'MELODIES & MEMORIES: A Life-Long Learning Program' 2014 Spring Semester Launches Today at WHBPAC

Sophia Loren once said, "There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age."

The WHBPAC's Nancy & Frederick DeMatteis Arts Education Program invites all seniors ages 65+ to tap into that creativity during the spring semester of Melodies & Memories: A Life-Long Learning Program - an original performing arts program designed to foster the continuous development of skills and knowledge throughout the lives of older adults. This 10 week program meets from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, beginning today, March 25, and culminates in a public performance on Sunday, June 1. The fee for the program is $80.

Participants meet at the theatre to share stories, act out original scenes, and sing favorite songs around the piano. Taught by professional teaching artists, seniors will learn performing-arts skills in a fun and nurturing environment as they work towards a culminating performance on the WHBPAC stage.

Melodies & Memories is a life-long learning program that seeks to link the basic human need for creative expression with an improved quality of life for older adults. In addition to the mastery of various performing arts skills, the program emphasizes the importance of social engagement - which has been proven to increase self-esteem, reinforce personal and collective identity, and assuage anxiety about getting older.

Imagination never retires.