If you or your child would love to learn to play a musical instrument or learn to dance, then the House Of Arts in Al Ain may be just what you’re looking for.
Run by director, Gabriele (“Gaby”) Malzahn (pictured right), it offers classes in piano, violin, guitar, voice, cello and theory.
To register, you are asked to fill in the Registration form and pay a non-refundable registration fee of Dhs 120 per family.
Before registering for individual or group music lessons, Gaby and her team ask that you call them to set up an appointment for an initial interview. They will conduct a short informal assessment and then discuss various issues related to enrolment in House of Arts classes, and will check the timetable for available slots.
No formal interviews are needed for other lessons.
Here’s a video tour of this wonderful place which I filmed recently…
[jwplayer mediaid=”2514″]
To give you a guide to pricing, 15 lessons during term time, at 30 minutes per weekly individual lesson, cost 1,200AED, which works out at 80AED (£14) a lesson.
Various dance lessons are available at the House of Arts. They are conducted in cooperation with the Dubai Ballet Centre.
Available classes are:
- Baby Ballet (age 2 1/2-3 1/2)
- Prep Class (age 3-4)
- Pre Primary Ballet (age 5+)
- Primary Ballet (age 6/7)
- Grade 1 Ballet (age 7+)
- Grade 2 Ballet (age 9+)
- Grade 3 Ballet (age 10+)
- Grade 5 Ballet (age 12+)
- Grade 7 Ballet (age 14+)
plus…
- Junior Tap (age 6-8)
- Junior Modern (age 7-10)
- Beginner Tap seniors (age 12+)
- Advanced Tap seniors (age 12+)
- Modern/Jazz dance (age 12+)
and…
- Hip Hop junior (age 6+)
- Hip Hop senior (age 10+)
New…
- Jewelery classes (adults)
- Drum lessons (6+)
- Fabric painting
- Vinyasa Yoga with Deborah (6-7pm, 5 classes for 180AED)
…and they also have Kindermusik for young children, and Music For Little Mozarts (group piano lessons for young children with a maximum of 8 in a group).
Gaby has done an amazing job setting this place up and developing it into a hive of activity: when I chatted with her, I discovered a woman who came across as committed, passionate and full of ideas – a real asset to the town: “the cultural centre of Al Ain” as my friend Jake says. The walls are covered in hundreds of picture frames showing children playing instruments or dancing. The studio for dance and yoga is excellent with floor to ceiling mirror.
Here’s the outside…
As you go through the front door…
The coffee shop is on the left…
And here’s the coffee shop from the other end of the room…
The reception area with masses of photos of students on the walls going up the stairs…
Jhenny at her desk at reception…
And Anne-Marie too…
Practice rooms…
The dance/yoga studio…
Gaby in her office…
The Kindermusik room…
Opening hours are Sunday to Wednesday: 10am to 8:30pm; Saturday and Thursday: 10am to 6:30pm.
You can ring the House of Arts on 03 762 6651, or get on their mailing list by emailing info@house-of-arts.net. You can visit their website here for more info on timings and prices, where you’ll find a map to help you get there. (They’re opposite the Al Ain Hospital.)
If you’re still not clear where it is from the map there, then here are my directions for you…
Imagine driving past the enormous Lulu Hypermarket, which is on your right. Carry on until you come to a roundabout. You turn right to Dubai, yes? Instead, go across. As you approach the next roundabout, get in the middle lane, so you don’t get filtered right, and go across this roundabout. Take the next road on your right. Turn first right. At the end, turn left. Carry on until you have to go left again – and turn left again. House Of Arts is a few doors down from the dead end, on your left. Have fun!