It’s high time you join the club
It was where the cool kids showed off swanky layups on basketball courts and also where you threw your first public temper tantrum demanding for ah gong to be done with his slow-mo taichi session. The beloved community centres were once the epicentre of our neighbourhood life.
Getting with the times, they’ve since been rebranded as Community Clubs islandwide. Along with the name change, comes a slew of super cool classes and courses that cater to not only your fitness fixations, but also build skills for your adult aspirations! We’ve sieved through the plethora of courses, to find out the best 14 for you to finally visit your friendly neighbourhood CC.
1. Piloting a drone
It’s high-time you learnt how to fly a drone! Not only do you need this to up your prankin’ game – please respect the more practical uses for quadcopters – you’ll be maximizing this precious skill, taking kickass aerial photographs and surveillancing the neighbours.
This beginner introduction to quadcopters teaches you the basics of hovering to the more advanced maneuvers and you’ll get hands-on experience at piloting one on your own! In no time, you’ll be directing stunning drone shots like these.
Price: $30
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2. Piloxing®
To me, the word “Piloxing” draws to mind images of hunky boxers engaging in massive pillow fights, but you sportier ones probably already know it’s a triple hybrid of Pilates + Kickboxing + Dancing, a high intensity workout that’s also tons of fun.
So if someone’s aggravating you at work, all it takes is some uppercuts, roundhouse punches, high kicks and a healthy imagination to release all the pent up frustration. Add to the mix some fancy footwork and pilates core work and you’ve got one intense piloxing workout.
Price: $90 and up (10 sessions)
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3. Boogie Bounce Xtreme Trampoline Workout
Jumpstart your fitness routine with Boogie Bounce Xtreme, where you’ll bounce your way back to fitness – literally – on a mini trampoline with an affixed safety bar. With bounce moves choreographed to top hits, expect to burn major calories with the cardio section of this trampoline workout.
If you’re trying to boost your fitness, you’ll be leaping for joy because NASA scientists say bouncing on a trampoline is 68% more effective than jogging and takes way less effort!
Price: $160 (8 sessions)
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4. Coffee Appreciation 101
Raised as hawker kids, caffeinating on simple kopitiam kopis, our appreciation of coffee now has to include artisanal organic cold brewed macchiatos served with 2.5% foam.
Learn to navigate the world of coffee in all its sophisticated glory at Coffee Appreciation 101, from the harvesting, brewing, tasting, hoity-toity italian terminologies and types of specialty coffees over hands-on sessions, open discussions and interactions.
Price: $30
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5. Making Ceramic Art
If your fingers are itching for some clay contact, this class will scratch just that itch! Get to know the different clay types and mould your most brilliant sculptures and ceramic structures with your newfound techniques of coiling and slab building.
For all you know, you could be the next Michelangelo.
Price: $200 (elementary) | $200 (intermediate)
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6. Basic Dim Sum Making
This Basic Dim Sum Making Class spells the end of late-night suppers at Swee Choon, because you’ll be personally touching the hearts of your friends and fambam with HOMEMADE har gaos and siew mais.
Learn how to make both sweet and savory morsels from scratch, maybe even master Din Tai Fung’s exquisite 18-fold xiao long baos in this 3 hour course. After this, you’ll be organizing DIY dim sum parties for your tam chiak supper squad.
Price: $30
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7. Languages
Wouldn’t it be extremely cool – albeit incredibly unnecessary – if you could understand this sign in 4 languages? Source
We’re still waiting for the day languages can be instantly uploaded into our brains. But until the moment technology from the Matrix movie becomes reality, we can choose to take Language Classes at our neighbourhood CC – that’s a not too distant possibility!
Offering classes in Bahasa, Tamil, Japanese, German, Korean, and even Italian, learn to speak in a massive slew of languages with the eloquence of a local, with classes offered from basic to advanced levels.
