NORWICH – Creativity, competition winnings and a hardworking booster club landed the Amber Perkins School of the Arts in the September issue of Dance Studio Life, a nationally-distributed magazine.
The publication featured quotes and information from Norwich and Vestal studio owner, teacher and choreographer Perkins and her brother, Michael, who is also a teacher and choreographer. Photographs of title winning dancers Robin Wonka of Oxford and Travis St. Denny of Norwich performing their 2008 best of show duo, “Primal Scream,” accompanied the articles.
Perkins said her studio was contacted for articles about winning competitions and the pitfalls and windfalls of fundraising, but she was surprised to see her brother, Michael’s 2006 choreography of the large production piece, “Animal Farm” reviewed.
Magazine columnist and competition judge Larry Sousa wrote that Perkins’ modern dance interpretation of George Orwell’s famous novel was one of the most “successful” and “fascinating” examples of a literary adaptation he’d ever seen in a dance competition.
“It was a lavish production with a stage full of beautiful scenery and clever costuming. Most important, the choreography and character work captured the tone, themes and spirit of (Animal Farm). It can’t be easy to adapt, in dance form, literature’s most famous satirical allegory of Soviet totalitarianism. But there it was, live on-stage, and it worked.”
The performance judge said he had “seen rhinestones in every color and 12 million fouette turns” in his 15-year career, so when a dance hits the stage that is innovate, fresh and engaging, he is both surprised and relieved.
“He (Perkins) trusted his instincts and his performers’ inspiration to tell this famous story in his own language. I bet George Orwell would have found the adaptation fascinating. I certainly did,” he wrote.
The Amber Perkins School of the Arts is best known in the dance competition world for modern and adagio dance styles. Amber trained and studied in college the modern techniques of Graham, Dunham and Horton and instills those skills sets in her students. The result is repeated prize winnings in the choreography category every year at regional and national competitions. Perkins has been Choreographer of the Year at American Dance Awards competitions for most of this decade.
Columnist Joshua Bartlett interviewed Amber about the pressure to win in her piece captioned, “The Inside Scoop from Dance Competition Winners.” A studio’s winnings leads to more dancers coming in the door, as Perkin’s experienced two years ago when 100 new students began making the drive from the surrounding counties to Chenango’s countyseat. However, the students’ desire and Amber’s pressure to stay on top has increased.
“It’s really difficult when you have done well in the past, and I often think I’ll feel horrible if I don’t do as well the next time around,” she stated. “I’ve done it quite a few years with a ton of anxiety. I would be a liar if I told you the students don’t care about doing well; otherwise, why would we be going?”
Proceeds from fundraisers sponsored by the studio’s booster club supports competition students’ traveling and entry fees each year. Some of the projects implemented in the past were: an annual galla with raffles, recital photos for sale, chicken barbeques, a golf tournament and traditional car washes, bake sales and bottle drives.
The Amber Perkins School of the Arts, now in its 11th year, specializes in modern, jazz, tap, ballet and adagio. Its studios are located on Birdsall Street in Norwich and in the Aero Gymnastic Academy Building in Vestal, located at 541 Vestal Parkway East. For more information, call 336-6143.