Originally from Houston, TX, Emilie Skinner trained with Gilbert Rome and Victoria Vittum, performing with the Houston Repertoire Ballet. She attended summer intensives at the Joffrey Ballet, Austin Ballet, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, and the SIBA international training program in Salzburg, Austria. Professional performing background includes Ballet Dallas, 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. Her mission with Dallas Neo-Classical Ballet was to collaborate with visual artists and musicians in a similar fashion to the Ballets Russes. Under her Direction, Dallas Neo-Classical Ballet was voted Best Dance Troupe of Dallas (2018) and was regularly invited to perform at major Dallas events such as the SOLUNA Festival organized by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Dallas Museum of Arts’ Brettell Lecture Series and at an event hosted by the SYFY Channel and Alamo Drafthouse. Most recently, Emilie was asked to serve as a visiting artist for a Sculpture & Choreography Children’s Workshop at The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth in conjunction with their exhibit on Laurie Simmons’ Objects on Legs.

In 2019 Emilie began her tenure with San Francisco Youth Ballet Theatre as assistant theatre director and creative consultant. Emilie is also a regular faculty member with the Academy.