joe Mansfield, Margaret Cheo, and Michael Porter. Her 25 years of teaching include all three sets of Yang Style Long Form Tai Chi. Annie currently teaches for HeathAlliance Hospital Oncology Support Program, People’s Place, and Bard LLI.
Producer: Margaret Shuhala
Fridays, Fourth Period: 1:40 p.m. – 2:50 p.m.
March 15, 22, 29; April 5, 12, 19; May 3
Description: Come enrich your mind, body, and spirit! We will practice safe, accessible dance technique and alignment, including the BrainDance, for improved balance, strength, and flexibility. We will creatively explore fundamental dance concepts. We will encourage self-awareness, expression, and build community together—and we’ll have fun!
Class Limit: 22
Presenter: Judith Nelson, MFA, was a professor of dance and theater at Auburn University, Missouri State University, and Carleton College. She danced with the Jose Limón Dance Company and the David Gordon Pick-Up Company, among others, and toured the United States and Europe as a solo artist and in musical theater. An expert in BrainDance, she leads professional development workshops for dance educators through the NYC Department of Education, the 92nd Street Y, and the Mark Morris Dance Center. She holds an MFA from the University of Arizona, and a BFA from the University of Utah. Judith has lived in Rhinebeck since 2020.
Producer: Leslie Weinstock
Fridays, Fourth Period: 1:40 p.m. – 2:50 p.m.
March 15, 22, 29; April 5, 12, 19; May 3
Description: Students develop the acting skills to perform public readings of essays, short stories, monologues, and poetry. As they practice vocal exercises to enhance resonance and create a delivery that is conversational and real, students learn to captivate their audience with directness and simplicity and, in doing so, find their voices. Registration is open only to those who have not taken this class before.
Class Limit: 15
Presenter: Alan Lipper (LLI) has performed extensively with The CENTER for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck, Performing Arts of Woodstock, and Rhinebeck Readers Theatre. He has studied acting with Olympia Dukakis, oral interpretation with Robert Silber, and voice in many modalities.
Producer: L Walker
on-campus courses
Friday - Period 5
3:10 p.m. until 4:30 p.m.
Friday, Fifth Period: 3:10 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
March 15, 22, 29; April 5, 12, 19; May 3
Description: The class will consist of tasting six wines each week: three weeks of reds, three of whites, and a week of sparkling. The reds may include Zinfandels and Bordeaux-style wines, then wines from Spain, Argentina, Australia, or the Rhine. The whites will include Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and wines from Alsace and Spain. The finale is a week of six different sparkling wines. The instructor welcomes suggestions for topics and wines during the class. At the end of each class, the wines are rated for that class. There is a $30 fee per student to cover the cost of the wines and snacks.
Class limit: 22
Presenter: Paul McLaughlin, PhD, (LLI) began tasting wines in 1972 when he was stationed in Germany with the US Army. He continues to enjoy a great variety of wines from all over the world. His PhD in organic chemistry has helped him understand the natural and artificial processes that affect the quality of wine.
Producer: Marge Moran
Friday, Fifth Period: 3:10 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
March 15, 22, 29; April 5, 12, 19; May 3
Description: In this class, students will explore gentle movement as a vital and regenerative resource in the aging process. Through guided experiments in movement, micro-movement, breathing, and awareness, we will release habits of tension and uncover patterns of ease and support. Benefits might include enhanced presence, coordination, body awareness, freedom of movement and breath, clarity of thought, and kinesthetic sensitivity. Please wear comfortable clothing that does not restrict you. No prior experience necessary.
Class limit: 20
Presenter: Kelly Garone is a performing artist and a somatic movement therapist and educator. Her approach to movement is informed by her training as a professional dancer, her studies of the Alexander Technique and Body-Mind Centering, and her experience performing. She has had a parallel career as an assistant and advocate for elder artists, offering bureaucratic support and somatic education to her clients as they encounter the challenges that often accompany the later phases of life.
Producer: Leslie Weinstock
Off-Friday, In Person
Various Dates & Times
Tuesday, March 19, 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
March 19 (one session)
Description: As part of its cultural diplomacy programs, the US Government has used jazz—the quintessential American art form—as a way to connect with audiences around the world. The musical form of jazz is consistent with the highest ideals of American democracy and inclusion. But the reality of life in America is more complex and contested, and when performers such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Dizzy Gillespie traveled on State Department tours, they found ways to present a much more nuanced view. And as they traveled, they heard new music and experienced new cultures, which led to new musical expressions back in the United States.
Class limit: 50
Presenter: James Ketterer, MA, is a senior fellow at the Center for Civic Engagement at Bard, where he previously served as dean of international studies and director of the Bard Globalization and International Affairs program. He recently completed a term in Egypt as a dean at the American University in Cairo; from 2011–2013 he was Egypt country director for the non-profit AMIDEAST. He has also served in state and federal government, including the Near East-South Asia office of the National Security Council.
Producer: Mary McClellan
Mondays: 10:30 a.m. Off Campus
April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29; no rain dates
Description: Presenters will lead five hikes on various footpaths, including the beautiful rail trails in the scenic Hudson Valley. Sites will be on both sides of the river. Participants should be able to walk on uneven, rocky, variable terrain. Sturdy footwear is encouraged.
Class limit: 16
Presenters: Robin Berger (LLI) and Vicki Hoener (LLI) taught for many years at Chancellor Livingston Elementary School in Rhinebeck. Now that they are retired, they are spending their time hiking across the Hudson Valley.
