25 - Julia Erickson & Aaron Ingley- Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre - Part One

Julia Erickson Julia Erickson, originally from Seattle, is a Principal Dancer with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. She is also the creator and co-owner of Barre-Real Food Bars, alongside Aaron Ingley. You may also recognize Julia from Gaynor Minden pointe shoe ads. Julia began her training at age seven in Level 1 at Pacific Northwest Ballet School. She continued training on scholarship at PNBS and later at San Francisco Ballet School. She toured to Europe and Asia with PNB and danced with the Fort Worth Dallas Ballet for two seasons, prior to joining Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre in 2001. As creator of Barre, Julia has a second career with partner and co-owner Aaron Ingley. Stemming from a rigorous rehearsal schedule for Swan Lake in Spring 2010, Julia sought a better in-between rehearsal snack. At home in her kitchen, she created just that. She shared them with other dancers receiving rave reviews. Soon she and Aaron found themselves in the role of entrepreneurs with a growing snack bar business. Barre is available nationally in Whole Foods Stores as well as online. Hear more from Julia and Aaron about Barre-Real Food Bar in Part Two of their interview on January 17, 2014. Aaron Ingley Originally from Tallahassee, Florida, Aaron studied musical theater at Young Actors Theater before beginning ballet training at age 13 with Southern Academy of Ballet Arts and Tallahassee Ballet. Aaron completed his professional training at Pacific Northwest Ballet School in Seattle, where he performed with that company at the 1999 Edinburgh Festival and the 2000 Hong Kong Festival. He was also featured as Tom Snout in PNB's production of George Balanchine A Midsummer Night's Dream produced for television by the BBC. Aaron performed professionally with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre for nine seasons. A versatile dancer, Aaron was featured in numerous classical and contemporary roles and served as the company's Principal Character Artist during that time. In addition to performing and teaching ballet, Aaron is a professional actor and recently completed degrees in History and Management at University of Pittsburgh. A consummate innovator, Aaron pushes the boundaries, helping expand the ways in which art is conceptualized and defined. Aaron is an avid cyclist and as co-owner of Barre, enjoys creating delicious, healthy snacks in the kitchen with Julia.