Faculty
Rebecca Miller Stalcup – Ballet
Founded Arkansas Academy of Dance & Arkansas Festival Ballet in 2000, with a team of devoted supporters. She continues to promote the highest standards of training and demonstrates a unique ability to instill, in her students, a joy for dance along with an appreciation of formal ballet etiquette. Ms. Stalcup engages the talents and expertise of established instructors to suit the demands of each level of training offered in the academy. Over the past 25 years, she has served as instructor within the region and choreographer for youth gymnast of Louisiana and Texas. As Artistic Director for Arkansas Festival Ballet, she has produced, choreographed and received awards for original works and statewide recognition for her contribution to the dance community. Through her leadership, Arkansas Festival Ballet has worked collaboratively with local arts organizations including Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre, Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre, Argenta Community Theatre, Arkansas Arts Center, ACANSA, Conway Symphony Orchestra, Opera in the Rock, Pine Bluff Symphony Orchestra, Praeclara Arts, The Clinton Foundation, UALR Theatre and Arts, UALR Concert Choir, Wildwood Park for the Arts. Ms Stalcup serves as board of director with Regional Dance America/ SW and the National Society of Arts & Letters.
Melinda Tobian – Ballet
Well known for her technique-focused instruction and her emphasis on the discipline of classical ballet. Trained in Seattle and New York, Ms. Tobian danced professionally with Joffrey Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Ballet Arizona and Ballet Arkansas. Her repertoire, acquired over a 20-year performance career, includes the classical ballets of George Balanchine, Marius Petipa, and Michel Fokine, as well as the contemporary choreography of Lambrous Lambrou, Jean Paul Comelin and Leslie Jane Pessemier. Ms. Tobian, a former artistic director for Ballet Arkansas, has trained students across Arkansas for over 25 years. Her students have gained acceptance to many professional schools of ballet, including American Ballet Theatre, School of American Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, North Carolina School of the Arts and Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Her students have also earned admission into dance degree programs at NYU–Tisch School of the Arts, SMU, Butler University and the University of Oklahoma. Ms. Tobian has produced many original works, including Synergy, Scherzo recognized throughout the southwest region.
Meredith Short Loy – Ballet
A native of Little Rock, Meredith Loy joined Ballet Arkansas in 2015 and is currently dancing principal and soloist roles for her Arkansas audience. She received her early training under the direction of Rebecca Miller Stalcup, Melinda Tobian, and Mark Bush at Arkansas Academy of Dance. As an alumni dancer with Arkansas Festival Ballet, she danced principal roles in The Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland and Aladdin. Ms. Loy is a graduate from the University of Oklahoma where she received her BFA in ballet performance from the School of Dance department led by Mary Margaret Holt, Jeremy Lindberg, Clara Cravey, and Ilya Kozadayev .Her most notable roles include; Sugar Plum Fairy from The Nutcracker staged by Mary Margaret Holt and Ilya Kozadayev, Haydn’s The Seasons Austria tour choreographed by Mary Margaret Holt and Ilya Kozadayev, Raymonda Pas de Dix principle couple choreographed by Ilya Kozadayev after Marius Petipa, Le Corsaire Pas de Deux staged by Clara Cravey, Swan Lake Pas de Trois staged by Ilya Kozadayev. As a soloist with Ballet Arkansas she has recently performed the ballet Paquita, Flutter by Ilya Kozadayev, Balanchine's Pas de Trois (Glinka) and Spring Fantasies as well as principal roles in The Nutcracker. She shares her passion for the art of dance in her instruction and training of youth talents.
Katherine Greer – Auxiliary Classes: Musical Theatre, Modern, Jazz, Tap into Theatre Dance
A graduate of UA Little Rock where she received her B.F.A in Dance Performance and her BA in Theatre Arts. In addition to teaching at Arkansas Academy of Dance, she performs and choreographs for local schools and community theaters. Most recently she enjoyed choreographing Follies at Argenta Community Theater. She was recently seen in Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre's fall tour of Taming of the Shrew as Biondello/Widow. Katie will be performing as Miss Potts in AFB's next production of Beauty and the Beast!
Anthony Bryant – Contemporary, Body Conditioning
A graduate of UA Little Rock with a BFA in Dance Performance and resident dancer with Arkansas Festival Ballet. His AFB performance repertoire includes soloist and principal roles in Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, Aladdin, The Adventures of Pinocchio, Snow White, Carmina Burana, Dracula Unearthed, The Nutcracker. His performance repertoire with The REP, includes The Wiz, Elf: The Musical and The Little Mermaid
Brian Earles – Jazz, Hip-Hop
A recent graduate of Hendrix College, with a Bachelors of Arts in Theater Arts. Recently, he has been seen in Chicago (Aaron, US Mary Sunshine) with The Arkansas Repertory Theater, as well as Roger (Rump) with Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, and in the Arkansas Festival Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker (Arabian). Brian has also been seen in productions such as West Side Story (Toro) with the Arkansas Shakespeare Festival, as well as Sweet Charity (Daddy) and La Cage Aux Follies (Phaedra) with the Argenta Community Theater, Sweeney Todd (Anthony) with the Hendrix Players, and The Rocky Horror Show (Frank N Furter) with the Lantern Theater. Recent credits also include the CARTI Festival of Fashion, as well as the Saints and Sinners Gala with The Rep, and as an instructor and performer with the National Tumor Foundation’s Dancing with Our Stars benefit.
