Interested in bartending? Want to brush up on ballet or play some cardio tennis?
Academic classes aren’t the only way to learn at UF.
The Reitz Union offers leisure courses, or informal classes taken for fun, year-round. The classes meet periodically at the Reitz Union or at other locations in Gainesville, making them popular for students, faculty members and locals alike. People enroll each semester by the hundreds.
The leisure course program exists to help its participants “explore new skills, attitudes and appreciations,” according to its website.
Registration for Fall semester’s leisure courses starts Aug. 27 at 10 a.m. The classes will begin Sept. 10. Prices for the courses vary but are discounted for UF students.
Course categories include arts and crafts, beverages, dance, music and sports. Within those themes are sections that meet at different times and places.
Many are held at night so as not to conflict with students’ academic commitments.
One of the most popular options, Home Bartending, always fills up quickly. Its students learn about responsibly consuming alcohol, mixing techniques and how to use equipment. And yes, they get to taste-test.
Other courses include scrapbooking, beginning guitar and varying levels of golf, tennis and ballet. The Reitz Union also takes suggestions for new courses and instructors.
Ultimately, the leisure course program aims to not only teach its students something new, but also to encourage them to use it.
“We want to pass on to the participants the fact that the enjoyment one experiences in a leisure course can be carried over to other aspects of life,” the website reads.
For more information, visit www.union.ufl.edu/programsartsleisure/leisurecourses or call 352-392-3825.
Contact Julia Glum at jglum@alligator.org.
Reka Gyulai, 25, a ballet instructor at Pofahl Studios, 1325 NW Second St., teaches the night class July 9
