Emilie Skinner
Director of Operations
Born in Houston, TX, Emilie Skinner began her classical training at the age of six with Gilbert Rome and Victoria Vittum, performing with the Houston Repertoire Ballet until graduating High School. She has attended summer intensives at the Joffrey Ballet, Austin Ballet and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. She has also attended the SIBA international training program in Salzburg, Austria. While the primary focus of her training is classical ballet, she also has experience in modern, jazz and contemporary dance as well as in nonprofit Arts management. In 2007, Emilie received her B.A. in French Studies from the University of North Texas, while performing with Lake Cities Ballet Theatre. After graduating, she joined Ballet Dallas as a company member and also performed with DGDG (Danielle Georgiou Dance Group) and as a guest artist with other North Texas dance companies. In 2011, Emilie founded the nonprofit professional ballet company, Dallas Neo-Classical Ballet (DNCB), and served as its Artistic Director until June of 2019. At the same time, Emilie worked in Arts administration with organizations such as The Dallas Conservatory and Studio B Dance & Performing Arts. Emilie recently moved to the Bay Area where she works as the Director of Operations at Alameda Ballet.
Yingru Huang
Rehearsal Director
Yingru Huang is a youth dance teacher and educator currently based in Alameda. Recently with Alameda Ballet Academy, Yingru was a Rehearsal Director for Alameda Civic Ballet’s “The Nutcracker,” providing rehearsal direction and support for all ballet levels, as well as a trusted substitute ballet teacher for all ballet levels throughout ABA’s school year. Yingru also works for the Alameda Unified School District as a substitute teacher currently, with a focus on elementary and middle schools. Previous to her current experience, Yingru also has experience teaching piano, dance, and general education with the New York City Department of Education and various studios in Brooklyn, NY. Her crossovers within the private performing arts education sector and the public education sector over her 4+ years across the country provides Yingru with a teaching approach that leads with joy, empathy, and a focus on creating safe creative spaces for learners of all ages and abilities.
Growing up, Yingru also trained at Alameda Ballet Academy herself, and credits her current success as a dance educator and interdisciplinary dance-artist to being raised by Alameda’s eclectic performing arts education scene. Additionally, Yingru brings with her her experience as a dancer and dance-artist, with a Bachelors from UCLA in Dance, where she has worked with industry-leading choreographers like Kyle Abraham and André Zachery. Yingru is also finishing her graduate Masters in Performing Arts Administration from New York University.
Denise Brady
Costume Designer
Denise Brady began classical ballet training in England and continued her dance education in Portland, Oregon. She danced with the Berkeley City Ballet and the Alameda Chamber Ballet. In 1989, she was invited to join Dance Through Time, a company that performs choreography spanning 500 years of social dance. She began sewing at an early age, and has designed and constructed costumes for numerous ballets and has recreated historic ball gowns and uniforms for Dance Through Time and the Alameda Vintage Dancers. Denise assisted Abra Rudisill with the formation of the Alameda Civic Ballet. She is an Alameda Realtor and is involved with local historic preservation.