Saturdays are for the Arts!
In a world where the arts are being abandoned in school curriculums, The Young Artists’ Academy (YAA) provides weekly classes in the arts for children from underserved communities in Denham Springs.
Our qualified instructors teach visual arts and performing arts.
This is the best place to be at 8AM on a Saturday morning during the school year!
The children have a number of opportunities to perform for the Greater Baton Rouge and Denham Springs communities each school year, including singing with the Denham Springs Gospel Choir at our annual gala!
Free and Affordable Classes in The Arts
Children from the ages of 5-18 can take our classes in the arts.
We meet at Luke 10:27 Church or the L.M. Lockhart Community Center for lessons in dance, vocal training, guitar, drums, piano, pottery, and arts and crafts.
To see what classes are coming up and have a child you know participate follow the Kindness Keepers Facebook page.
Our classes are open to everyone in the Denham Springs and the Greater Baton Rouge community.
Join us!
Live Performances
The kids have a variety of opportunities to performfor live audiences throughout the year.
Whether at local Christmas events, at a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration, or the annual YAA Gala, kids sing, dance, and play musical instruments in public.
The Young Artists’ Academy finds qualified experts who teach the arts.
One year, the children set up a booth at the Mattie Street Art Market to sell their art.
They were joined by several kids in our after-school program, The LANDers.
Together they set up a booth, negotiated prices, and walked around advertising their artwork to the public.
They had a blast and they learned a ton of valuable skills.
Bring Unity to the Community
Meet our Directors:
Justin Jett, Co-Director, Acting Instructor
Justin has been involved in acting, writing, and music for over 25 years. He studied at LSU and SELU, taught acting for over 5 years, performed over 10 years of concerts and live music, plays multiple instruments, has written over 10 original scripts for performed shows, among many other professional accomplishments.
Meg Walker, Co-Director, Dance Instructor
Meg has been involved with the performing arts studying ballet, tap, jazz, and contemporary dance with acting and vocal for over 25 years. She has performed and worked with ballet and theater companies throughout Baton Rouge, Hammond, New Orleans, and Denham Springs, and within the independent film industry throughout southeast Louisiana.
Meg studied for her B.F.A. in Musical Theatre at the NYC campus of the American Musical & Dramatic Academy before serving as Lead Choreographer at The Dance Company in French Settlement (2008-2011), then as the Director of Dance at Leaps & Bounds Sports Center from 2011 to 2016. In 2016, she co-founded Serenity Academy of Performing Arts in Denham Springs, serving as the Artistic Director and Lead Instructor until stepping down in 2020.
Throughout her teaching career, Meg has written, directed, choreographed, and produced over a dozen productions for children and adults.
Follow the Kindness Keepers Facebook page to see what Justin, Meg, and the kids are up to.
How you Can Support the Young Artists’ Academy
- Enroll a child in The YAA
- Donate to The YAA
- Teach our precious YAA an art class
- Pray for the children of YAA
- Consider implementing a YAA program in your community
We are forever grateful for any help you can give as we provide Saturday art classes to the children in our community. Thank you!