Experience Level: All Levels

Learn the skills of improvisation, including scene creation and team dynamics at Improve Your Improv on Thursdays, Aug 21 through Oct 2 in the Music Barn.

Kyle Tasch returns to The Farms to teach this popular course, which will be jam-packed with improvisational fun that will use both short-form games and long-form scenes in its sessions.

This will not be a place to sit down, hear lectures, and take notes, as students will be performing as much as possible! It will be a get-up-and-perform kind of class. The class will emphasize the mechanics needed to act out an entertaining and meaningful scene on the spot with no script.

Students who have already completed this class are welcome to join again. Beginners and those experienced in improv are all encouraged to join! 

$100/person for the series or $25/class. Register for the entire series by Aug 14 or the Monday before each subsequent class. All sales are final.

If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.

About the instructor

Kyle Tasch is an improvisor, improv teacher, filmmaker, writer, actor, comedian and musician from the Chicago suburbs. He started performing improv in 2004 and has been improvising in front of audiences regularly since 2015.

He has also taught classes both in-person and remotely at Westside Improv in Wheaton, Illinois. He performs live across the state in various comedy and music acts and has produced hundreds of videos and songs.

Experience Level: Beginner (all ages; parents/guardians are not required to register with their children, but they are encouraged to be present for those 13 and younger.)

Create a unique piece of art out of locally sourced alpaca fiber at Needlefelt Cardinal on Friday, Sept. 19 from 5 to 8 p.m. in The Studio.

Stephanie Block of Sundrop Alpacas will walk students through the needlefelting process to make a cardinal, which can be customized to make them look authentic, whimsical or anything in between. The class is perfect for those wanting to learn a new art form.

Take advantage of a fun opportunity to bring a friend or family member for just a $10 add-on fee as you work together on a single project kit!

$65/person* + $10/person for add-on (limit one). Registration will close Sept. 12 or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.

*A $15 discount is available during registration for those who bring their own needlefelting tools.

Learn more about the space where your course will take place here. If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.

By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken.

About the instructor

Stephanie Block is the co-owner of Sundrop Alpacas near Bement. She has been producing popular yarn from her own alpacas since 2016. Stephanie’s spinning style is self-taught, and she is continuously learning so that she can share that knowledge with others.

About The Farms

The Farms: An Allerton Folk School, offers classes, workshops, and gatherings focusing on art, outdoor education, science, storytelling, and wellness. All experiences value hands-on, experiential teaching and learning, and are facilitated by and for the members of the community.

See the complete Fall 2025 schedule here.

Experience Level: Beginner

Use artwork to make a wardrobe accessory at Silk Scarf Painting on Sunday, Sept. 21 from 2 to 5 p.m. in the Mansion Library.

Instructor Sally Walsh will lead this relaxing and creative workshop where students will use tips and tricks to paint on silk. All students will take home a one-of-a-kind scarf.

$55/person. Registration will close Sept. 7 or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.

If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email owarren@illinois.edu.

By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken.

About the instructor

Sally Walsh is a retired art teacher from Richland Community College in Decatur. She has more than 30 years of teaching experience and has led previous art classes at Allerton.

Experience Level: Beginner

Learn about the high-energy dances that dominated the early 20th century at Historical Dancing: Titanic to the Talkies on Tuesdays, Sept. 23 through Oct. 28 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Mansion Library.

In this era, the music was so infectious it required new kinds of dancing to go with it. Ragtime took over ballrooms with dances that shocked as well as delighted, while syncopated rhythms turned into the jazz of the Roaring Twenties. Meanwhile, Rudolph Valentino’s movie tango kept ballroom dancers like Vernon and Irene Castle popular.

Instructor Jeanette Watts will help students explore the one step, castle walk, tango, foxtrot, Charleston, black bottom and other delights of early jazz.

$110/person for the entire series or $25/class. Registration will close Sept. 21 or two days prior to each class, or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.

— Sept. 23
— Sept. 30
— Oct. 7
— Oct. 14
— Oct. 21
— Oct. 28

Learn more about the space where your course will take place here. If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.

By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken.

About the instructor

Jeanette Watts has been teaching historical dances for more than 20 years. She is the founder of the Terpsichorean Delights Dance Assembly in Dayton, Ohio, Queen City Vintage Dance in Charlotte, North Carolina, and spent covid writing an 8-volume series of instructional dance manuals for historical museums.

