The Ames Few Dance and Theater Company will be holding an open house on Saturday, Sept. 30, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. It will be held at the Iowa State Physical Education Building in Room 196.

The open house will feature demonstrations by this year’s instructors in acting and theater production, African arts and crafts, African languages, creative writing, martial arts and self defense, tennis, voice and musical instruction.

There will also be presentations on community programs available through the Black Men of Ames and the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Special guests will lecture on African American heritage and motivational programming.

The Ames Few was founded last year by Dee Abdullah and Karen Donaldson. Abdullah has acted and directed for 20 years and Donaldson is an ISU professor who has studied at the Institute for African American Artists in Boston. The Ames Few is a nonprofit organization that provides classes with an ethnic focus.

Donaldson said The Ames Few began as a cultural arts Saturday school to teach African Americans about their cultural background. The program’s purpose is to make a connection between minority faculty, staff and students as well as children and other adults from the Ames community. The Ames Few provides classes to help reinforce cultural ways of doing things and works to help people better understand the African American culture. It is open to anyone of any culture.

Continual funding for the program is still a problem, Donaldson said.

But Donaldson and ISU President Martin Jischke came up with a plan to lower the program’s price tag by using the Physical Education Building for classes and having students from the university share their talents by teaching the classes.

Registration for the classes begins on Sept. 30, 1995 during the open house. Cost for an eight-week session is $55 for children; adult prices will vary. Each session will run every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information about registration and fees, contact The Ames Few. Four sessions will be held from Sept. 30 through May 11.