Photo by Jon Anderson.
Alabama Dance Academy founder Pamela Merkel works with Angelina Herika.
Pamela Merkel opened the Alabama Dance Academy on Old Columbiana Road in Hoover 30 years ago.
She had performed professionally with companies including the Alabama Ballet, Atlantic Contemporary Ballet Theatre, Hartford Ballet and Connecticut Ballet Theatre and was ready to start her own studio. She picked Hoover because there was a void in the market and set up shop across from Green Valley Elementary.
She started with about 75 students in one studio and by 2000 had bought the entire building and expanded twice. She now has three studios covering more than 3,400 square feet of dance space.
The Alabama Dance Academy offers pre-ballet, tap, classical ballet, jazz, pointe, contemporary dance, hip hop and acro classes for 225 to 250 students, including a few adults in a tap class. When she started, she was the sole instructor; today, the academy has 10 teachers.
“I always knew from a young age I wanted to teach,” Merkel said. “Once I got started, there was no going back.”
Annual performances include a jazz and contemporary showcase in October, The Nutcracker in December, a classical showcase in February, a full-length ballet and jazz feature in April and a year-end recital in May.
Some of her students have gone on to perform professionally with groups such as the St. Louis Dance Theater, Robert Moses’ Kin Dance Co. in San Francisco and the Ajkun Ballet in New York. This year, she has students going to the Roanoke Ballet in Virginia, the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago and three students becoming dance majors at the University of Alabama.
“I love working with these kids and seeing what they can achieve,” Merkel said. “I believe in setting the bar high, and they always rise to it.”
