The Perpich Center for Arts Education is an agency of the state of

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

that seeks to advance K-12 education throughout the state by teaching in and through the arts. A campus in Golden Valley houses the center's three main components: the outreach and professional development group, Perpich Arts High School and the Perpich Arts Library. Perpich serves as a resource for arts education, students, teachers, artists and arts and youth organizations in

. Perpich Arts High School is a tuition-free public high school delivering a comprehensive education centered in the arts. The school is open to all 11th and 12th grade students who are Minnesota residents. Students apply and audition in their 10th or 11th grade year, in one of six areas: dance, literary arts, media arts, music, theater or visual arts. With enrollment limited to 310 students, the school offers the benefit of learning in a small community while allowing students to take advantage of arts resources in the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in statu ...

. Students living in the

area usually commute, while those from the greater

area live in a supervised residence hall on campus.

History

Former Minnesota Governor

Rudy Perpich Rudolph George Perpich Sr. (June 27, 1928 September 21, 1995) was an American politician and the longest-serving governor of Minnesota, serving a total of just over 10 years. A member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, he served as the 34t ...

and his wife Lola provided the vision for the creation of the center following an extended stay in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria. Inspired by the seamless integration of arts and academics in Viennese schools, Lola and Rudy worked to create a similar model in Minnesota when Rudy was re-elected governor in 1983. After lengthy debate the idea of an arts high school was expanded to include professional development in arts education available to all Minnesota teachers and a statewide resource library. The center was established in legislation in 1985 and was titled the Minnesota School of the Arts and Resource Center. Opening as The Minnesota Center for Arts Education in the autumn of 1989, the school began with junior students who then graduated in the spring of 1991. The school has graduated nearly 3,500 alumni, many of whom have gone on to top ranked colleges and conservatories across the country and are now leading practitioners in their arts as well as successful doctors, teachers, lawyers, scientists and community leaders. The center is located on property that belonged to the

Golden Valley Lutheran College Golden Valley Lutheran College was founded as the Lutheran Bible Institute. The LBI was a two-year degree-granting Lutheranism, Lutheran educational institution established in 1919 in Saint Paul, Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota. It moved to Minneapol ...

and the majority of the center's buildings were originally part of that school. All of the buildings have been modified to accommodate the mission of the Perpich Center. A major addition to the main school building was made in 1998-99.

Art areas

Theater

The theater program at Perpich offers a general introduction to theatrical practice, with a primary focus in acting skills. Students gain a working understanding of the Stanislavsky System, with particular emphasis on ensemble performance and physical expression. The program explores both classical and contemporary performance theory and practice, including work in musical theater. All students in the program are engaged in class and production work throughout the year.

Dance

The dance program at Perpich, under the direction of Mary Harding, is focused mostly on

modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance which included dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th ...

, with

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

training. Students are taught

improvisation Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

dance history The history of dance is difficult to access because dance does not often leave behind clearly identifiable physical artifacts that last over millennia, such as stone tools, hunting implements or cave paintings. It is not possible to identify wit ...

, theory, and

choreography Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design ...

. Three dance concerts are performed per year along with additional collaborative performances on campus and in the community.

Music

In the music department students perform in small ensembles. Unlike a typical high-school music program, there is no orchestra or band. There is a choir for the first part of the year. Students form ensembles of two-to- five members, and work collaboratively to arrange or compose music for their voices and instruments. They perform in many concerts a year. Students also study a wide range of music topics in seminars, including theory and ear training, several seminars in electronic music, African drumming, guitar techniques and styles, soloing, recording,

Literary Arts

In the junior year literary arts students start out with an intense study and practice of

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobi ...

, and then move on to

short fiction A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

, eventually creating a research-based, character-driven short story. In the senior year students focus on work in a variety of genres, with a strong emphasis on

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

. In both their junior and senior years, students are given the opportunity to read selected pieces of their own writing in public readings that are arranged through the school. Literary students are also encouraged to arrange their own public readings that are not affiliated with the center. Several collaborative works have come from the literary arts community at the center, including an anthology independently published by the graduating classes of 2006 and 2007
"Lit Kids: Mama Bird and the Electric Rabbit"
(Mill City Press, 2007).

