NORWICH – This weekend’s annual recital for the Amber Perkins School of the Arts marks the studio’s diamond anniversary, and promises to deliver what the community has come to expect over the last 10 years – the unexpected.
“Threshold” is the title of the four performances that will be held June 8-10 at the Norwich High School Auditorium. Senior dancers’ performances are at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Junior performances are at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Perkins and her staff push the boundaries of visual excellence with the collection of pieces chosen for this year’s shows. Dances such as “Mount Everest” and “Underwater” defy expectations of the visual images choreography is able to create. The senior production number, “The Old New York,” lends a modern twist to the chills of 1950s-era McCarthyism and the adagio piece, “Film Noir,” celebrates the classic film style. The show offers a refreshing mix of lively and uplifting pieces as well, including an animated tap number called “Funky Music.”
“This has been an incredible year full remarkable accomplishments by all our students,” Perkins said. “It’s been an amazing ten years, and I can’t wait to see where we take things over the next ten years!”
Perkins’ brother Michael, choreographer of many of the recital’s numbers, said the overall tone is one of “bridging the spiritual with the aesthetic.” He said the selections celebrate “the dawning of a new era for the studio.”
Over the last ten years, enrollment at the Amber Perkins School of the Arts has grown to include students from not only Norwich and other towns throughout Chenango County, but from the greater Binghamton area as well. The studio gained close to 30 new students this year alone.
“It’s been very exciting to be welcoming so many new dancers to our family,” Perkins said. “But while we are proud to have made a name for ourselves – and Norwich – throughout the dance arena, the studio’s focus still remains technique coupled with innovative choreography in a welcoming, family atmosphere.”
Perkins also recognizes that many of her former students, a number of whom have gone on to dance in college and professionally, still return to perform with her. “I feel it’s such an honor to have so many of my former students return. Not only do many of them return to dance with the studio, I even have several who have been teaching with me for over five years now,” she said.
Perkins’ staff of close to ten choreographers come from diverse backgrounds, with many combined years of experience and professional-level qualifications. Many veteran staff members have received awards for choreography, which Perkins feels is a testament to the studio’s growth. “While competitions are not the main focus for our students or the staff,” she said, “receiving awards and accolades certainly validates the work we do as choreographers and artists.”
In the seven years the studio has been competing on the national level, Perkins has been awarded national titles three times and received the honor of America’s Choreographer of the Year five years consecutively. Her brother Michael, in similar fashion, received the award for America’s Young Choreographer of the Year and America’s Choreographer of the Year in 2003 and 2006 respectively. Additionally, three students from the studio have received national honors – Martha Seager, North America’s Dancer of the Year 2004; Christina Jensen, America’s Dancer of the Year 2003; and Travis St. Denny, America’s Teen Male Dancer of the Year 2003, North America’s Teen Male Dancer of the Year 2004 and America’s Male Dancer of the Year 2006. Outside the competitive circuit, Perkins’ professional company, Phoenix Project Danse Theatre, received the prestigious Spirit of Elan Award in 2004 at an annual dance festival held in New York City which was established to celebrate and honor innovation in choreography.
Tickets for “Threshold” may be purchased at Service Pharmacy and First Edition in Norwich, Bartle’s Pharmacy in Oxford or at the dance studio.