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Edge School of the Arts goes virtual Dance school loses studio, but intends to find new one in the fall by Naeisha Rose
years, ESOTA had to shut down its dance studio located at 217-12 MerEdge School of the Arts in Laurel- rick Blvd. after it sat empty for six ton has its 25th anniversary on the months following the government horizon for June 27 at 7 p.m. But it shutdown in March 2020. “I would say we paid $70,000 in took a lot for the school to bounce back after having to shut down dur- rent during that time,” said Edge. ing the pandemic in March 2020 and “We got a small [Paycheck Protection lose not just its dance studio, but also Program] loan, but it didn’t help much.” a dance mom. ESOTA received $33,000 in PPP, “She was one of our baby class moms and she was also a member of but because of the lack of revenue the legacy,” said ESOTA Artistic due to the coronavirus pandemic, it Director Kerri Edge about Sharon no longer made sense for the artistic Green Garrett, the Fresh Meadows director who operates the dance dancer and dance mom who died school with her older sisters, Donna from Covid-19 in March 2020. “We Edge-Rachell and Wendy Edge, and come from Bernice Johnson’s Dance their mother, Beverly Edge. “We were studio and she not bringing in was from e n o u g h there as well.” e got a small PPP income to pay Bernice the bills,” said Johnson was a loan, but it didn’t Edge. “We did legendary keep the staff.” dancer from amount to much.” T h e the Cotton — Kerri Edge, Edge School of the Arts ESOTA staff Club era (1923 regrouped and to 1940), who broke color barriers as one of the first spent the months of April through Black dancers in the famed nightclub. June 2020 offering free virtual classShe went on to humbly open her own es so students could take the classes dance studio from her home’s base- via computer from the safety of their ment in Jamaica in the 1940s, and it homes and stay active, according to would later grow into a cultural arts Edge. “The loan helped us keep our staff center located at Sutphin Boulevard near the old Loew’s Valencia Theatre, on board and we received a donation which is now the Tabernacle of for five computers,” said Edge. “The whole thing was very strange. We are Prayer for All People church. The cultural arts center closed in used to being full to capacity at the 2000 when Johnson’s health declined. studio ... not seeing the students left The prolific dancer died in 2005, but me emotional.” The school usually has approxishe inspired former students from her school to go on and open their own mately 400 students a year, but operdance studios, including Edge who ating at 25 percent capacity virtually has helped to usher in a new genera- did make it easier to teach dancers tion of dancers at ESOTA since 1996. online, according to Edge. “It’s tougher to teach a larger However, for the first time in Associate Editor
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class,” said Edge. “The smaller classes worked in that sense, but we are missing our people.” The dance school also had to cancel its 24th annual recital, a June money-making program students started practicing for last March that helps to provide for operating costs for the school for the following dance season, which is in the fall. The school fully paid for costumes, which never arrived last year because the Edge School of the Arts dance students perform at Agawam Park on Long Island for a Juneclothes shops went teenth celebration in West African inspired costumes. PHOTO COURTESY EDGE SCHOOL OF THE ARTS out of bu si ness, short dance films for the songs they concert, with tickets on sale for $25 according to Wendy Edge. via bit.ly/ESOTA-MOTOWN-25. “Things weren’t quite the same,” had practiced in March 2020. “We had rehearsals and classes During the Black Lives Matter Wendy said. “The kids didn’t have the usual opportunity to showcase protests, Councilman Daneek Miller online virtually and we have locatheir talents. And we missed seeing (D-St. Albans) reached out to tions where we rehearse and then ESOTA for a dance performance that shoot at Springfield Park,” said the end result.” In July 2020, ESOTA launched a would unveil a Black Lives Matter Edge. “We are also shooting all five-week summer session. The first mural in Jamaica in July 2020. over parks in Queens, which is “We wanted them to be a part of cool because a lot of the kids and four weeks the students were in practice mode and in the fifth week stu- the experience,” said Edge of the the parents have never seen some dents were filmed for a virtual short BLM performance. of the parks we are going to.” Later the dance school was comconcert, which included students The other parks in Queens either filming themselves at home missioned by Councilwoman Adri- i n clu d e Roy Wi l k i n s Pa r k , with the help of their parents or being enne Adams (D-Jamaica) for “The Socrates Sculpture Park, Athens filmed in-person as they gathered Free to be You and Me” concert in Park, Astoria Park, Queensbridge safely at outdoor locations wearing November 2020. This was followed Park, Gantry Plaza State Park and by a Kwanzaa performance earlier Roosevelt Island Park. Valley masks and socially distanced. “The kids had done short films this year, a little after the holiday. Stream State Park was also a locaMost recently, ESOTA students tion shoot for the concert. before. We did a dance movie we called ‘Four Little Girls,’ before, performed at Juneteenth events at The dance school is in the prowhich tells the 1963 bombing in Ala- Agawam Park on Long Island and at cess of opening a new studio. bama where the four little girls lost Roy Wilkins Park in St. Albans. The “We have a new exciting parttheir lives,” said Edge, about the new dance school will be closing out its nership for September 2021,” said Q dance recital that became a series of 25th season with a virtual Motown Edge.
Dance teachers David Sincere Aiken, left, and Omar Edwards along with ESOTA Students at the unveiling of the Jamaica Black Lives Matter mural. Students of the Edge School of the Arts took virtuPHOTOS BY ROMAN GONZALEZ, LEFT; AND COURTESY EDGE SCHOOL OF THE ARTS al dance lessons online.
