Amanda C. Walker, A native of Tallahassee, FL, Amanda trained at the Southern Academy of Ballet Arts and Pas de Vie Ballet, Inc. with Natalia Botha and Charles Hagan (formerly of Pittsburgh Ballet Theater), and Gwynne Ashton (Ballet Mistress for such companies as PBT and Royal Winnipeg Ballet). She holds a B.A. in Dance- Performance from Mercyhurst College (now University) in Erie, PA under the direction of Tauna Hunter. She has also danced and trained with such organizations as Lake Erie Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Boston Ballet SDP, the Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts, and the International Flamenco Festival. Amanda worked for 9 seasons with the Chattanooga Ballet, in Chattanooga, TN, where she was a Principal Dancer and Senior Instructor. While there, she was the 2006 recipient of the Tennessee Arts Commission Fellowship for artistic excellence in dance performance. She has also been a Guest Artist for several companies in the Southeast and taught Master Classes at various schools and summer intensives. During her training and career, she has danced principal and soloist roles in many ballets, including Coppelia, Les Sylphides, Giselle, Pas de Quatre, Swan Lake, Serenade, Dracula, Firebird, Paquita, and The Nutcracker, as well as in commissioned works in Ballet, Modern, and Jazz. Amanda has just completed her M.A. in Mental Health Counseling; Dance/Movement Therapy at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA.