Summer's near and we have to be geared!

Okay, summer's nearing and time again for those great summer workshops! I don't know about you girls but I believe that summers should be spent doing something productive and in my case, workshops are of course, a staple! I tell you, not only will you have a way to combat boredom on a summer day, you would also be thankful you engaged on a lot of activities when you're much, much older! (once you get surrounded by those high class, stuck up spoiled brats in college you'd be glad you can share a workshop experience with them) Sooo... to get you equipped and help you combat a boring summer day, we've listed here some of the funnest and fool-proof summer workshops you can enroll in :) Promise, we'll be very honest about them ;)

SPORTS

Swimming
It's summer and of course, swimming is part of every teen's summer to-do list! But instead of swimming for fun, why don't you try to really learn how to swim?

The Bert Lozada Swim School offers swimming lessons this summer and even all year round! The best thing about Bert Lozada is that they have this particular teaching technique that would really enable anyone to learn to swim in no time! Also, you know you're in professional hands all the time so no worries of getting drowned. :)

The best thing about knowing how to swim? Bragging rights of course! http://www.bertlozadaswimschool.com/

Karate
Everyone thinks that Karate is just for boys but you know girls like us can excel in a man's sport as well! Just watch Little Manhattan! lol!

The Karate Development Arts and Sports offer beginners and intermediate courses in Karate. The best thing about them is that they have a lot of venues around Metro Manila so distance will not be a problem for you. Also, if you get really good at it, there's a big chance you could get into the national team because this center also recruit students to become national athletes. If that doesn't convince you to try karate, how about the thought of telling all your friends that you have a black belt in Karate? Very cool, right?

http://www.kda.ph/

ARTS

Multimedia

Ever wanted to be good at Photoshop? Or creating graphics perhaps? Well, if you say yes, then going on a multimedia workshop this summer is for you!

My Masterpiece Art School offers a summer multi-arts program which includes visual arts, mac-based media, music and movement and imaginative writing. Last year, S and I tried to enroll in My masterpiece because they offered Photoshop and graphics design. What's good about this company is that they adjust their teaching mode based on the student's need. Also, they are very flexible with the schedule. Try checking out their site here for more information on their offerings and the price of the workshops. Don't worry, it's not that expensive like others. ;)

Street Dance
Ahhh... dance! If there is one thing that I recall having lots of fun doing, it would be going on a dance workshop. Not only do you get to enhance your dancing skills, you also get to exercise which of course, is a sure-fire way to avoid the inevitable "summer fat".

All Stars, the world-famous dance group is hosting a dance workshop this summer which includes classes on hiphop, breakdance and krumping. There are even special classes which includes: (1) Working Sexy Ladies Hiphop Class, for those who have work on weekdays and, (2)Hot Mommas Hiphop Dance Class, for your mom and her friends!

What's really great about this workshop is that you'd be under the tutelage of the best in the business! I mean, who wouldn't want to brag to their friends that they were taught streetdance by the All Stars themselves, ayt? ;)

click the poster for more information on it or go their site, http://bpdancestudio.multiply.com/

Music
With OPM being really famous nowadays, more and more people are starting their own bands! Well, if you don't have a beautiful voice to become the lead singer, why don't you just play an instrument instead?

Yamaha School of Music specializes in Musical Training and instrument playing. The best thing about this place is of course that is well-known! haha! I mean, doesn't it sound cool to say that you're studying drums at Yamaha? It even adds to the wowness of the workshop itself! Just a little tip: if you plan to enroll there, do so with a friend so you can split the fee. See, the course is a bit expensive at about 20thou for 48 sessions. But they allow you to cut that to 24 sessions if you can share it with a friend. ;)

http://www.yupangco.com/services/services/musiceducation/index.php

Theater

Knowing how to act is a very, very good thing! It doesn't even matter is you're merely acting in class or in front of a huge audience, acting well will always be a plus for you!

Tanghalang Pilipino, a resident company of the Cultural Center of the Philippines is holding a teen theater summer workshop on April 1-27 for teens 12-16 years old! The workshop integrates creative drama, music, writing, movement and visual arts. Students will also be taught script analysis and voice for theater. Now doesn;t that make for the ultimate theater workshop experience?

There are actually many pluses from enrolling here. For one, you will be taught by the BEST in field. Also, come recital time, students get to present in the Cultural Center of the Philippines which I'm telling you, is really big deal! And you know for it's fee of only 6,000php, this workshop is really worth it!

The Cultural Center of the Philippines offers more workshops, you should check them all out here. I am particularly interested in the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) summer workshop offer as I love thinking that I am being taught by no less than a PPO member! How cool is that? ;)

Photography

If you have a knack for photography or just want to take really good photographs, then going on a photography workshop is the thing you need!

