Roger Lee Arts Academy - 6abc Loves the Arts

It's back to school season and there's a new extracurricular activity designed for kids looking to get into the arts.

It's called the Roger Lee Arts Academy, and the Philadelphia artist and entrepreneur for whom it's named created the after school program to give children a chance to explore all aspects of the arts.

Owner and Director Roger Lee says the program offers kids a one-stop shop, "You can take hip hop dance. You can take drawing or you can take acting."

He says the idea is to allow kids to try multiple artistic outlets without having to choose one path, "students could learn drawing, dancing, acting and arts and business, and that's something you normally can't get until college or even till your first job."

The program starts in mid-September and lasts through June. Students can choose anywhere from one to three classes.

"I feel like in class is really where they let their hair down and they tell me their fears as an artist, what they want to do and they kind of let their hopes and dreams out there in the really safe haven," says Lee who adds that, at the end of the term, the kids put on a performance to showcase what they've learned, "a lot of the times you don't really learn what you can do until you hit the stage. So you might be in class and doing a good job then you hit the stage and find out 'hey I can do an outstanding job.'"

And Lee says the environment is one of learning and honing your craft, not competing, "a lot of times when you go to a competition school it's all about bringing home the gold...but when we're at our academy, you're kind of getting a chance just to dabble. So, if they don't like acting or they fell during dance or they didn't draw the prettiest picture, you know it's not a big deal."

You can sign up for the arts academy at RogerLeeArts.com. Registration closes September 7th.