Biography

Leslie Scott Photography

Rachel Perlman is a versatile, energetic, and passionate dancer, choreographer, and teacher, who is currently performing on the international tour of “The Aluminum Show”. Before joining the tour, she had just returned from 9 and a half months of performing on the high seas as a dancer for Stiletto Entertainment on Holland America Line’s beautiful MS Zaandam cruise ship. She graduated Magna Cum Laude in May of 2010 with a BFA in Dance Performance & Choreography and a Business Administration Minor from Elon University in North Carolina.

Originally from Cape Cod, MA, Rachel began her technical dance training at the age of 2, fell in love with it, and hasn’t stopped since. She is formally trained in ballet, jazz, rhythm and show tap, pointe, lyrical, modern, contemporary, hip-hop, African, and musical theatre styles. She also has experience in partnering and ballroom styles such as salsa, tango, rumba, cha cha, quickstep, disco, and swing. She grew up attending countless dance conventions and workshops across the country to take classes in all genres of dance from the greatest master teachers and choreographers in the nation. This environment fostered her love and appreciation of all dance forms and versatility as a dancer. She has done intensive studies and countless classes at Broadway Dance Center in NYC (intensives with Mandy Moore and Liz Imperio), Steps on Broadway in NYC, and at The Gold School in Brockton, MA.

She began her competitive dancing career in her studio’s competition team (Dance Designs’ 3D Performance Company) in middle school and was a driven competitor throughout high school, having won numerous awards, titles, and scholarships as both a soloist and team dancer on both the regional and national levels in all genres of dance.

In high school, she auditioned and was selected as a “VIP” dancer for the Dance Olympus convention, where she toured across the country (Las Vegas, Boston, NYC, Chicago, Omaha) as a convention teaching assistant and faculty show performer for the summer. She also performed at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World as a DANCEAMERICA Dancer of the Year Semi-Finalist in the Magic Music Days.

Throughout college, Rachel was on the staff of the Dance Olympus/DANCEAMERICA organization under Art and Nancy Stone as an assistant regional director and nationals/summer tour “Art Stone Girl”, assisting with running both the national and regional competitions and conventions across the country. She has also assisted with Turn It Up Dance Challenge nationals on Cape Cod. She has performed as a Miss North Carolina Dancer for the 2009 production in Raleigh, NC under the direction of Nina Wheeler, and has performed twice in NYC in Broadway Dance Center’s Off-Broadway Showcases. She was also the 2009-2010 Busch Gardens Dance Instructor and Campus Representative for their auditions at Elon University.

Rachel feels very fortunate to have had a successful career as a dancer and choreographer at Elon University. She was a member of the Elon Dance Company for all four years there, performing in all of the Fall and Spring Dance Concerts, as well as all site-specific “Dance in the Landscape” and “Senior Thesis Dance Concerts”.  She performed works by choreographers such as: Chuck Davis,  Nina Wheeler, Lauren Kearns, Gene Medler, Amy Beasley, Leslie Scott, Jane Wellford, and Lila York. She was Assistant Director to Gene Medler/ Choreographer/ Dancer/Soloist for the Elon Tap Ensemble’s annual “TAPPED OUT!” concert for 3 years, and Assistant Choreographer to Lauren Kearns and a dancer for the “Ever Elon” Endowment Campaign Banquet. Rachel was a Choreographer/Dancer/Soloist in “DanceWorks” concerts, and was president of the Elon DanceWorks Student Organization.  She was also a member of Elon’s Varsity Dance Team for two years, performing at Elon basketball and football games, as well as the televised Southern Conference Tournaments in Charleston, SC. Rachel discovered her love of musical theatre dance when she was given the opportunity to perform in the 2008 Convocation Honoring Hal Prince, choreographed by Lynne Formato. She was also given the opportunity to perform excerpts of Bob Fosse’s original choreography in a “Fosse Showcase Performance”, also directed by Lynne Formato.

Rachel’s choreography was selected by the Elon Dance Program faculty and Performing Arts Department chair two years in a row to represent Elon University’s Dance Program at the American College Dance Festival’s professionally adjudicated concerts in Baltimore, MD in 2008 and in Roanoke, VA in 2009. She is honored to be the only Elon dance major to ever have the opportunity to present her original choreography at this prestigious conference not just once, but twice. Rachel was also selected by adjudication to present and perform two original works in the North Carolina Dance Alliance’s Student Choreography Showcase in 2008.

In 2009, Rachel was selected for Elon’s prestigious Summer Undergraduate Research Experience program, where she further researched new forms of choreography involving rhythm tap and contemporary jazz and modern dance, which she affectionately named “conTAPorary”. She was also a Spring Undergraduate Research Forum presenter in 2009 for her research on the contemporary choreographic process.

In her senior year, Rachel was a featured dancer and Dance Captain in Elon University’s award-winning production of “Psycho Beach Party”, under the direction of Fred Rubeck and choreographed by Lynne Formato, which further sparked her love of being involved in theatrical productions, acting, and singing. She performed and/or presented original choreography in seven dance concerts that year, including a guest performance in the finale of Elon’s own version of “So You Think You Can Dance?”, which was an idea that Rachel conceived as a fundraiser for the DanceWorks organization. Rachel has also enjoyed working in film as a dancer in the “College Movie Musical” produced by the Elon University School of Communications, and in an episode of “Newsbreakers” directed and produced by Raj Rawal.

Rachel found time between rehearsals and studying to be a teacher and choreographer at Amber’s House of Dance in Burlington, NC from 2008- 2010, and has been brought in as a guest and master teacher at other studios in the Triad area including Burlington Academy of Dance Arts and The Dance Attic. She has choreographed for the House of Dance All-Star Varsity competition team and BADA’s Karizma performance company, helping them win high scores, special awards, and performing innovative choreography. She was a teaching assistant to Lauren Kearns at Elon University for Yoga and Choreography II, and is now certified to teach Pilates Mat Sequence I.

Last May, Rachel was offered a 9.5 month contract with Stiletto Entertainment as a dancer on Holland America Line’s MS Zaandam cruise ship, which is where she performed from September to June, sailing to Hawaii, Alaska, and Mexico.

After returning from her ship contract, she went to New York City to begin auditioning again, and was soon offered the opportunity to perform on tour with the exciting and innovative production of “The Aluminum Show”, which is what she has been loving doing since August.

As a versatile and dynamic dancer, choreographer, and teacher, Rachel loves sharing her many passions for dance with others in any way, and hopes to continue doing so for as long as she can.

Photography by Leslie Scott