This article, Peggy Willis-Aarnio, has recently been created via the Articles for creation process. Please check to see if the reviewer has accidentally left this template after accepting the draft and take appropriate action as necessary. Reviewer tools: Inform author

Peggy Willis-Aarnio is an American choreographer and teacher of classical ballet. She was a professional dancer in the early 1970’s with the Ft. Worth Ballet in Fort Worth, Texas.^[1] She was the first American ballet teacher to be sanctioned as a “Certified Practitioner and Teacher of the Teaching Method of Classical Ballet” by the Vaganova Academy in Saint Petersburg, Russia.^{[2] [1] [3]}

Career

Peggy Willis-Aarnio was a Professor and head of the Dance Program in the Department of Theatre and Dance at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas for thirty years. ^[4] She received her B.F.A. and her M.F.A. Degrees from Texas Christian University in 1970 and 1972. ^[5] She studied with John Barker of New York, and Valentina Roumiantseva of the Vaganova Ballet Academy of Saint-Petersburg, Russia. In 1992, she received an invitation to complete her advanced level pedagogical studies in Teaching Method at the Vaganova Ballet Academy in Saint-Petersburg, Russia. In 2002, she received her Ph.D from Mellon University.

Peggy Willis-Aarnio choreographed more than 60 original ballets, including "Dracula The Ballet, which aired on PBS in 1982 ^[1]She created over 15 original ballets and modern ballet works for Texas Tech University students. She also created three Classical Ballets for The Saint-Petersburg (State and Academic) Ballet and their guest soloist, Prima Ballerina Assoluta, Galina Mezentseva. ^{[3] [6]} She created the "Diamond Ballet in 1999 for the St. Petersburg Ballet Theater.^[2]

Awards and Honors

She was an honorary member and North American representative of the Society of Russian Style Ballet. ^[2]

References