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

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

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 10th or 11th grade, 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 stat ...

. Students living in the

area usually commute, while those from the greater Minnesota area live in a supervised residence hall on campus.

History

Former Minnesota Governor

Rudy Perpich Rudolph George Perpich Sr. (born Rudolph George Prpić; June 27, 1928 September 21, 1995) was an American politician who served as the governor of Minnesota from 1976 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1991. A member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor ...

and his wife, Lola Perpich, provided the vision for the creation of the center after an extended stay in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, Austria. Inspired by the seamless integration of arts and academics in Viennese schools, the Perpiches worked to create something similar in Minnesota when Rudy was reelected 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 graduated in 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 leading practitioners in their arts as well as successful doctors, teachers, lawyers, scientists and community leaders. The center is 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 Lutheran educational institution established in 1919 in St. Paul, Minnesota. It moved to Minneapolis in 1929 and then to Golden Vall ...

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

Art areas

Theater

Perpich's theater program 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 classical and contemporary performance theory and practice, including musical theater. All students in the program are engaged in class and production work throughout the year.

Dance

Perpich's dance program, directed by Mary Harding, focuses mostly on

modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert dance, concert or theatrical dance which includes 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 ...

, 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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

training. Students are taught

improvisation Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...

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 wi ...

, theory, and

choreography Choreography is the art 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 itself. A chor ...

. 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 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, and recording.

Literary arts

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

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on 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 autob ...

, and then move on to

short fiction A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single 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 old ...

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

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

. In both their junior and senior years, students have the opportunity to read selected pieces of their writing in public readings arranged by the school. Literary students are also encouraged to arrange public readings not affiliated with the center. Several collaborative works have come from the center's literary arts community, 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 school's largest. 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

* Natalie Denise Sperl, actress, model and musician * Sean Tillmann (

Har Mar Superstar Sean Tillmann-Hauser (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 M ...

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

Star Search ''Star Search'' (later known as ''Ed McMahon's Star Search'') is 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 29 ...

, Rock Star: INXS, and The Voice * Anni Rossi,

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

player * Josette Bynum (1995),

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

, Total Non-Stop Action (TNA) *Corrie Harrigan and Liz Elton (2005) of Kitten Forever * Paper Tiger, (hip hop producer) *Katherine Gerdes (1999), fashion designer, contestant on Project Runway (season 3) * Jenny Zigrino (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 on Olson Memorial Highway in

Golden Valley, Minnesota Golden Valley is a western and first-ring suburb of Minneapolis in Hennepin County, Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 22,552 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is mostly residential an ...

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