Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts (www.usdan.com), the nationally acclaimed summer arts day camp which has just finished its 44th successful season, announces the first of its Open Houses for the 2012 season. It will take place on October 23 from 11AM to 2PM. In addition to the Center's frequent Open House dates, Usdan also offers individual weekend guided tours available by appointment. Weekday self-guided walks are also available on the Center's magnificent 200-acre woodland campus at 185 Colonial Springs Road, Wheatley Heights (Huntington), New York 11798. Usdan Center, featuring more than 40 programs in music, dance, theater, visual arts, creative writing, nature and ecology and chess, annually hosts more than 1600 students from throughout the Tri-State New York area. No audition is needed for most courses, and transportation is provided by air-conditioned buses that depart from most New York-area neighborhoods. One-third of Usdan's students receive scholarship assistance based on family need. Many of Usdan's programs and special events, including excerpts from its August 3rd 2011 Gala Concert, may now be viewed on the Center's recently re-launched website, www.usdan.com. Designed by Lafiya Watson, Usdan's Coordinator of Electronic Media, the site features a host of expanded functions intended to illustrate, for prospective and current students, and for families, alumni, and website visitors, the enormous range of programs available to students at Usdan. It has been designed to maximize the immediacy of visual and electronic aids, and it is fully coordinated with Usdan's YouTube and Facebook sites. At Sunday Open Houses, visitors are greeted at the Administration Building by faculty and staff who introduce visitors to course options at Usdan, and also review the application process. These greetings are followed by self-guided tours. The Center is always developing new programs, and new courses for 2012 will shortly be announced. In addition, there will be special public events in the coming months, including exhibits by the Portfolio Preparation Track art students, the pre-professional program for advanced and talented teenage artists. Future Open Houses after October will be on Sundays November 20, 2012, January 22, 2012, March 18, 2012, April 22, 2012 and May 20, 2012; and Wednesday, February 22, 2012. All Open Houses will be from 11 AM to 2 PM. For appointments for weekend or weekday tours, call Gail London at (631) 643-7900. Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts, whose alumni include actor Natalie Portman and singers Jane Monheit and Mariah Carey, has introduced the arts to more than 50,000 Tri-State Area children since its founding in 1968. The Center is open to all young people from age 6 to 18. Usdan's program features more than 40 four and seven-week programs in music, dance, theater, visual arts, writing, nature & ecology, and chess. No audition is needed for most programs - rather, admission is based on an expression of interest in the arts. Each summer, 1,600 students are transported to the Center in air-conditioned buses each day. One-third of Usdan's students attend on scholarship. Although the mission of the Center is for every child to establish a relationship with the arts, the unique stimulation of the Center has caused many to go on to arts careers. Alumni include members of Broadway shows and major music, theater, and dance ensembles such as the Boston Pops and the New York City Ballet. In addition to its regular programs, Usdan offers special opportunities for advanced high school- age performing and visual artists. These include Music Staff Internships, a Summer Ballet Intensive, and a program of immersion in the visual arts and college preparation for selected high school art students. It is called Usdan's Visual Arts Portfolio Preparation Track. Usdan Center is an agency of the UJA-Federation of New York. Usdan's 45th season begins June 25, 2012. For more information, write to info@usdan.com, Call (212) 772-6060 or (631) 643-7900, or visit www.usdan.com ###