In an effort to streamline all of our studio happenings, we decided to start this blog. Here you will find instructor bios, studio news, programming udpates, student spotlights, posts and videos of our crazy team, and more. We hope you enjoy. Let us know what you think 🙂 ** For easier navigation, use the category links under the Blog button.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video must be worth a whole novel! Take a quick 2 minutes to watch this fun little feature.
You’ll see people having fun together, creating beautiful pictures, enjoying cold drinks and good food. People spending quality time with friends and family, doing something fun together! What’s better than that?
We want to say a special thanks to Just John’s in Jarvis for generously allowing us to use their space! Please come by and enjoy their excellent food and friendly service! It makes our Sip N Paint nights that much more enjoyable!
Click here to register for our next night of amazing, creative fun together! We are looking forward to see you there!
When you are in a musical theatre group, it’s ok to be a bit dramatic… It’s actually kind of expected!
Every Tuesday night, we have an Intro To Musical Theatre group with kids 7 years old and up learning new songs and little choreographies or scenes to enhance the song.
What Does A Musical Theatre Class Look Like?
When kids first arrive, we build group spirit and cohesion through different collaborative and creative games. These games help us listen to each other and cooperate together. These qualities are essential when putting together a number as an ensemble. The games also act as ice breakers so we don’t feel so shy. It helps us getting ready to act big and confident when needed!
Then we have a few minutes of warming up for singing. We do breathing exercises with silly names like the Whale Yawn, Limp Ragdoll or Bubble Gum Man. We do some warmups: humming, lip trills, sirens, singing tongue twisters, etc. It’s fun and it prepares us to sing without hurting our voices!
Right now, we are learning a song from Sesame Street called “Sing”. It’s a very sweet song, with pretty simple lyrics. We have been working on the timing of it, which is slightly tricky!
More Than Just Singing!
Once everybody knows the song really good and we have placed the voices, we will be adding a little choreography to it. It will contribute to make the song even more dynamic and interesting to watch.
Finally, we will be working also on the meaning of the song. What does it say? What are the emotions expressed in it? This will allow us to express those emotions not only with the words, but also with our face and whole body.
Singing, dancing, acting, all at the same time! So much fun! That is musical theatre! We are looking forward to show you the fruit of our hard work…. Stay tuned!!!
We are SUPER EXCITED to be the first facility in this area, to offer Inamojoâ„¢ classes for kids!! Inamojoâ„¢ (pronounced in-a-mojo) brings kids age 5-8 on a journey of imagination and emotions.
A 9-week program nurturing creativity, imagination and self-expression through play. Inamojoâ„¢ classes offer children a space where kids can truly discover who they are, in the most magical of ways using music, stories, expressive movement, art, meditation, and more.
We are super excited to welcome our friend Lacie, from Creative Barracks in Dunnville for this cool spell-casting workshop!
Join us at Lupton Street Studios for a night of intention setting & manifestation. Whether you’re looking for love, security, abundance or strength …
Bring a goal or intention, or let the goods available guide you on your journey to manifestation in this two hour introspective workshop. Learn how to craft a custom spell recipe using herbs, crystals, objects from nature & colour theory before locking the powers of your intention into a glass jar and sealing it with wax.
Once you’re on your path to manifestation, you’ll learn to create your own tarot card to help guide you and remind you of your goals. Take the gifts you’ve made for yourself home, & use them as part of your daily routine.
All tools, materials & instruction supplied.
No experience required.
$40 per person + HST
A lot of parents start thinking about offering their children the chance to learn piano at a pretty young age. However, they are not always sure that their child is mature enough to sit through an entire lesson at the piano. Other kids could be old enough, but not knowing what they are getting into, they might feel a little overwhelmed or intimidated by a full one on one piano lesson with a teacher they don’t know.
The Deluxe Lesson is a great format for these reasons and so much more. It allows kids to ease into the world of music through a variety of learning experiences, takes into account the shorter attention span of the beginners and just makes it plain fun to come to the studio!
So How Does It Work Exactly?
During a typical Deluxe Lesson, 3 students will go around a carrousel of learning stations, each lasting 20 minutes. After the first 20 minutes, they rotate and start their second portion of the hour in a different station, and then finish the hour with the remaining station.
