Monthly Newsletters - September 2025
Articles for this month include "Getting Started in Music, Dance, & Drama Lessons - FAQ", Student Spotlight - Tatiana Pietrzak, Campus News, and more!...
Getting Started in Music, Dance, & Drama Lessons - FAQ
Dear Students and Parents,
We just finished up with the busiest summer on record here at LAAPA! We concluded 4 weeks of Summer Performing Arts camps, our students under the direction of Rebecca Posey and Nicoli Hutchison put on a stunning production of “Little Women,” over 150 new students have joined us for fall music, dance, and drama classes, our production of “Willy Wonka JR” is well underway – opening this October!
We have had a blast meeting so many new families this school year, and all of our faculty and staff had an amazing beginning of the year meeting with many inspiring presentations and continued education that ensure we are always bringing the very best to our students!
With fall being a popular time for new students to get started in music, dance, and drama classes, we are chatting with prospective students and parents daily and wanted to share a few common Q&A’s.
“My child is interested in getting started in lessons this fall, and I am interested in taking lessons, too! What ages do you teach?”
We teach kids, teens, and adults! Whether you’re a brand new beginner or already experienced, our faculty are excited to get you started!
“When do lessons start for fall? Am I too late?”
At LAAPA, we operate year round and students sign up for lessons every day with us. While it’s never too late to get started, we do have a limited number of available time slots with our amazing faculty this time of year. If you’re thinking of getting started, please give us a call/text to find a spot that may work for you before the most popular lesson times are gone!
“I want my child to take music lessons, dance classes, or drama classes, but I’m not sure which program they may be interested in or if they will be interested in performing arts at all!”
“Just try it; you’ll like it.” As a youngster, these were my father’s words of wisdom at Cullen family dinners. Many times, I was indeed very surprised – “This man is a genius,” I often thought to myself. Other times, I thought, “I knew I shouldn’t have listened to him.”
(One of my brothers secretly opted out of all of his advice though, and a huge pile of moldy cauliflower eventually became dislodged from underneath the table near his place one evening… but I digress.)
The important thing to note here is that children need to experience a variety of things in life in order to discover what they like. Asking children ages 5, 6, 7, 8, etc. to make these kinds of decisions on their own is unfair, in my opinion, and the world would surely be at a loss for many talented amateur and professional musicians, dancers, and artists, had parents not insisted on private piano lessons or ballet classes for them during their formative years.
“I want my child to take lessons for fun, but I don’t want to have to make them practice.”
Sharing the joy of learning to play, dance, sing, and act is our specialty. Here at the Academy, we have the most inspiring instructors you will ever meet. The time students spend with their teachers each week will only take them so far, and in order to make progress, practicing outside of classes is paramount.
One of the biggest myths in performing arts education is that all students should be naturally inclined to just go to their instrument or practice space and get down to business every day, exactly as their teacher has asked of them, without any parental support, encouragement, or guidance.
If this happens in your house, that is amazing and congrats! The majority of students thrive on incentives, encouragement, and reminders.
If you read my article in last month’s newsletter (it’s ok if you chose to skip it, I know I can ramble), you’ll recall that I was certainly not a natural practicer myself. Funny how things turn out! My incentive during my lessons was that my former teacher, Associate Director Emeritus, Russell Tucker, would show me some magic tricks during lessons if I was doing well! Some of our long time families here may remember his now infamous “magic pencil trick.” Today, students can also earn tickets each week for a job well done in their lessons! Tickets can be redeemed for fun prizes from our treasure chest!
In short, every student’s success will be dependent upon parental support and involvement.
Finally, I always like to mention that music, dance and drama classes are more than just the instruction - they build the character and feed the soul of students. Whether or not they choose to continue in the arts down the road, the skills they have developed will always be a part of who they are.
~ Ryan Cullen, Academy Director
Our new Covington campus is opening soon!
SEPTEMBER 29 will be here before we know it!
We will be offering dance and drama classes at our new Covington campus in addition to our current music offerings! You can see our dance schedule here and our drama schedule here.
Special offer for current Covington music students: add a new dance or drama program, and get your first month of new lessons FREE!
Student News - Got something to share? Send it to us!
We love getting your news, success stories, and comments. If you'd like to share your news with us, please e-mail at studentnews@laapa.com. Please note that we publish our newsletters monthly, and if you don't see your submission in this edition, it will be published as soon as space is available! Connect with us on Facebook at facebook.com/laapaface, youtube.com/laapatube, and on Twitter at @laapatweets.
Recording Studio
Our recording studio is located at the Mandeville campus and features a 32 track ProTools system, 4k video cameras, premium mics and equipment. Click the button below to learn more, schedule a studio tour or book your session today!
September Birthdays and Upcoming Events
Shoutouts - New Students and Faculty & Staff!
September Student Spotlight - Tatiana Pietrzak
This month’s Student Spotlight features River Ridge campus student Tatiana Pietrzak! It’s been just over three months since she joined us here at LAAPA, and Tatiana takes a variety of lessons: ballet, hip hop, and violin!
Outside of LAAPA, Tatiana enjoys the culinary arts, writing books (she’s published both a sci-fi novel as well as a musical poetry book), and various spiritual practices. Her favorite dance style is hip hop, which she first discovered through favorite artists Bella Thorne & Zendaya’s “Shake It Up.” Alvin Ailey’s American Dance Theater is Tatiana’s favorite dance company.
Tatiana really enjoys lessons with all of her instructors (Claire, Carlee, and Sydney). She appreciates how energetic they are, the way they explain everything in detail, as well as how clear it is that they love what they do. Her favorite parts of lessons are getting into the physics and details of it all, allowing them to truly build up a foundation of technique and understanding. Tatiana has gained a plethora of positive results from taking lessons, including confidence, self-esteem, energy, and coordination. She appreciates LAAPA’s care in ensuring smaller class sizes, which in turn allows for generous attention to all. Tatiana feels very comfortable in her lessons and being a part of the LAAPA family; in her own words, she feels as if she’s part of a troupe! Outside of dance, which she uses to exercise her mind and memory and keep her coordination in check, Tatiana is starting a culinary business as a personal chef! She’s currently the executive chef of A Symphony of Taste. We wish you the absolute best of luck in your next venture, Tatiana, and look forward to being a part of your growth in the performing arts!
Artwork by Michaela Howell
We are very fortunate to work with local artist Michaela Howell. Many of her paintings and art are on display at all three of our school campuses!
Michaela recently brought in new artwork that can be viewed at both of our Northshore campuses. The beautiful piece above is available for purchase at our Mandeville location for $850. Interested in purchasing art from Michaela? Inquire at the front desk!
With down home country humble beginnings Michaela has always been very resourceful. She cuts, sands, primes, paints, and in some cases stains her abstract versions of the wooden instruments, creating very hands-on works of art. This resourcefulness has “Played” out very nicely in her most current work. Though the recycling of varying musical instrument components including guitar strings, violin knobs, music sheets featuring the instrument showcased, Michaela portrays a ‘current’ sense of style combined with a very vivid color pallet, creating a symphony for the senses!