The Green Street Arts Center (GSAC) opened its doors to its new facility this weekend for a “sneak peek,” previewing workshops and activities that will be offered in January.

On Saturday, GSAC faculty and administration presented demonstrations in Bomba drumming, print making, jazz piano, Puerto Rican Vejigante mask masking, memoir writing, belly dancing, acting, sculpture, and Afro-Caribbean doll-making, which will be among the 30 classes in the GSAC after-school curriculum.

According to Ricardo Morris, director of GSAC, the curriculum will draw some of its resources from the University.

“Some of our programming [will extend] from the Wesleyan world arts curriculum,” Morris said. “It will provide a vital link between the community and the University. The [GSAC] faculty also has several Wesleyan-affiliated teachers and artists.”

Anna Falkenau and Priscilla Gale, both private vocal instructors at Wesleyan, led mini-workshops Saturday on Celtic Music Ensemble and Voice. Other Wesleyan affiliates who will teach at the GSAC this spring include Mariah E. Klaneski ’04 and Roy Wiseman. Several Wesleyan alumni and students will also take part in teaching the students of GSAC.

Classes are not just for kids, however. Aside from the after-school program, the GSAC will offer weekly dance, visual arts, and media arts classes for learners of 16 years of age and above. There are also classes in music and dance for children ages 1-5 and senior classes in the daytime.“[We have] diverse programming designed for all ages, from preschoolers to ol’ schoolers,” Morris said.

On Sunday, an open house was held with tours of all three floors of the new facility. The main area of the first floor has a spacious dance studio replete with mirrors and full-length windows. Also on the first floor are administrative offices, the Art Café and a large classroom.

Luke P. Hansen, a GSAC advisory committee member, conducted some of the tours and also talked about some of the programs that would utilize the facilities in January.

“For the after-school program, kids are picked up from their schools on buses and taken over,” he said. “They first go to the cafe to get snacks and calm down. Then, before any of their [activities] start, they work on their homework in the classroom.”

On the second floor, there is a spacious performance hall that contains one hundred seats, with back stage warm-up rooms and dressing rooms for performance. Across from the auditorium is a wet art studio for watercolor painting, sculpting, and doll-making. Attached to that is the dry art studio, which will house drawing and oil painting. A skylight was added to compliment various models and subjects that the classes might focus on.

The film and videography lab on the first floor has five full camera sets and digital photography equipment. GSAC students will learn how to use these and edit photos. Across the hall are the sound studio and music room, both soundproof.

“If [the students] want to add sound to a video, they are able to bring in a band member, independent artist, other recorded music, or do voice-overs; whatever they want,” Hansen said.

There are also smaller rooms for private lessons in piano, guitar, bass, percussion/drumming, voice, strings, woodwind and brass. Students must pay for private lessons in addition to tuition costs for general classes. Individual weekly classes range in price from $100 to $150 per semester. The tuition for the after-school program, however, runs from $75 (one class a week for 10 weeks) to $1,500 (five days a week for 20 weeks). Although the tuition fund currently has only $1,500 according to Hansen, Morris said that tuition assistance would be readily available.

“Our programming will readily [serve] those who can afford it, those who can’t, and everyone in between,” Morris said. “The arts are for everyone!”

According to Morris, financial assistance will be determined on a sliding scale based on income and number of members in the family. Also, at least 45 of the 90 slots in after-school program will be reserved for children in the North End.

“The goal [of the GSAC] is to create a comfortable space where everyone feels welcome,” Morris said. “We are committed to helping everyone dance their dance, toot their horn, and find their voice in a community of learners.”

For more information on volunteering including the required training session on Saturday, Jan. 29, contact Cathy Crimmins Lechowicz at ccrimmins@wesleyan.edu, Manuel Rivera at mrivera01@wesleyan.edu, call the center at (860) 685-7871, or visit the website, www.greenstreetartscenter.org.

Spring semester classes start Jan. 10, but the after-school program, which runs from 3:30-6:30 p.m. every day, starts Jan. 3. For students that live in wood frame houses or live in the area, the Center would be willing to provide payment to come back early for the start of the after-school program.