MERIDIAN BALLET
OUR TEAM
JUSTINE HOOK
Justine Hook, a native of New Albany, received her early ballet training with Sharon Long and danced with the Tupelo Ballet Company for 9 years where she also began her teaching career. She spent two seasons with Ballet Magnificat and performed with Ballet Mississippi. She has danced & studied extensively with various professional companies and world renowned teachers such as: Anne Burton Avery (Atlanta Ballet), Linda Divin and Steven Mills (Ballet Austin), Finis Young (Joffrey Ballet), David Howard (Royal Ballet), Bob Rizzo, and Mia Michaels-choreographer (“So You Think You Can Dance”) to name a few.
Owner, Lead Instructor and Choreographer
LAYLA STEWART
Layla Stewart began dancing at the age of three in New Albany, MS, and joined the New Albany Ballet Company in 2011 where she danced until 2020 in the youth division. She returned as an instructor as well as a soloist the following season. Layla studied with the Joffrey Ballet in New York as well as with professional dancers and instructors from Indianapolis Ballet, Ballet Mississippi, Alabama Ballet, Nashville Ballet, and the Dutch National Ballet. She will receive her dance certification from UNLV in the summer of 2022. Throughout her career she danced a variety of roles such as Clara in the Nutcracker, the Wicked Witch in Wizard of Oz, Princess Florine in Sleeping Beauty, Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Belle in Beauty and the Beast, Tinker Bell in Peter Pan, Cinderella, Jasmine in Aladdin, and the Sugarplum Fairy in the Nutcracker.
Instructor and Assistant Choreographer
JOHN MINGLE
John Mingle is a Company Dancer with the Alabama Ballet in Birmingham. John trained on scholarship with the San Francisco Ballet School, Pacific Northwest Ballet School, American Ballet Theatre, and Ballet Frontier of Texas. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance from Southern Methodist University. Prior to joining Alabama Ballet, he danced professionally with the Cincinnati Ballet and Dayton Ballet. Since joining Alabama Ballet, John has danced principal and soloist roles such as Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Prince Désiré in The Sleeping Beauty, Cavalier in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®, Big Boss Man in Blue Suede Shoes, Von Rothbart in Swan Lake, Peasant Pas de Deux in Giselle, and Madge in La Sylphide.
Guest Artist - Alabama Ballet
DANIEL HARDMAN
Daniel Hardman began his ballet studies at the Maryland Youth Ballet. After his father began a career with the State Department, he had the fortune of training abroad at the Almaty Choreographic School in Kazakhstan, The Kirov Academy in D.C., the La Scala Ballet Academy in Milan, Italy, the Chisinau Choreographic College, and graduated from the Vaganova Ballet Academy in St.Petersburg, Russia. After a year as a trainee with the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago, Daniel joined the Oklahoma City Ballet for five seasons. He is currently in his fourth season with the Alabama Ballet.
Guest Artist - Alabama Ballet
CHRIS LINGNER
Lingner was a student of the renowned Indiana University Jacobs School of Music ballet program. His professional experience began on the 2009 National Tour of Twyla Tharp’s Movin’ Out, and includes a Tony Award nomination in the Best Revival of a Musical category as a co-producer of On the Town on Broadway. He spent four seasons with the Cincinnati Ballet. He also danced for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Nederland's Dans Theatre in Den Haag, Netherlands for summer workshops, and Havana, Cuba, where he produced the first Ballet Royalty Gala, named the “Best Show of 2016” by the Gran Teatro de la Habana Alicia Alonso. Chris is a founding member of the Indianapolis Ballet.
Guest Artist - Indianapolis Ballet
DOLAN SHOEMAKER
Dolan Shoemaker began his dance training at MUW and continued with the Pittsburg Ballet Theater School. He furthered his professional dance career in Jackson, MS as a member of Ballet Mississippi for 6 years. Later he cofounded the Mississippi Metropolitan Ballet in Madison, and is currently teaching in Meridian and Columbus sharing his love for the arts! During his career he has performed various roles in such ballets as: The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia, A Mid Summer Nights Dream, and Swan Lake to name a few. Mr. Shoemaker is very dedicated to the students he coaches. He will continue to work and teach here in Meridian to push our students to their full potential.