Instructors
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.
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 and Mrs. Potts in AFB's production of Beauty and the Beast!
Louisa Utley - Ballet
Trained under the guidance of Rebecca Miller Stalcup and Melinda Tobian at Arkansas Academy of Dance for over 15 years. She participated in multiple performances with Arkansas Festival Ballet in roles ranging from Arabian Coffee in The Nutcracker to the Caterpillar in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. In 2017, she was the Little Rock Chapter contestant in the 74th annual National Society of Arts and Letters Competition in Boca Raton, FL. Louisa is a recent Summa Cum Laude graduate from the University of Central Arkansas (UCA), with majors in Political Science and International Relations, and a minor in Honors Interdisciplinary Studies. She tutored at UCA’s Writing Center, was an active member of the Schedler Honors College, and most recently interned at the Office of the Governor, Asa Hutchinson. She plans to pursue her master’s in International Policy and Administration at the University of Potsdam in 2022 all while continuing her love for dance and the performing arts.
