Greg Ola & Lena are amazing educators and artists in their own right. I have brought my daughter to their high quality enrichment classes over the past three years. The blend of subjects, art, language, music and storytelling create courses that engage children while teaching a host of skills. This is a top notch group!
The only con is the classroom is a bit small.For digital/game art classes, there are special one-to-one classes, even for older and sometimes college students, but most are classes for kids in small class sizes (often in the 2~5 range).Teaching materials have a large wiggle room, meaning instructors here would use their best judgement to provide individually specific materials and instructions to best suit each students age, skill, and knowledge levels. Instructors are mostly young adults in their 20-30s, and are all friendly and patient to students.For special one-to-one classes, such as portfolio preparation classes for college students, these classes are 100% individual specific. Instructor would decide what to teach based on students need, and then roll out teaching materials in a series of classes. Usually, this type of classes requires a minimum of 10 1.5-hour sessions and to be paid in full at the first session.Hardware-wise, most importantly, computer-wise, this is a small school, so not all computers are procured at the same time. Oldest and dysfunctional ones get replaced by the newest computers, and so each seats computer takes its turn to upgrade. Nevertheless, all computers used would satisfy the need of software used during classes.
My 7-yr old daughter has been taking lessons from Elena for the last 9 months or so. She had started learning piano about 2 years before that. She has improved tremendously in the last nine months under Elenas guidance.Elena does not follow specific piano study courses, but tailors lessons to the student. Her teaching style includes a healthy amount of music theory and a lot of attention to the playing techniques. I am amazed by the attention she pays to details of playing techniques for my 7-yr old -- hand position, finger position, wrist movement, articulation ... And something else Elena does which I find fascinating -- Elena wants her to learn about the composer when she is learning a piece. Its probably a bit too much to absorb completely for a 7-yr old, but I have little doubt that Elenas teaching is inculcating an appreciation for music that help her develop over the years.I am really glad that we found Elena. What she is doing for my daughter music skills and appreciation is far beyond beyond my expectations.(Also posted on Yelp)
I love designing castles and putting monsters in it.