Julia Erickson

Visiting Teaching Artist

Contact information

• Office: 721 Lawrence Hall
• Phone: 412-392-4373
• Email: jerickson@PointPark.EDU 

Education

• B.A., Political Science and Business, University of Pittsburgh
• Pacific Northwest Ballet School
• San Francisco Ballet School

Courses Taught

•  Ballet
•  Pointe

Background

Julia Erickson, a former principal dancer with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, is a teaching artist, repetiteur, dancer and choreographer.

Prior to joining Point Park University's Department of Dance as a visiting teaching artist, Erickson most recently served as ballet master/rehearsal director for Alonzo King LINES Ballet, where she also performed as a guest artist.

Erickson has danced with Barak Ballet in Los Angeles, as a guest artist for Suzhou Ballet in China, and served as rehearsal director and dancer for Chamber Dance Project in Washington, D.C.

A Seattle native, Erickson received her training on scholarship at Pacific Northwest Ballet School and San Francisco Ballet School. She began her career at Texas Ballet Theater prior to joining Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre in 2001. She was promoted to principal dancer in 2009 and remained at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre until her farewell performance in October 2018.

Some of Erickson’s roles have included Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, Waltz Girl in Balanchine’s Serenade, and the lead in William Forsythe’s In The Middle, Somewhat Elevated.

Erickson is the recipient of the 2014 BRAZZY Award for Outstanding Female Dancer and is an entrepreneur and writer.

Curriculum Vitae | Performance Curriculum Vitae

In the News

• "Julia Erickson's 6 Pieces of Unsolicited Advice to Hack Your Overactive Ballet Brain," Pointe Magazine, October 2018.
• "Longtime Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Dancer Julia Erickson Will Leave Company," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 2018.
• "Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre's Julia Erickson on Her Farewell Announcement and Why the 'Stage is Like One Big Playground,'" Pointe Magazine, January 2018.
• "The Black Swan Effect," Huffington Post, March 2015.
• "Break the Rules Like a Ballerina: 4 Ways to Break Through," Huffington Post, January 2015.
• "5 Ways Thinking Like a Ballerina can Bring Balance to Your Life," Huffington Post, January 2015.
• "Why I Dance," Dance Magazine, November 2009.

Selected Awards and Honors

• Gaynor Minden Artist
• Brazzy Award
• Pittsburgh Magazine's "40 Under 40"