Experience Level: Beginner

Learn about the high-energy dances that dominated the early 20th century at Historical Dancing: Titanic to the Talkies on Tuesdays, Sept. 23 through Oct. 28 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Mansion Library.

Instructor Jeanette Watts will help students explore the one step, castle walk, tango, foxtrot, Charleston, black bottom and other delights of early jazz.

In this era, the music was so infectious it required new kinds of dancing to go with it! Ragtime took over ballrooms with dances that shocked as well as delighted, while syncopated rhythms turned into the jazz of the Roaring Twenties. Meanwhile, Rudolph Valentino’s movie tango kept ballroom dancers like Irene and Vernon Castle popular.

$25/class (or $110/person for the entire series). Registration will close Sept. 21, two days prior to each class, or when capacity is reached. All sales are final.

If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.

By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken.

About the instructor

Jeanette Watts has been teaching historical dances for more than 20 years. She is the founder of the Terpsichorean Delights Dance Assembly in Dayton, Ohio, Queen City Vintage Dance in Charlotte, North Carolina, and spent covid writing an 8-volume series of instructional dance manuals for historical museums.

Experience Level: Beginner/Intermediate

Achieve that goal of learning to play a musical instrument at Learn Guitar: Get Started the Right Way on Tuesdays, Sept. 23-Nov. 25 from 6 to 7 p.m. in The Studio.

Leading this course will be musician Rex Parvin, who has a very specific approach to teaching guitar based on a simple terminology he applies specifically to the guitar. It is essentially a 3-step process:

— Learn the notes on the guitar
— Learn how those notes go together to form chords.
— Apply and combine steps 1 and 2 to form chords and play songs, developing your own style and creative expression.

$200/person*. Register by Sept. 22 All sales are final.

*Students should bring their own guitar.

If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.

About the instructor

Rex Parvin knew from early adolescence that his primary passion in life was music, having taken guitar lessons and learning to read music starting at age five. He learned how to conduct choirs in high school and went to college as a voice major, getting bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education, specializing in voice and conducting.

Rex’s musical abilities and passions led to a 30-year career as a full-time music director, studio musician, conductor, and guitar teacher. He is a “people person” who loves to interact with others and see them grow in their abilities and understanding of music, encouraging them to new levels of excellence. Those who have learned from him have always commented that they learned many new things in ways that were easily understandable and created a hunger to learn even more.

Experience Level: All Levels

Learn the skills of improvisation, including scene creation and team dynamics at Improve Your Improv on Thursdays, Aug 21 through Oct 2 in the Music Barn.

Kyle Tasch returns to The Farms to teach this popular course, which will be jam-packed with improvisational fun that will use both short-form games and long-form scenes in its sessions.

This will not be a place to sit down, hear lectures, and take notes, as students will be performing as much as possible! It will be a get-up-and-perform kind of class. The class will emphasize the mechanics needed to act out an entertaining and meaningful scene on the spot with no script.

Students who have already completed this class are welcome to join again. Beginners and those experienced in improv are all encouraged to join! 

$100/person for the series or $25/class. Register for the entire series by Aug 14 or the Monday before each subsequent class. All sales are final.

If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.

About the instructor

Kyle Tasch is an improvisor, improv teacher, filmmaker, writer, actor, comedian and musician from the Chicago suburbs. He started performing improv in 2004 and has been improvising in front of audiences regularly since 2015.

He has also taught classes both in-person and remotely at Westside Improv in Wheaton, Illinois. He performs live across the state in various comedy and music acts and has produced hundreds of videos and songs.

Experience Level: Any

Learn to weave a special basket at Basket Weaving: Lunch Tote on Friday, September 26 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Studio.

Instructor Bonnie Rideout will share information about twining, how to start and stop a weave and weaving with round reed as students create their own unique basket!

$90/person*, Register by Sept 14. All sales are final.

Learn more about the space where your course will take place here. If you will need disability-related accommodations in order to participate, please email owarren@illinois.edu.

By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken.

About the instructor

Bonnie Rideout wover her first basket in 1994 and quickly caught the "basket bug." She created a business--Bonnie's Baskets in Decatur--in 2006 to teach others to weave. She is also a traveling instructor and has taught weaving in 18 states. Find out more about Bonnie on her website, Facebook, Instagram and Etsy pages.