Each kid will start and finish with a different station, but they will all go through the three of them at some point in the hour.
Station 1 – Piano Lesson
One of these 20 minutes will be spent with one of our teacher in our practice room at the piano. This is where what we would typically call the “piano lesson” happens: scales, chording, reading music and learning to interpret it correctly on the piano. The teacher is there to accompany the student and work on every element of technique or theory needed to properly perform the pieces they are learning.
Station 2 – Floor Time (Music Theory Games)
A second teacher is at the station we commonly refer to as the “floor time”. There, the student will be presented with a bunch of little challenges and activities touching on various music theory elements, turning the learning process into a game. It’s an approach that demystifies music theory and helps students getting familiar and comfortable with all kinds of important musical terms and concepts.
Station 3 – Sight Reading On iPad
At the third station, the student is sitting at one of our electric keyboards with earphones plugged into an iPad. On the tablet are various applications that teach sight reading in video game form. While the student is at the station, they are working alone, but under the supervision of the second teacher who is nearby and can help if there is any need. But we know how kids are savvy at working with applications and video games; they get it faster than adults and they usually get the hang of this station pretty quickly… and they love it!
If these little descriptions failed to paint a clear picture for you, please click on the video at the top of this article, where you will see our kids in action in the context of a Deluxe Lesson.
Is My Child A Good Candidate For Deluxe Lessons?
Most children 6 years old and up can easily participate in a Deluxe Lesson and benefit from its variety of teaching styles. It is a great introduction for a complete beginner, but even a kid who already knows how to play could find this format a fun and dynamic way to learn more.
As for younger kids, the main point is the ability to be relatively independent at the iPad station. It’s always possible for you as a parent to stay and assist your child at this station if they need some help. If you don’t know if your child is ready for this type of class, you can always call us to chat about it or come at the studio and see how it works. In the event your child is not quite there yet, we have other great options for younger kids to learn music at their own level.
You can get some more important details and register for a Deluxe Piano Lesson by clicking HERE. We cannot encourage you enough to take advantage of this great formula! It’s fun and it works!
Fall is at our door. New season, new school year! Even for us adults who don’t go to school anymore, September still feels like renewal. Time to go back to our regular schedule, with a renewed energy and purpose. Or time to start something new. How about a mix of the two?
We at Lupton Street Studios have had to rearrange our space since the last session. For the past couple of years, let’s say that things weren’t quite, well, normal. So now, we are facing – hopefully – a normal, full year, and we felt the need to rearrange our schedule and our space to be functional for all the new programs and students that will come flooding through our doors.
Most of our teachers are back, and they are happy to reunite with their students! Some of our teachers have to move on to new things; this is unfortunate for us but we do wish them the very best! And some new teachers will be joining us and contributing to the amazing atmosphere of learning, creativity and fun with us!
(By the way, we are always looking for full time or part time partners! Think you’d like to check it out or give it a shot? Click here for more information!)
One of the very exciting new things happening this year is the fact that we have access to a brand new space at the studio! We have expanded our space with a very spacious room in the basement, where programs like musical theatre, drama and other group activities will be happening. It is so awesome to have this kind of very versatile room in the same building!
While we are so excited about this new development, we are also happy that we were able to make improvements in the areas of the studio that were already in use. The space feels refreshed, efficient and pleasant!
So this week, we are so happy to be back to the routine of a regular fall session. At the same time, we are really excited about the new things: new room, new classes and programs, new teachers and students, etc. ! It’s still time to register! Don’t hesitate to reach out to us and check out all that we have to offer you. We will be happy to welcome you and take this fun journey with you!
You can check our programs for this current session here.
See you very soon at Lupton Street Studios!
I joined Lupton Street Studios as a teacher during the first summer of the whole COVID situation.
I had just lost my job as a paint instructor with another business and I wasn’t sure where I was going after that. With the world at a stop, and my self-confidence not at its highest, I didn’t know if I was going to know how to reinvent myself.
That’s when I saw an ad about this studio looking for piano teachers.
I’ve studied classical piano for 10 years and have been playing for over 40 years. I had never taught piano but I knew I was solid enough to do it. I clicked on the ad and found out something else that really caught my attention even more: not only were they looking for piano teachers, but anybody who had other various skills: guitar, singing, drama and improv, visual arts, etc.
