Christin Shannon Lee Walker
Founder / Artistic Director
Christin, whose love of dance stemmed from her mother’s 15 year career as a Broadway dancer, began her ballet training at age 7 under the tutelage of her mother. In 1992, she became a member of the Gwinnett Dance Ensemble (now Southern Ballet Theatre) and performed many leading roles such as Snow White, Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, and Juliet in Romeo and Juliet. During her studies under the direction of Phyllis Allen Gillis, she consecutively attended classes each year at the Southeastern Regional Ballet Association (SERBA), from 1996-1999. In 1998, at the age of seventeen, she was accepted into many summer programs from ballet schools across the country, including BYU’s and Joffrey Ballet's Summer Intensive Programs. Upon graduation from high school, she received a ballet scholarship from Brigham Young University and traveled with BYU’s Theatre Ballet Company on tour. While on tour she performed many dance pieces, including the role of a baby swan in Swan Lake. During her time at BYU she pursued her degree in dance performance and served as an assistant to the Theatre Ballet Company director, Jenny Creer King. In the summer of 2001, she received a teaching position at the YMCA in Alpharetta, GA, where she taught small children the basics of ballet. After college, she returned home to The Lawrenceville School of Ballet as a soloist with the company and a full-time teacher of classes ranging from 3 year old children to adult ballet instruction. Given her years of ballet training and performance abilities, she was asked to choreograph pieces for recitals and concerts. She volunteered her talents with her church youth program to rehearse and set dances for The Southern Lights, Atlanta Youth Cultural Celebration held at the Atlanta Civic Center on April 30, 2011. She has worked as a dance instructor at various local dance studios, including Gwinnett Ballet Theatre and Heather Wayne's Performing Arts Dance Academy. She now lives in Hoschton, GA with her husband and four children, where she opened the Walker School of Ballet in 2016.
Rachael Brownfield
Tap / Ballet
Rachael grew up in Henry County, GA, where she began her dance training at the age of 7 years old in ballet, jazz and tap at Upstage Dance Center in Ellenwood, GA. While she loved all three styles of dance, tap was by far her favorite! She had great teachers, and in her teen years she was given the opportunity to become a teacher herself. She has always loved working with children, and by teaching dance she can combine her love of both. She currently resides in Hoschton, GA with her husband and four children.
Rachel Campbell
Ballet / CONTEMPORARY / jazz / Hip Hop / Tap
Rachel, a native of the Atlanta area, began her training under Phyllis Allen at the Lawrenceville School of Ballet at the age of 6. A few years later she was selected to perform with the Atlanta Ballet in Balanchine’s Nutcracker. She performed for 18 years with the Southern Ballet Theatre, 10 of which were as a member of their professional company. During her time with SBT, she worked with well known choreographers such as Nicolas Pacana, Gary Taylor, and the late Marie Roberts. She performed leading rolls in full length ballets including Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia and Giselle, among others. As a dancer, she continued performing with the Ruth Mitchell Dance Theater in Marietta, for the Young Audiences of Atlanta Program throughout various Metro Atlanta Schools. In conjunction with her ballet career, Rachel was also a member of the distinguished dance team for the Georgia Tech Basketball Team during her time as a student there, prior to graduating with highest honors with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Design. Rachel began her teaching career while at Georgia Tech, and has continued to enjoy working with students throughout North Atlanta for over 10 years. Rachel and her husband live in Pendergrass, GA with their five children.
