Meet us where the community dances together
Every year, more than 750 children benefit from the art and fitness programs offered by the non-profit Maywood Fine Arts Association. Only 40 percent of expenses are covered by the low-cost tuition for classes here. The rest comes from grants and donations from the community.
Of note, since 2002, every senior youth leader at Maywood Fine Arts has gone on to college.
Stairway of the Stars Dance Studio: Offering ballet and karate programs (and more!), the dance studio is a center for learning through movement at Maywood Fine Arts. It’s here where recitals and special events are hosted for the community.
Often the students who learn at the Stairway of the Stars perform together at community events and parades!
Flip, Flop & Fly Tumbling School: This is where children learn coordination, balance, flexibility, and in-air movement. Key to honing developmental skills, the tumbling school provides a safe atmosphere for kids to get upside down!
Music, drama, and art classes are also available. And music lessons for adults are also possible!
Classes and office hours for Maywood Fine Arts are Monday through Thursday from 4pm to 9pm and Saturday from 9am to 3pm.
Dance and tumbling tuition costs are $70 for a seven-week session. Music lessons in piano, drum, guitar, or voice are $80. Drama and art classes are $40.
Full- and partial-tuition scholarships are available.
It all began for Maywood Fine Arts in 1979 when Ernie and Lois Baumann shared a dream to build a center of arts for low-income families in Maywood.
Today, it’s the dedicated and experienced teachers who are your guides at MFA. The educators here continue the mission of serving the community of Maywood by providing affordable, quality educational programs that connect at-risk youth with art and fitness.
Maywood Fine Arts has two locations. The main building is at 25 North 5th Avenue, and the Stairway of the Stars Dance Studio is at 20 North 5th Avenue. Both locations are about a 15-minute-walk (0.8 miles) from the River Forest Stop on the Union Pacific-West Metra Railway or a 12-mile drive west of downtown Chicago.