This just spoke to me so loud. To imagine that there was a place where I could explore so many of my various personal interests and get to share them as a teacher was so exciting!!!
During these past couple of years, even while the world was at a halt, I still got a chance to:
- Meet students of all ages and backgrounds;
- Teach piano, singing, painting, musical theater, improv and drama, etc. ;
- Create events, activities and games for our students to learn in a variety of fun ways ;
- Share ideas and work side by side with super fun people, as well as…
- Participate in a few running gags and inside jokes 😉
Now that we are easing back into normal life again, the studio is looking for more people to join! What is your talent? What is your passion?
You want to try something new? Come join our team!
We are looking to add a couple of new instructors to our team for our 22-23 teaching year. Specifically, instructors for Musical Theatre (ages 4+), Acting / Drama, Paint Classes (kids and adults), and various Curious Kids programs (Lego, Pokemon, Game Nights, etc.). If you are personable, fun, and comfortable working with all kinds of kids, please apply!
If you know music… If you are an artist… If you’ve got some experience on stage… Or if you like to organize fun activities with kids, there is a place for you!
Whether you are looking for a full time job or you have a few hours per week to give… That works too!
Follow THIS LINK to send us your application: https://luptonstreet.ca/teacher-application/
PIANO, MINI MUSICAL THEATRE
Hello! My name is Carrie and I’m excited to share my passion for music here at Lupton Street Studios!
I grew up with lots of opportunity to explore music through piano, voice and various instruments and earned my RCM Grade 8 in 2008. My love for kids led me to teaching and I taught in an elementary school until having children of my own. That being said, I’m truly an old soul and find nothing more relaxing than having a cup of tea and working on a crocheted hat or blanket out in my backyard.
I believe that time spent in any of the arts can bring out amazing qualities in any person and can’t wait to see what journeys my students will explore!
As a teenager, I was teaching myself how to chord on the piano after 10 years of lessons in classical piano. I was pretty excited to be able to play the songs that were blaring on my radio after 10 years of only playing Bach and Chopin (although I did love Bach and Chopin).
However, I was a bit envious of a category of people: guitar players.
Guitar players were able to bring their instrument around the fire camp. They could transform any boring moment into a party by pulling out their guitar and playing a couple of chords or a really rad solo. They even looked cool just standing there with their guitar hanging off their shoulder. Try that with a piano. Nope. Doesn’t work.
Anyway, the point is: the guitar is such a versatile instrument. For a number of reasons too!
You can dive deep into the classical repertoire and play very complex pieces. You can go down the pop music road and be the life of the party by playing all the songs everybody loves to belt. Or you can commit to become the next metal head genius and make that guitar scream and smoke. And let’s not forget the world of blues and jazz, where improvising is the highest form of art.
Even the style and look of your guitar of choice can be so personalized. It says so much about you! Country music sounds awesome on a Telecaster. A 12 strings gives a lot of resonance to a folk song. And nobody will be mistaken about your musical interests if you show up with one of those radical flying V guitars!
The guitar is the instrument that democratized music across societies and cultures in the last 75 years. Have you been thinking about taking the leap yourself? We at Lupton Street Studios would be very happy to take this musical journey with you!
GO HERE to view our current openings!
I remember the first time I fell in love with Musical Theatre. I had a family outing to the movies. We were seeing a film called, ‘Hairspray’. I had no idea what it was about, hairspray I assumed. I left a different person that day, as Hairspray became my favourite musical of all time. I had seen other musicals before that, but something about it made it rise to the top. Between the dancing, singing, acting, story, it all made the perfect package. Since then, I’ve been dancing and singing through my life. Dance lessons, acting school, singing lessons, leads in plays, and now the honour of teaching it. It’s all come full circle.
Last years Musical Theatre class re-ignited my love for Musical Theatre. Watching the kids grow from being too nervous to sing or dance, to having them perform on stage in front of friends and family, was a proud moment I’ve never felt before. Even myself, learning and growing along with them. Watching the kids have an ‘ah ha’ moment, be it hitting that note while singing, perfecting that dance move, even winning in fun theatre games, it has all been so rewarding, and I can’t wait for what is to come this year!