Media Arts

The media arts program includes work with digital and traditional photography, computer animation, digital film along with film history and criticism and screenwriting. The department competes annually in national competitions, and the students are required to present work in the community and develop a portfolio for review.

Visual Arts

The visual arts department is the largest department in the school. It comprises a painting and drawing studio, printmaking studio, ceramics room, computer lab and gallery space. All juniors are taught painting, drawing, graphic design, printmaking, documentation, portfolio development and art history. The senior year is a year of electives. Choices include paper-making, oil painting, advanced drawing, stop-motion animation, ceramics sculpture, digital imaging, grant writing, public art, sculpture, jewelry, monotype printmaking, screen printing and portfolio development.

Noted alumni

* Sean Tillmann (

Har Mar Superstar Sean Tillmann (born February 6, 1978) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. He has performed and released studio albums as Sean Na Na and as a member of hardcore band Calvin Krime, but is best known for his work under the name Har Mar Super ...

) (1995), musician and actor * Jordis Unga (2000), contestant on

Star Search ''Star Search'' was an American television show that was produced by T.P.E./ Rysher Entertainment from 1983 to 1995, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Al Masini. A relaunch was produced by 2929 Productions from 2003 to 2004. On both versio ...

, Rock Star: INXS, and

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

Anni Rossi Anni Rossi is an American singer, songwriter and producer from Minnesota, currently living in Brooklyn, New York. She is notable for playing an electric-viola that was handcrafted from a tree branch by former Swans percussionist Thor Harris. Ros ...

Viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

player and musician *

Josette Bynum Josette Bynum (born September 11, 1977) is an American former professional wrestler and promoter. Bynum is best known for her stint in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the name Sojournor Bolt (or "Sojo Bolt" for short). She is also known for ...

(1995),

Professional Wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

Total Non-Stop Action (TNA) *Corrie Harrigan and Liz Elton (2005) of

Kitten Forever Kitten Forever was an American feminist punk trio based in Minneapolis. The all-woman band formed in June 2006 and included Corrie Harrigan, Laura Larson, and Liz Elton. ''Reviler'' described them as a trio who "collapse pop melodies underneath ...

Paper Tiger (hip hop producer) John Samels, better known by his stage name Paper Tiger, is a hip hop producer and DJ from Minneapolis, Minnesota, who is currently based in Brooklyn, New York. He is a founding member of the indie hip hop collective Doomtree. History Paper Tig ...

. *Katherine Gerdes (1999), fashion designer, contestant on

Project Runway (season 3) ''Project Runway Season 3'' was the third season of ''Project Runway'', Bravo (US TV network), Bravo's successful reality show, reality competition for fashion designers. The third season of the show, with Heidi Klum returning as the host and Ti ...

Jenny Zigrino ''Bad Santa 2'' is a 2016 List of theatrical Christmas films, Christmas black comedy drama film directed by Mark Waters (director), Mark Waters and written by Shauna Cross and Johnny Rosenthal. A standalone sequel to the 2003 film ''Bad Santa'', ...

(2005), comedian and actress *Samantha Rei (1999), fashion designer, contestant on Project Runway (season 16), author, illustrator *Nate Towle (2012), guitarist of Satan's Satyrs

Location

The Perpich Center is located on

Olson Memorial Highway Olson may refer to: * Olson (surname), people with the name ''Olson'' * Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute The Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute is an outreach arm of Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin. A 1971 environmental conference ...

Golden Valley, Minnesota Golden Valley is a western and first-ring suburb of Minneapolis in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. The city is mostly residential and is bordered by U.S. Highway 12 (Interstate 394). Over 15% of the city is parks or nature reserves. ...

References

External links

Perpich Center for Arts Education

MN Music Wiki entry on PCAE
{{authority control Public high schools in Minnesota Art schools in Minnesota Music schools in Minnesota Educational institutions established in 1985 Schools in Hennepin County, Minnesota 1985 establishments in Minnesota