Price: From $75
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8. Sign Language
Leave zero space to discriminate as you enter a silent world where communication is done with moving hands and listening eyes. Realize the power in gestures, body language and facial expressions as you learn Signed Exact English and Native Sign Language with conversations, stories, games and songs.
Apart from teaching a new skill, this course also subtly highlights struggles faced by the community. Along with a chance to connect first-hand with the once overlooked members of society, that’s all the motivation you’ll need to pick up fingerspelling and signing vocabulary.
Price: From $110
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9. Fashion Design
If you’re aspiring to dandy up our local fashion scene with self-made statement pieces and rise to Project Runway level fame, this course in Fashion Design will kickstart your designer dreams.
Rekindle your fashion design greatness, as you learn how to draw figures and faces, colour coordinate, match accessories, and design clothes and fabric. It’s okay if you decide you’re not into fashion designing – your greatest takeaway is to never be a fashion disaster again.
Price: From $105
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10. Creating a blog shop business
Homegrown blogshop behemoths like MDS and The Editors Market started their businesses online and have expanded their operations to include multiple physical stores! If you’re hoping to catch up with these giants, this course will bring you up to speed on the technicalities behind starting a blogshop.
Going through the blogging basics, developing your own webpage to learning how to customize and design your blogshops pages. You’ll end up a master of SEOs hacks and drive tons of traffic to your site!
Price: $30
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11. Basic Hairdressing & Modern Barbering
Whether you’re looking to save the big bucks you’ve been blowing at Kimage or take self-expression up another notch DIY-ing your own haircut, these courses on Basic Hairdressing and Modern Barbering are just for you.
Get the barbering basics to highlighting hacks, as you learn from scissor sorcerers who know how to give limp locks a sprucing, while keeping up with the latest colouring and trimming trends. Perhaps you’ll find a social cause for your new found flair for the hair – giving migrant workers free haircuts like these #backalleybarbers
Price: $30 for Hairdressing | $40 for Modern Barbering
Hairdressing Details
Barbering Details
12. Acupressure Massage
If you’ve an irrational fear of needles, but still want to get the benefits of acupuncture, acupressure massage is your ticket to some pain-relieving TCM self-therapy, especially for those who’ve suffer from chronic pain or long-term illnesses.
So if the people around you have been feeling stressed out and anxious like the proverbial kancheong spider, learn to ease qi (energy) from them, and loosen their trigger points, promote circulation and enter pure relaxation.
Price: From $110
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13. Air-Conditioner Maintenance Classes
Besides clearing dust bunnies from the inner crevices of your air conditioner, you’ve zero idea what else your maintenance man does that’s leaving your rooms as cool as the South Pole.
You’ll discover types of aircon units, conduct your own maintenance, and even get the lowdown on aircon lingo – from condensers to compressors. so you’ll have more to discuss with your aircon guy.
Oh wait… he doesn’t need to come down anymore.
Price: $105
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14. Interior Design and Renovation
Completely transform lackluster fixer-uppers into real estate beauties with the basics of interior design, from coordination of color schemes to drawing from 2D to 3D. Now the IKEA showroom can be your house’s reality, because you’ll be putting your ideas into drawings and come up with concrete designs that are both functional AND beautiful.
So whether you’re pursuing your personal interests in interior design or hoping to score a job in the industry, this course is right up your alley!
Price: $500
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Take cool classes completely FOC
As “grown-ups” we aren’t visiting CCs as much as we did as kids. We’re cooler adults now that we’ve got a bustling social lives, hanging out till late at cafes or busy checking out the real sides of Singapore that you’ll never see in travel guides.
Ain’t nobody got the time for lame classes and your community clubs know that. They also know you don’t want to blow big bucks no matter how “non-lame” the courses are!
PSA: Since January 2016, all Singaporeans (above 25) have been given S$500 dollars worth of credit to develop cool new skills. Click here for more information of how you can claim your credit and live out your drone pilot or fashion designer dreams for FREE!