About Benita Perkins
Benita Perkins has had a wide and varied career
expanding from a professional dancer with the Philadelphia Dance
Company, to a financial executive on Wall Street. This forty
something year old wife and mother of three has successfully
combined her love of movement, her business savvy and her need
to convey a positive message in her lifetime, through Bennie
Girl Productions. The production company focuses on the fitness
needs of African American women and the special demands they
must overcome to step into a lifetime of healthy living.
She has appeared at numerous events to promote her philosophy,
including Essence Music Festival, African American Women
on Tour, NAACP National Conference, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority's
National Conference, local women's conferences and various
gospel music events. She notes that the effect is always the
same "…after our heart to heart talk, women really want to feel
better and look better." "When they realize I have three kids
and am well into my forties, they know I'm understanding their
dilemmas;…. full time mother, worker and sometimes sole breadwinner,
who wants to have a healthy lifestyle but is overwhelmed with
the day to day pressures…then the aging process sabotages our
metabolism which further complicates the story". Through her
event workshops Benita strives to make women feel that losing
weight and feeling good every day, is attainable through God's
grace. It is about women truly looking inside and assessing
themselves, armed with real life knowledge about the exercise
process.
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pa., Ms. Perkins danced professionally
with the Philadelphia Dance Company before graduating from Wellesley
College. After graduation she moved to New York City where she
continued her dance training at the Broadway Dance Center under
the direction of Frank Hatchett while securing an MBA in Finance
from New York University.
Benita's experiences in her family, from her father's death
from illnesses related to an unhealthy lifestyle and her observations
of overweight African American women around her, inspired her
to produce "Taking It To A Higher Ground", an exercise video
to great inspirational house and club music. She selected inspirational
music because "For black women everywhere, music is a natural
motivator and healer. If the beat is powerful and the words
are inspirational, chances are we will be motivated to exercise".
When she is not on the road, Benita teaches Pilates, cardio
kickbox, step and body sculpting in New Jersey. She writes a
monthly fitness article for Gospelcity.com, and has written
articles for Upscale and The Gospel Truth Magazines.
She has also been featured in various issues of Heart and
Soul and Essence magazines.
Ms. Perkins is a member of the Aerobics and Fitness Association
of America and the AAI/ISMA Aerobics Association. She is also
a founding member of "Mothers Off Duty", a group dedicated to
the message of "moms taking time out for themselves", which
fits in with her goal of women taking care of their health.
The group is also dedicated to helping others through its annual
four year scholarships and mentoring programs for teenage mothers
who want to go to college.
Benita summarizes her philosophy in one sentence…"we've got
to make a difference in our lifetimes…we've got to care about
ourselves because if we don't, who will?"
For more information on master classes and workshops for your
event, or the exercise video project “Taking It To A Higher
Ground”, please contact Bennie Girl Productions, Inc.
at 973-763-8456 or send a message.