Producer: Marge Moran
Wednesdays: 9:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
April 3, 10, 17 (rain date April 24)
Description: Join Laura Conner, environmental educator at Minnewaska State Park, for three naturalist-led outings. Each moderately paced walk will take place on level, gravel-surfaced carriage roads and will feature education served with a side of scenic views, cultural history, and signs of wildlife. Unless otherwise noted, all walks will begin at the Lake Minnewaska Visitor Center at 5283 Rt 44/55, Kerhonkson. State residents 62 years of age or older pay no parking fee during the week. Participants must be able to walk the distance of each outing in the allotted time frame (9:30 a.m. -12:15 p.m.)
Class limit: 25
Presenter: Laura Conner began her career with New York State Parks in 2000 as a seasonal environmental educator at Grafton Lakes. Next, she was the assistant park manager at Moreau Lake, while still offering environmental education. In 2007, she became the environmental educator at Minnewaska. Laura originally pursued fine art with a BFA in photography from the School of Visual Arts, but changed careers in 1995, when she received an MS in environmental studies from Antioch New England Graduate School.
Producer: Eleanor Wieder
Wednesdays: 1:00 p.m.
March 20, 27; April 3, 10, 17, 24; May 1
Description: This class takes students inside the homes, studios, and galleries of contemporary Hudson Valley artists. Presenters are the artists or gallery owners who will speak about their inspirations, processes, and careers. Students will experience multiple visual art forms, including abstract paintings, installation art, natural realism, ceramics, and large-scale sculptures. Tours are indoors; two tours feature outdoor sculptures. Standing required.
Week 1, March 20, 1:00 pm: Studio/home of Vera Kaplan, Rhinebeck. Kaplan’s work is influenced by her extensive travels and the exotic rhythms of world music.
Presenter: Vera Kaplan is an abstract painter, whose work is in private collections both in the United States and abroad. She also was an art librarian at the Frick Art Reference Library.
Week 2, March 27, 1:00 pm: Studio of Richard Marr, Red Hook. Drawings and paintings inspired by water. His focus is the Hudson River, its geology and history.
Presenter: Richard Marr’s art is based on his experience sailing in New York’s waterways. His focus is on the movement of the water, crashing waves, and its impact on the viewer.
Week 3, April 3, 1:00 pm. Studio of Judy Pfaff, Tivoli. Large-scale installation art that spans disciplines and eschews definition.
Presenter: Judy Pfaff. A pioneer of installation art and contributor to the Pattern and Decoration Movement, Judy exhibited in the 1998 Sao Paulo Biennial and has received many awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award (International Sculpture Center), MacArthur Foundation Award, and Guggenheim Fellowship.
Week 4, April 10, 1:00 pm. Studio of Donald Elder, Saugerties. Elder’s abstract impressionist paintings are influenced by, and have an emotional rapport with, nature. His works are infused with mystical light.
Presenter: Donald Elder began his education in New York. He later lived and studied art in France and Italy. His focus is on Abstract Impressionism, reflecting fantasy, mystical light, romanticism, and nature. He teaches at the Woodstock School of Art.
Week 5, April 17, 1:00 pm: Jane St. Art Center, Saugerties. A former warehouse, now a performance space and gallery, the center focuses on new works by artists creating interdisciplinary work, including sculpture, installation, and performance art.
Presenter: Jennifer Hicks is a visual artist, dancer, and instructor. She has exhibited and performed across the United States and abroad. Her renovation of a former warehouse reinterprets a rough and raw space into an amazing art and performance center.
Week 6, April 24, 1:00 pm (rain date April 25): The Spiral House, Saugerties. Sacred geometry revealed in stone. Artist Tom Gottsleben (1950 –2019) designed and built a five-story, stone, spiral house. Surrounded by his outdoor stone and crystal sculptures, one experiences the beauty and harmony inherent in nature’s patterns.
Presenters: Patty Livingston with her late husband, Tom, created the Spiral House and surrounding landscape. A philanthropist, her focus is on the environment, protecting the land in perpetuity, public access, and environmental education.
Ronnie Shushan is a writer, editor, and graphic designer of books and magazines. She co-authored the book The Spiral House (2019) with Patty and Tom.
Week 7, May 1, 1:00 pm: Elena Zang Gallery, Woodstock. This fine-art gallery set on an idyllic property in Woodstock includes a sculpture garden and a working ceramics studio. It exhibits contemporary fine art by internationally known and regional artists living in the Mid-Hudson Valley.
Presenter: Alan Hoffman owns the Elena Zang Gallery, which represents a variety of prominent regional artists. An artist, currently working in ceramics, he has a studio with a walk-in kiln on the premises.
Class limit: 15
Presenters: see above
Producers: Suzanne Holzberg, Janet Pincus, Joyce Kanner, Dorothy Baran
Credits
Curriculum Committee
Mary McClellan, Chair
Kathryn Clark, Secretary
Dorothy Baran
Anne Brueckner
Susan Christoffersen
Barbara Danish
Fern Fleckman
Ellen Foreman
Carmela Gersbeck
Susan Hinkle
Suzanne Holzberg
Gary Lachmund
Emily Michael
Gary Miller
Chuck Mishaan
Margaret Moran
Janet Pincus
Cathy Reinis
Margaret Shuhala
L Walker
Leslie Weinstock
Eleanor Wieder
Catalog Team
Deborah Lanser, Chair
Anne Brueckner
Susan Christoffersen
Margaret Shuhala
Tim Sullivan
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