Artistic Team & Staff

Margaret Mullin is from Tucson, Arizona and trained at The School of Ballet Tucson on full scholarship. She was named Artistic Director of Ballet Tucson in the spring of 2022 after concluding her career as a Soloist dancer with Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle. During her fourteen seasons dancing with PNB, she performed leading roles in works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Justin Peck, Crystal Pite, William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián, Benjamin Millepied, and more. She also originated many leading roles in new works by notable choreographers including Justin Peck, Matthew Neenan, Mark Morris, Twyla Tharp, Victor Quijada, and Marco Goecke. Margaret had the opportunity to tour to New York City, Los Angeles (Celebrate Forsythe festival) and Paris, in addition to performing numerous times at the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival and Vail International Dance Festival.
⁣
In 2011, she was the recipient of a Dance Fellowship Award from the Princess Grace Foundation USA for her talent as a dancer and her potential to impact the art form. In 2018, she received a CityArtist Award from the City of Seattle Office of Arts and Culture. Ms. Mullin appeared as a guest speaker at the Dance/USA national conference in June 2017. In 2022, she was selected by [RE]fashiond Magazine as one of their top 10 Women Change Makers. She received a 40 Under 40 Award from the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in 2024.⁣
⁣
Margaret received her Nonprofit Leadership and Management certificate from the University of Arizona Eller Executive Education in 2021. Margaret is also a graduate of Tucson Young Professionals’ Nonprofit Leadership Academy and the Dean Street Society Entrepreneur Mastermind program. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Tucson Young Professionals.⁣

Ms. Mullin has choreographed works for Pacific Northwest Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet School, Ballet Tucson, and The School of Ballet Tucson. She has served as a guest instructor for Oklahoma University, Pacific Northwest Ballet School, Ballet in the City, Evergreen City Ballet, Ballet Tucson, The School of Ballet Tucson, and Ballet Together. She also stages choreographic works by Ian Horvath, Kiyon Ross, and Price Suddarth. Margaret is the director and producer of the documentary dance film No Dominion: The Ian Horvath Story, which celebrates the life of late dance champion and AIDS awareness advocate Ian Horvath. She was also the host of the notable dance podcast Beyond the Barre.

Margaret has been featured by Dance Magazine, Pointe Magazine, Dance Informa, Seattle Magazine, BizTucson Magazine, [RE]fashiond Magazine, Tucson Weekly, the Arizona Daily Star, Tucson Lifestyle Magazine, EmpowHer New York, We are Minding the Gap, Catalina Foothills Lifestyle Magazine, Arizona Sonoran News, Dance Lifestyle, Balancing Pointe podcast, Tucson Young, Professionals, Good Morning Tucson, KGUN 9 News, The Whole Dancer, To the Pointe Nutrition, Radically Distinct Podcast, and Discount Dance Supply as a representative. Ms. Mullin was also a return guest on the popular Seattle morning show New Day Northwest. She has served as a brand ambassador for Five12 Athletic Apparel, Nuun Hydration, RubiaWear, and Zeyba Apparel in addition to being an influencer and member of the press for Vermouth App, Enchant Seattle, and the Seattle International Film Festival.

Chieko Imada is a native of Japan where she danced professionally as a Soloist with Inoue Ballet of Tokyo and served as Ballet Mistress there. She has worked closely with many of the past and current noted figures of classical ballet, having performed in Europe, Korea, the Philippines, Australia, and the South Pacific. Since coming to the United States, she has been a member of Arizona Dance Theatre, Ballet Arizona, and a former Principal Dancer for Ballet Tucson. She also appeared regularly with Orts Theatre of Dance and Tenth St. Danceworks modern troupes in Tucson.

Chieko has supported and developed The School of Ballet Tucson and the Ballet Tucson professional company for almost 40 years, first with Mary Beth Cabana and now with Margaret Mullin. As Ballet Tucson’s Associate Artistic Director, she has created many classical ballets including Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Les Sylphides, Raymond Variations, Giselle Act 2, La Bayadere Kingdom of the Shades and has created numerous original contemporary works.

In 2022 Chieko was named Ballet Tucson’s Resident Choreographer in appreciation for her incredible contributions as a choreographer and for her continued work in the development of the company’s artistic excellence. Each year she creates a world premiere ballet in partnership with the Tucson Desert Song Festival, and past highlights include Viva Piazzolla (2013 and 2019) with Tucson Guitar Society and The Rogue Theater, Dance a la Francaise (2014), A tribute to Leonard Bernstein (2018), Unsquare (2020), Ballet the Calla-way (2022) a collaboration with Broadway legend Ann Hampton Callaway (2022) and Himiko (2023) with Duo Chinoiserie. She has also worked with famed musical artists Bandani-Chiacchiaretta Duo, Carlos Zapien and Don Sheppard.

Ms. Imada has been nominated for the Buffalo Exchange Arts Award and the Governor’s Art Award for her work as a choreographer. She has created several original feature-length works for Ballet Tucson including Phantom of the Opera in 2014, a steampunk version of Jekyll & Hyde in 2015, and a Dia de Los Muertos ballet entitled Spirit Garden in collaboration with renowned artist Lawrence Lee and musical group Calexico in 2016. She was the recipient of an Arts Hero Award for the 2019–2022 arts seasons from On Media for her impact on the Tucson arts community.

Chieko has instructed dance for almost forty years, teaching students of all ages, many of whom have gone on to professional careers with some of the world’s greatest dance companies including Pacific Northwest Ballet, New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet, Bejart Ballet, Houston Ballet, Dutch National Ballet and more. She has been a guest instructor and a ballet repetiteur for Grand Valley University, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, Ballet Pacifica. Ms. Imada is a teacher and consultant for The School of Ballet Tucson and aids Ballet Tucson in outreach initiatives including “Best Foot Forward” in Tucson Title 1 schools. She taught an Arts and Residency program for elementary schools in Southern Arizona and New Mexico from 1990–2000 and taught in public elementary schools in Tucson as part of the “Young Audience” program.

Brik was born and raised in Fair Oaks, California and trained at Deane Dance Center under the direction of Barbara Crockett. From the age of 5, Brik performed children’s roles in The Sacramento Ballet’s productions and became a company Trainee while in High School. At the age of 17, Brik was offered an Apprenticeship with the company and two years later, a Company contract where she performed for 7 years professionally. While in the Sacramento Ballet, the company toured to Beijing and Shanghai, China where she performed Ron Cunningham’s Etosha and George Balanchine’s Western Symphony and Concerto Barocco. Being a member of The Sacramento Ballet, under the direction of Ron and Carinne Cunningham, allowed Brik the great honor of dancing a diverse repertory filled with many Balanchine ballets and works by Ron Cunningham, Twyla Tharp, Trey McIntyre, Lila York, Matthew Neenan, and Darrell Grand Moultrie.

In 2011, Brik relocated to San Diego, began teaching and joined the California Ballet Company in 2013. She performed many roles with the company including Myrtha in Giselle, Jordan in Septime Weber’s The Great Gatsby, and Big Swan in Swan Lake. While still performing, Brik was asked to return to The Sacramento Ballet as Ballet Mistress where she would assist in the production of works by Ron Cunningham, Jodie Gates, Ma Cong, Septime Webre, KT Nelson, Robert Kelley, Molly Lynch, Melissa Barak, and Parrish Maynard. After the birth of her daughter in July of 2018, Brik became full time Ballet Master with the California Ballet Company under the direction of Jared Nelson. In the summer of 2021, Brik and her family made the decision to move to Tucson to be closer to family and she joined Ballet Tucson’s artistic team that fall.