Osher Lifelong Learning Institute to offer spring classes

CHICO — Spring has sprung and it’s time for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute to start up classes again for the spring.

There will be a live-online spring preview for classes from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. today. The Zoom link for this will be provided on the OLLI website. The meeting ID is 81582275012 and the passcode is OLLI2024.

The in-person class preview will be held Thursday, March 28 from 10:30 a.m. until noon. There will be a presentation and time to meet instructors from 10:30-11 a.m. This will be held at the Chico Masonic Family Center at 1110 W. East Ave. and there will be free parking, coffee and snacks.

Instructor Mary Sweeney will be teaching a tap dancing class called “Tap Dancing is Fun.” Sweeney taught tap dancing for 30 years at different locations and started teaching tap at OLLI in January for the winter term. The class will be taught from April 30 to June 15. Dates: 4/30/2024 – 6/25/2024. It will take place on Tuesday from 8:30-9:30 a.m. and will be taught at Chico Creek Dance in Room Studio B.

Sweeney started tap dancing when she was five years old.

“I did choreography for Keeping Dance Alive in the 1990s,” Sweeney said. “I kept running into one of my dancers and they told me I should teach for OLLI. I had 19 people sign up the first time it was offered.”

Sweeney said tap is good for anyone at any age.

“For older adults it helps with balance and cognition,” Sweeney said. “I give them something tricky to work their brains.”

She said the class helps socially too.

“It’s a community experience,” she said. “People come at all levels. Some have never danced before. Everyone has a good time.”

Sweeney said tap is something which has not been offered before at OLLI. She monitors her students and makes sure they are not getting fatigued.

Students must buy their own tap shoes but other shoes can be used if tap shoes aren’t available.

Instructors Robin Dizard and Janet Rechtman will be teaching a new class called “New Looks At Old Books.” This class will be taught from May 13 to June 24. It will meet on Mondays from 1-2 p.m. at The Social Chico in Room Gordon 1.

“It’s a new course,” said Dizard. “We are visiting five or six authors, each chosen because their writing seems to apply to right now. Most wrote between 100-200 years ago.”

Some of the authors the students will be studying are Emily Dickinson, William Butler Yeats and Herman Melville.

OLLI Chico Program Manager Ruth Alderson is excited for the spring term.

“We’re excited about OLLI’s spring classes because we have such a range of classes, from small discussion groups to large lectures, kayaking opportunities to painting instruction, all led by people who want to share their expertise,” said Alderson. “Spring is a time for new growth and the lifelong learners in OLLI’s community know it’s never too late for something  new. With classes in the classroom, outside, and online, we have a wide variety of opportunities for members of our community to learn something new and meet new people.”

Registration for spring opens Thursday, April 4, at 9 a.m. Students can register online at olli.csuchico.edu. OLLI is located at Chico State at the Aymer J. Hamilton building in Room 118B at 400 W. First St. Students can also call 530-898-6679 to register or for more information. OLLI can be found on Facebook under Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Chico State.