Metropolitan Fine Arts Center (MFAC) of Alexandria, Va. is growing in big ways, from dance studio to the first, D.C.-area, private performing arts high school. MFAC currently offers performing arts studio classes in Alexandria, Old Town Alexandria and Fairfax Station, Va., but MFAC is set to move their Fairfax Station location to leased space at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, Va. on July 1, 2013 and will commence their all-day high school classes at their newly created, Metropolitan School of the Arts (MSA) on the 55-acre Lorton Arts Foundation campus in September, 2013. The Lorton Arts Foundation, Workhouse Arts Center and Metropolitan Fine Arts Center (MFAC) agreed on a collaboration proposal to incorporate MFAC service on the campus, and recently received approval from Fairfax County to move forward on Phase 1 of the proposal. Go to www.metroschoolofthearts.org for more information on school admissions.

In honor of Asthma Awareness Month, locally renowned pediatric allergist, Srinagesh Paluvoi, M.D. of Allergy and Asthma Affiliates of Gainesville and Leesburg, Va. is hosting free asthma screenings on Thurs., May 30 at LA Fitness at 1490 Classic Path Way, SE and Fri., May 31 at the Gainesville Sports & Health Club at 7201 Heritage Village Plaza from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the lobby of the health clubs. The screenings are open to adults and children and no appointment is necessary. Call 703.729.8830 or visit www.vasneezers.com for more information.

Last week Angelina Jolie astonished most of us by announcing that she had undergone a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery as a way of minimizing her risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer.  In sharing her story with the public, she explained that her mother had died of breast cancer at the age of 56, and that she, Angelina, had inherited a “faulty” BRCA-1 gene, leading her doctors to conclude that she had a very high risk of developing the disease (about 87 percent). 

According to Dr. Lisa Lilienfield of the Kaplan Center for Integrative Medicine in McLean VA,  “By sharing her story, Angelina offered each of us an excellent opportunity to reflect upon our own health situation and options.  If you have a strong history of breast cancer in your immediate family and are concerned about your own genetic risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer, you may want to seek genetic counseling with a specialist.”