The Alcove Perspective is holding a photography workshop which includes courses for amateurs and pros. I suggest going on the Digital 101: Photography and the computer course as it is the basic of all the courses and would give tyhe low down on taking good pictures :)

You can check out their site here for more details: http://www.filipinaslibrary.org.ph/library/rooms.asp?id=The%20Alcove

Modelling
Okay, so maybe not everyone can model but you know, you can always try! Modelling is very fun especially once you start walking on runways and doing photoshoots! It's not even so much about being very pretty because sometimes (like in ANTM) the pretty ones cannot produce a good photograph. So, try, try, try, I say!

My Talent Summer workshop in Eastwood is offering a course on Modelling which would give you tips, tricks and teach you the ins and outs of commercial modelling, doing VTRs and acting in television commercials.

I honestly like this idea because models are not often taught these things so any workshop like this is a big, big deal!

http://www.clickthecity.com/event/detail.asp?evid=20192

LINGUISTICS

French
Bonjour! Tu parle français? Well if not, then it's time you do! Lol! French language for me is the sexiest language in the world. It's so much fun hearing those rolling sounds the french make when they speak. Well, if you want to learn how to speak like the French, then I suggest you enroll at Alliance Francais de Manille.

Alliance Francais is the French Embassy's official language institute in Manila. Alliance offers courses on French language from conversational French to advance classes. It's great to study there because the fee is minimal. It won't cost you an arm and a leg just learn how to say cheese in francais! (btw, it is frommage) The place too would make you feel like you're in France because you'll be surrounded by French people! Your teacher is French so you'd also be assured you're being taught the right thing! If you do enroll here, you should also try eating at their cafeteria-slash-restaurant, I swear, you'd instantly get a knack for French cuisine!

Spanish
Hola! Me llamo NJ! Soy bonita! haha! :) Understood me? Well, if you didn't and you want to, then you should enroll in a Spanish course this summer!

The first time I got enthralled to learn Spanish was because my mom speaks Spanish for they were taught that in school during her college days. Lucky her, right? Well, you're fortunate if your course in college would offer a language elective but if not, then you should just enroll yourself in Instituto de Cervantes.

Much like Alliance Francais, Instituto de Cervantes is the Spanish embassy's official language institute in Manila so you just know you're getting your education from the real deal. Like Alliance, the instructors are natives of the country too so you'd really feel like you're getting educated by the best. Also, the fee is minimal with courses ranging from 2thou-4thousand pesos. Now, now, with that fee, you'll be speaking Espaniol in no time!

Speech
So maybe you don't want to learn a foreign language and instead just want to enhance your English speaking skills! Well, I have the perfect workshop for you!

Speech Power specializes in the English language with courses on speech, vocabulary, conversational skills, presentation and writing. The best thing about speech power is that you get to critique yourself as activities in speech are recorded on tape and played afterwards for you and your classmates' perusal. You'd really see your habits when talking, your antics, mannerisms and others that you might not have noticed before. Don't be too scared of the classes because the class size is relatively small and I tell you, your classmates are not very good English speakers themselves so no need to feel embarassed. And yeah, the instructors at this center are very nice and encouraging so you just know you'd be learning a lot from the experience :)

PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT

John Robert Powers
I had a classmate in high school who was sort of geeky and then after one summer at JRP, she came back to school being more confident, more beautiful and generally, less.... geeky. Yes, that's the power of JRP!

John Robert Powers is an institution that is famous for their Personality Development workshops. When you enroll in JRP, you won't really be able to pick out the course you want to enroll in. Instead, what happens is that you for an interview and after that, THEY will determine what course you should take. It is a great idea because sometimes we need other people to tell us "what's wrong with us" so we can improve. However, it's not always easy for us to pinpoint exactly the areas we're weak at. A word of caution though girls! JRP is rather expensive with courses from 20-40thousand pesos. The product however is something you would not regret for the rest of your life so having a talk with your parents to consider enrolling you in JRP is a very good idea.

OTHERS

Driving

If you're 17 already, you can go enroll in a driving school! Driving is so much more funner when you get proper education from a real driving school. And with that said, I suggest you enroll yourself in A1 Driving School.

A1 Driving school to me is the best driving school in the Metro. S and I are both graduates of their driving course and we often find ourselves commenting how bad drivers are not A1 graduates. lol! :) But yes, you'd really see the difference of getting an A1 education once you compare yourself with others who did not take the course. Aside from the fact that you graduated that you graduated from A1, another great plus with this company is that you would be practicing on brand new cars! Don't be too scared because even if they're new and are at risk of getting scratched, you would not be paying for any damages to the car because that's already covered in your tuition so yay for you! See how it's better to enroll yourself in a driving school instead of practicing with the family car? ;)

So there goes our list girls! We just picked out the best from the different areas of interest. It was actually very hard to just pick out one from each category for we had lots of places we wanted to add. If you want to know more about a specific area (like music, theater, dance, etc.) just comment here and maybe we could make a separate post that features all the workshops on that area ;)

May you have a productive summer PK girls!