The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris may have just concluded but SAS is keeping the Olympic spirit alive this fall with courses that touch on the theme. One of our interdisciplinary series will highlight the impact of France on the United States. Three of our special author visits and one of our discussion classes will explore the history of women's exercise in general and swimming in particular. As usual, our full panoply of fitness and dance classes will keep you in shape from now until the next athletic competition.

Beginning Wednesday, September 11, 2024, Francis Morrone introduces a lavishly illustrated six-session online series about France's Influence in America. Look in-depth at France's impact on American art, architecture, culture, food, and fashion. Classes may be taken together or individually in that each one covers a different topic. Each session will be recorded and made available to registered students for viewing on demand for up to one week post-lecture.

• France's Influence in America: Art (Course 12804)
• France's Influence in America: Architecture from Colonial Times to the Late Nineteenth Century (Course 12805)
• France's Influence in America: Architecture from the Turn of the Twentieth Century to Today (Course 12806)
• France's Influence in America: Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture (Course 12807)
• France's Influence in America: Food (Course 12808)
• France's Influence in America: Fashion (Course 12809)

Three authors in separate online conversations with Lori Rotskoff will discuss the role of physical fitness in women's history and culture. Each visit will be recorded and made available to watch on demand for up to two weeks. As with all our author visits, students need not have read any of the books to follow and enjoy the conversation. Live attendance is encouraged to allow for participation in Q&A.

The first such special event is on Thursday, September 18, 2024, as we welcome Vicki Valosik, Swimming Pretty: The Untold Story of Women in Water (2024) (Course 12816). Valosik, who is an accomplished synchronized swimmer as well as a writer, traces a century of aquatic performance from circus acts to the Olympic arena, and brings to life the cast of characters whose swimming spectacles laid the groundwork for a new sport and forever changed women’s relationship with water.

Next, on Thursday, September 26, 2024, meet Danielle Friedman, Let’s Get Physical: How Women Discovered Exercise and Reshaped the World (2022) (Course 12817*). Friedman chronicles the entrepreneurs who pioneered the barre method, Jazzercise, city marathons, modern yoga studios, and other fitness trends geared towards women.

Then, on Thursday, October 17, 2024, hear from Ava Purkiss, Fit Citizens: A History of Black Women’s Exercise from Post-Reconstruction to Postwar America (2023) (Course 12818*). Purkiss, Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan, will share insights from her groundbreaking research about historical and political figures including W.E.B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells, and Michelle Obama, who championed fitness for Black women and children alongside broader efforts for racial equality and justice.

*Save $15 to attend both the Friedman and the Purkiss author visits by registering for them together under Course 12725 instead.

In tandem with these author visits, Rotskoff will lead a three-part discussion course entitled Swimming Lessons: Swimming and Aquatics in Popular Culture, Literature, and Life. Examine modern culture through the lens of the popular pastime of swimming by reading and viewing specific works of literature, film, visual art, and social history. Investigate how swimming and aquatic activities reflect pressing social issues including gender discrimination, racism, economic inequality, suburban conformity, sexuality, and community belonging. This class is offered on Wednesdays online (Course 12843) beginning September 11, 2024, as well as on Thursdays in-person (Course 12713) beginning September 12, 2024.

All of our fitness and dance classes will resume in the fall with new sessions of each of the following classes:

• Ballroom Dancing: Salsa and Bachata
• Body Sculpting
• Essential Yoga
• Fit Blast: Cardio, Strength, and Abs
• Gentle Yoga
• MELT Method for Active Adults
• Movement to Music
• Postural Therapy Movement
• Restorative Stretch, a Proactive Approach to Stress and Pain
• Sit and Be Fit: Chair-Based Body Sculpting
• Total Body Workout with Bands
• Walk 15®

View our Fitness and Dance listings to see the dates, times, and locations of all these courses, many of which offer sessions on different days of the week to suit everyone's schedule.

Our online course catalog is growing by the day. Register now and be on the lookout for our printer-friendly interactive flipbook, coming soon!

Week of August 18, 2024

No new classes begin this week. Classes already in progress will continue.

Week of August 25, 2024

Literature

• Book Discussion: James (2024) by Percival Everett (12712)

Walking Tours

• Walking Tour: Greenwich Village, West of Fifth Avenue (12639)
• Walking Tour: Privately Owned Public Spaces in the Financial District (12660)

Week of September 1, 2024

Fitness and Dance

• Postural Therapy Movement (12821)

Walking Tours

• Walking Tour: Greenwich Village, West of Fifth Avenue (12860)* NEW SECTION JUST ADDED
• Walking Tour: European Wing at the Met (12674)
• Walking Tour: Collecting Inspiration: Edward C. Moore at Tiffany & Co. at the Met (12745)

All upcoming classes are listed in the Printer-Friendly, Interactive Version of our Spring/Summer 2024 Catalog. New classes are added in real time.

Class times are for the Eastern Time Zone. Please check regularly for additional options to keep you engaged and learning, whether from the comforts of home or through our expansive number of in-person options.