Shelby Wright
BALLET / TAP / Contemporary / Jazz / Hip Hop
Shelby graduated from Georgia College and State University in May 2014 with a degree in nursing, and currently works as a Registered Nurse at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta. Shelby began dancing at the age of three. She studied ballet, tap, jazz, pointe, and hip-hop. She has trained with master teachers including Robert Barnett, Lawrence Pech, George de la Pena, Christine Spizzo, and Twitch. Since 1994, she trained at Lawrenceville School of Ballet, and in 2002 she became a member of Southern Ballet Theatre, formerly under the direction of Phyllis Allen. During her time with Southern Ballet Theatre, she danced in major productions such as Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia, Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, and The Little Mermaid, among others. Her senior year she danced the lead role in Cinderella. She also danced all four years in Brookwood High School’s dance department. In 2006 she attended American Ballet Theatre’s summer intensive at the University of Texas in Austin. From 2004-2010 she attended Southeast Regional Ballet Association’s festivals and performed in their 2008, 2009, and 2010 shows. She started assistant teaching at Lawrenceville School of Ballet in 2005 and began teaching on her own in 2010. She has choreographed many pieces for Southern Ballet Theatre, Brookwood High School, and also for the dance minor program at Georgia College and State University. She loves teaching and sharing her passion for dance with her students. She was previously teaching ballet and jazz classes at Pointe of Grace in Tucker, GA, and is excited to now be teaching at Walker School of Ballet. She lives with her family in Jefferson, GA.
Aubrey McGuire
Ballet / Tap
Aubrey grew up in Kaysville, Utah. She began dancing at Clytie Adams School of Ballet at the age of 4 until age 17. While there, she was taught by amazing teachers who instilled in her a love of dance. Her favorite time of year was Fall, when Nutcracker auditions would take place. She enjoyed dancing various roles in the Nutcracker. Among her favorites were Gingerbread, Soldier, Waltz Soloist and Snow Soloist. Sharing her love of dance with others inspires her. She was part of her high school dance company, where she learned various genres of dance. She had opportunities to take master classes from Ririe-Woodbury, Repertory Dance Theater in Salt Lake City, as well as Alvin Ailey, Paul Taylor Dance Company, and Dance New Amsterdam in New York City. After graduating high school, she attended BYU- Idaho on a dance scholarship. She graduated in Dance and Marriage and Family Studies. While there, she was able to study ballet under Ballerina, Tricia Kaye. Through this mentorship, she learned how much she loved teaching dance! After college, she continued to teach dance at Clytie Adams School of Ballet, and then she took a few years off to take care of her young children. She is now excited to be settled in Bethlehem, GA with her husband and kids, and to once again share her love of dance!
Clara Walker
Ballet / Tap / Jazz / Hip Hop
Clara has studied dance since the age of 4 years old. She is the daughter of Walker School of Ballet’s Founder and Artistic Director, Christin Walker. She holds the title of Senior Soloist in the Walker Ballet Ensemble. She has danced the leading roles of Alice in Adventures in Wonderland; Wendy in Lost in Neverland; Stromboli in The Little Marionette; and Toy Doll, Snow Queen, and Lollipop Princess in A Christmas Wish. She has years of experience as a teaching assistant for Ballet, Tap, Jazz and Hip Hop classes. She made her choreography debut at the 2024 Recital for the crowd favorite Senior Ensemble Jazz/Hip Hop number “Turn it Up!” She is currently a Sophomore at Jackson County High School and looks forward to sharing her talents as our newest dance teacher!
Nikki Crosley
Ballet / Tap / Contemporary / Jazz / Hip Hop
Nikki started her dance training when she was just 4 years old. She studied various styles including ballet, tap, lyrical, contemporary, and hip hop at Dance Unlimited in California. Throughout her training, she participated in multiple competitions and performed in productions of the Nutcracker with both Dance Unlimited and California Dance Theater. At 15, she attended the Radio City Rockette summer intensive in Long Beach, followed by Ballet Hawaii’s summer intensive at 16. That same year, she signed with Bobby Ball Dance Agency and manager Michelle Zietlin. Nikki's professional career featured appearances on television shows such as Wizards of Waverly Place and The Suite Life on Deck, as well as commercials for brands like Little Caesar’s and American Express. In 2008, she began a seasonal dance role at Universal Studios Hollywood, where she performed for six years. She was given the opportunity to learn from renowned choreographers, such as Grover Dale and Bradley Rapier. She taught at her home studio, Dance Unlimited, as well as Rosalie’s School of Dance in California for a decade, where she choreographed for recitals and competitions. While pursuing her teaching credential and Master’s degree at California State University, Northridge, she continued to teach dance and then began teaching early childhood special education until her relocation from California to Georgia in 2017. Nikki now lives in Jefferson with her husband and their five children.