Sarah Wilkerson began her formal ballet training at the age of twelve under the direction of Stefani Schrimpf and Juan Pablo Trujillo at the Kansas School of Classical Ballet in Overland, Kansas. 

She went on to join BalletMet's trainee program in Columbus, Ohio at the age of seventeen and after a year, joined Oregon Ballet Theatre's Second Company in Portland, Oregon. This will be Wilkerson’s third season with Ballet Tucson. She has had the joy of dancing in many Ballet Tucson productions such as George Balanchine's Valse Fantasy, Ben Stevenson's Cinderella, Septime’s Alice, and more. Some of her favorite moments have been dancing the role of the Russian Dance Demi Soloist in George Balanchine's Serenade, Big Swan in Swan Lake, as well the pas de deux from Kiyon Ross' No Holds Barre'd. Wilkerson is also a current member of The School of Ballet Tucson’s faculty.     

We asked Sarah: What piece or concert are you most looking forward to in the 2022-2023 season and why?

“For me it’s hard to pick! I’m very torn between two ballets, the first being Justin Peck’s In Creases. I have always been very inspired by Peck’s work. In Creases is the type of ballet that keeps you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end and it has an incredible score. It’s something that I never thought would be possible during my career, so it is very exciting that Ballet Tucson is performing this work. The second piece I’m most looking forward to is George Balanchine’s Walpurgisnacht. This has always been a dream ballet for me. I love a little drama and this ballet definitely has it! I have learned excerpts from it before and it feels like dancing from the soul. It is very much a piece that is for the dancers as much as it is for the audience.”

Videos featuring Sarah: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2Czc9vU8HQ