Elaine Brown Willingham, a native of Cullman, has studied classical ballet from some of the best teachers in the United States and abroad. Starting her training at the age of 11 with Anita Burbage of Cullman, Elaine's love of dance took her to the Birmingham Civic Ballet School. She then auditioned and was accepted into the Alabama Ballet Company at age 14 to begin strenuous training with such famous teachers and dancers as Richard England, Gage Bush, John Kritza, Patricia Wilde of American Ballet Theatre (from New York), and Yuri and Vicki Chatal. Elaine performed lead roles in full length ballets including Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, Giselle, Swan Lake, and Coppelia while touring the southeast with the Alabama Ballet Company. Also, during her association with the Alabama Ballet Company, she studied with the Alabama School of Fine Arts. While performing in the Southeastern Regional Ballet Festival, Elaine was one of five girls from Alabama to be given summer scholarships to George Balanchine's "School of American Ballet" in New York. Elaine was then offered and accepted full scholarship for the next three years. Elaine performed in New York at Lincoln Center and with Memphis Ballet Company, The International Academy of Dance in Portugal, and Ballet West in Colorado. Elaine has taught at Athens College, Huntsville Ballet School, Snead Junior College, Auburn University, in Paris, France, and Ballet Theatre School since 1972. Elaine is married to Attorney Dan J. Willingham and has three children: Jason, Anna, and Daniel and three beautiful grandchildren: Clara, Liam, and Esther. For more information contact: Cullman Ballet Theatre School 1704 Talley Ho Street Cullman, Alabama 35055 256-734-7775 or 256-734-3799 E-mail: questions@cullmanballettheatre.com