Linda Walker - Jeffrey Graham Hughes - Leslie Milligan - Geri Salmen - Kristin Jensen

Linda Walker began her dance training at the age of six in California. She studied with many small ballet schools throughout California, Robert Joffrey in New York, and San Francisco Ballet on full scholarship. She is the founder of, and principal instructor at Academy of Ballet (formerly Tucson School of Ballet, 1981), founder and Artistic Director of Tucson Regional Ballet (1983), proud mother of four, and grandmother of five. From 1988 through May 2002, Ms. Walker instructed students from St. David, Sierra Vista, Dragoon, Pomerine, Benson, and Wilcox at her Benson site.

Ms. Walker’s dedication to quality ballet led the Tucson Regional Ballet to audition for, and gain membership in, Regional Dance America/Pacific (1994), and her innovative creativity has brought TRB to new heights with the original production of A Southwest Nutcracker. TRB also premiered Ms. Walker's original ballet adaptations of the best-selling children's books, The Three Little Javelinas and The Tortoise and the Jackrabbit. Ms. Walker has served on the board of Regional Dance America/Pacific and as a panelist for Tucson Pima Arts Council.

Jeffrey Graham Hughes was born in Alameda, California, where he started dancing at the age of 6. His first two teachers were Vern Nerden and Madame Alexandria Baldina (from the Maryinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg Russia and Ballet Russe circa Nijinsky and Pavlova). As a youngster he was a member of Oakland Metropolitan Ballet and was a guest artist with several companies in Northern California.

He was artistic director of Ohio Ballet, interim director and then rehearsal director for Hong Kong Ballet, he has worked as associate director/ballet master with Ballet de Monterrey, ballet master for Alonzo King’s Lines Contemporary Ballet, artistic director for Atlanta Ballet’s outreach program, the founder of his own educational performing group Ballet Atlantis and most recently executive director for Ballet Tucson.

Over a twenty-two year professional career as a dancer, he danced principal roles with Joffrey II, Joffrey Ballet, London Festival Ballet, Cleveland/San Jose Ballet, Oakland, Sacramento, and Atlanta Ballet.

Mr. Hughes had a vast repertoire of roles, listed among some of his favorites were; The Moor in Jose Limon’s Moor’s Pavane, Fleming Flindt’s The Lesson, Franz in Coppelia, Balanchine’s Tarantella, Le Corsaire pas de deux, Prince Seigfried in Swan Lake, one of the two male leads in Landers Etudes, Fokine’s Spectre de la Rose, Prince Igor and Les Sylphide . He danced in ballets by such choreographers as Ailey, Ashton, Bournonville, Cranko, Nureyev, Robbins, Schaufuss, Tharp, Tudor, Watts, to mention just a few.

Jeffrey was privileged to be in Robert Joffrey’s Remembrances, enjoyed dancing in many of Gerald Arpino’s ballets, and danced and created many roles in Dennis Nahat ballets.

Over the past 21 years he has choreographed over 40 ballets. He has been on the faculty of Hong Kong Academy for the Arts, San Francisco Dance Center, New York Academy of Ballet, among others. Mr. Hughes brings brings his years of experience to the Academy of Ballet as an instructor and Artistic Director of Tucson Regional Ballet.

Leslie Milligan began her ballet training at the age of nine, receiving her core training at the Academy of Ballet in Tucson, Arizona under Linda Walker. She studied intensively at Ballet Arizona, Ballet Aspen, Houston Ballet, Joe Tremaine, Lines Contemporary Ballet, UA Dance Ensemble and has completed the teacher training program, in Pilates, at the Body Works Studio.  She performed as a soloist with Tucson Regional Ballet and performed professionally with Oakland Ballet.  Ms. Smythe has been an instructress of ballet and jazz in past years at Academy of Ballet and held the position of Ballet Mistress to Tucson Regional Ballet for the 01-02 season.

Geri Salmen began her dance training at the age of 15.  She studied with Zuleka's School of Belly Dance, Fritschy's Dance Academy and Academy of Ballet where she has performed in annual school recitals.  She has performed in Tucson Regional Ballet’s production of A Southwest Nutcracker since its inception and is currently the TRB’s Wardrobe Director.  It was in the fall of 2002, when Ms. Salmen began  working as a teaching assistant, with the younger children, that her natural abilities as an instructor was revealed.   This revelation lead to an invitation to be on staff at Academy of Ballet, as an instructor.

Kristin Jensen has been dancing for twenty years and teaching for eight.  As well as being crowned both Miss Teen Dance of Iowa and Miss Dance of Iowa, Ms. Jensen is a well-established show choir choreographer with the top show choirs of Iowa.   She has received several awards, including seven Best Choreography titles.  In addition to dancing in Iowa and now Arizona, Ms. Jensen has danced in New York, Chicago and Colorado.   At the University of Arizona, four of her dances have been performed in different faculty shows.  Ms. Jensen brings her brilliant tap dance technique to the Academy of Ballet as the intermediate through advanced tap instructor.