The 2009 Miss Kinston and recipient of numerous dance awards is opening a dance studio in Snow Hill on Tuesday.
Larissa Tripp, a native of Lenoir County, is opening Limited DanceWorks at 602 S.E. Third St.
The studio is offering classes in ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, contemporary, acro (gymnastics), lyrical (a cross between ballet and jazz), cheer dance (dancing with a cheerleading slant) and adult Zumba.
Classes for ages 2-18 will be held from 3:45-9 p.m. (or 9:30 p.m. on some nights) on Monday through Friday. Private lessons are available by appointment.
Tripp started taking ballet and tap classes at a young age.
“When I was 3 years old,” she said, “my mom put me in a class and I fell in love with it.”
Dancing always came natural to Tripp. When she was 8 years old, she won the national dance championship for her age category at Disney World in Orlando, Fla.
She continued taking dance classes at North Lenoir High School, from where she graduated in 2007, and East Carolina University, where she earned a degree in dance performance in 2011.
She taught dance at Dance Etc. in Kinston and, most recently, at A Step of Class in Goldsboro.
Tripp won three national choreographer awards, including the Ray Hollingsworth Memorial Choreographer award, from Dance Troop, Inc., in Savannah, Ga. Hollingsworth was co-founder of DTI.
Tripp said she enjoys dancing because it keeps her on the move.
“I have to always be doing something and dance is my outlet,” she said. “… It kind of takes out all my anxiety and it’s like a stress-reliever for me.”
For information about Limited DanceWorks, call 252-747-0590 or 252-286-5178.
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Peco Electric has been serving customers for 34 years.
The business, founded by Robert “Robbie” Parrish in 1979, became incorporated in 1994.
That was the year Ernie Langston began working there. Tom Ballard, a Kinston native, had been working there since 1989. The two co-workers purchased the company in December 2008.
“We do electrical contracting service work,” Ballard said. They also install generators.
The 30 employees perform small to large residential, commercial and industrial electrical repairs and installation throughout the area.
Whether it’s a receptacle, or even a light bulb, that needs changing or rewiring of an entire building, the company is up to the task.
“We warranty our work,” Ballard said, “for a period of one year, and that’s labor included.”
Peco has employees on-call around the clock for emergencies, such as the explosion that occurred recently at the Kinston Towers. Ballard said his workers arrived before the fire actually started.
Langston, who grew up in the Rivermont area of Kinston, said the employees’ teamwork is what makes the company thrive.
“(Peco’s) assets are our customers and employees,” he said.
Langston and Ballard began their electrical careers at the bottom, learning on the job.
“We’re all just a bunch of country boys,” Ballard said, “trying to make a living.”
Peco Electric, 1711 Elijah Loftin Road, is open 8 a.m.-noon and 1-5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For information, call 252-527-5285. When calling for emergency after-hours service, a recording will provide a cell phone number to call.
Margaret Fisher can be reached at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @MargaretFishr.
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Do you have a new retail business or one that’s undergone a significant change? The Free Press would like to hear about it. Contact Margaret Fisher at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com.