Travis Morrison PT, DPT, FAAOMPT received his ballet training starting at age three at the Tuzer Dance Center, under the instruction of Tanju Tuzer, Patricia Tuzer, and Linda Brown. After graduating high school, Morrison attended SUNY Purchase College and was taught by Ted Kivitt and Richard Cooke. He is also a 2006 graduate of the Miami City Ballet Pre-Professional Program where he trained under Truman Finney, Edward Villella and Geta Constantinescu, among others. From 2006 to 2012, Morrison was a member of the Colorado Ballet and had the privilege of working with noted choreographers Michael Pink, John Gardner, Amanda McKerrow, Lila York, and Septime Webre. He especially enjoyed performing in the ballets by modern choreographers Brian Reeder (“Eventually”) and Amy Seiwert (“Things Left Unsaid”). In addition to these contemporary roles, Morrison has also danced a wide range of classical roles in “Swan Lake,” “Don Quixote,” and “Romeo and Juliet”. In 2009, he was a competitor in the New York International Ballet Competition; and, in 2011, Morrison had the pleasure of performing with Amy Seiwert’s company, Im’ij-re, in San Francisco. This also gave him the opportunity to work with contemporary choreographers Matthew Neenan and Adam Hougland. Morrison graduated cum laude from the University of Texas at Dallas in May of 2014 with a Bachelor of Science in Molecular and Cellular Biology. In August of 2018, he graduated with his Doctorate of Physical Therapy from UT Medical Branch in Galveston. Most recently, he has completed his fellowship training with Manual Therapy Institute to become a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapists.

Amelia joined Ballet Papillon as the Resident Stage Manager. After graduating summa cum laude and holding her BA in French along with Minor Concentrations in both English and Geology, Amelia found her way to The Last Frontier and into the world of the performing arts. For 20 seasons Amelia has enjoyed being behind-the-scenes, as opposed to on the stage, as a contracted, theatrical artist in several backstage production roles across the performance realms of opera, dance, musical theatre, traditional plays, burlesque, and circus. Additionally, Amelia has explored opportunities in singular-venue front of house roles; facilitated guest services roles for one of the top arenas in the world; and, functioned within the customer service role of event staff team member for a central box office supporting a multi-venue performing arts facility’s patrons and resident companies alike. While working performance production contracts, Amelia spent a decade operationally supporting and ultimately relocating into an IT development team in the Lower 48 that deployed and maintained a scanning solution application for a multi-national supply chain logistics conglomerate. In her role as the project’s Sr. Business Application Analyst, Amelia was responsible for its oversight from initial conceptual discussions through to final, iterative global production releases which, at the time, were across 18 locations in nine countries on four continents. In wanting to pursue her passion for the performing arts on a full-time basis, Amelia elected to return to her alma mater and now holds her MA with a Theatre Concentration and Arts Administration & Arts Management Emphasis from Louisiana Tech University. Favorite production credits include: [LA Tech Univ] co-director/co-choreographer for "Vela Réveillez" and poet-playwright of "Transgressions"; [Dallas, TX] production stage manager for Tuzer Ballet’s "Nutcracker" (2022-2024), stage manager and uncredited associate lighting designer for the Dallas College, Mountain View production of "Godspell," projection operator for Leos Ensemble’s "Ten Arguments," and stage manager for IMPRINT Theatreworks’ "Puffs"; [Colorado Springs, CO] stage manager for two The Millibo Art Theatre "Circus of the Night" sessions; light board operator for "Noises Off!" and fly rail operator/deck crew for "Gypsy" with the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center Theatre Company; [Anchorage, AK] individual show stage manager for multiple TBA Theatre/Three Wise Moose’s "Alaska Overnighters" installments and six memorable seasons with the Anchorage Opera.

Growing up near Dallas, Bri began dancing at Tuzer Dance School in Richardson, Texas, with Patricia and Tanju Tuzer. For 13 years, she trained innumerable hours in Classical Ballet and continued training in the Pre-Professional Division at Texas Ballet Theater with an emphasis of Classical Ballet as well as Horton Technique in Modern Dance. As an undergrad at Collin College from 2018-2020, Bri was invited to join Collin Dance Ensemble under the direction of Tiffanee Arnold. Bri performed various works from guest choreographers including Shate’ Edwards, Melissa Bjork, Shannon Watters, Darby Wilde, and Jamie Perrin. In 2020, Bri transferred to the University of Central Oklahoma to pursue her B.F.A in Dance Performance. During her time at UCO, she was invited to join Kaleidoscope Dance Company in the emphasis of Modern and Contemporary Dance and had the privilege to work with guest artists including Christian Von Howard, Jesse Zaritt, Tiffanie Carson, George Staib, Andrew Wass, Alexander Olivieri, and Mike Esperanza. Following graduation with her B.F.A in 2023, Bri has taught at various studios in the Oklahoma City and Dallas metroplex areas in the styles of ballet, jazz, contemporary, and modern. She is also on the judges staff for Fly Dance Competition. She is thrilled to be joining Ballet Papillon as their Rehearsal Director!

Aubrie Meeks is a 2023 High School graduate from Grand Prairie Fine Arts Academy. In her time there, she developed a passion for Lighting Design and designed many shows for her school including Chicago: The Musical, Plaza Suite, as well as several dance shows. Additionally, Aubrie has been on the lighting crew for the Grand Prairie Arts Council as a Co-Designer, Board Operator, and Spotlight Operator. She is excited to work with Ballet Papillon and design their second season.

Denise is thrilled to be working with Ballet Papillon in their second season. With a Bachelor’s in Music and in Theatre, Denise enjoys being on the stage as well as working behind the scenes to do what she can to help others shine their brightest. She does have a history in ballet having taken a class when she was 5 years old and gave a stunning performance to the song, Good Ship Lollipop. Denise has done sound design for various productions in North Carolina, Connecticut, and DFW including Ballet Papillon’s “Unbroken”.

Akiko Locascio is from Japan, where she received training from Chieko Sasa and Yoshiko Sasa at Sasa Ballet Company as well as Yoko Tsukamoto and Hideo Fukagawa at Yoko Tsukamoto Ballet Theater. She learned Cecchetti Method and contemporary techniques. Akiko become a finalist at many classic ballet competitions. In 2007, she was awarded a scholarship to Oregon Ballet Theater’s summer program. In 2012, she studied under Jan Broeckx and Roland Vogel at Munich International Ballet School in Germany where she trained Balanchine Method and Barre au Sol. After Akiko graduated from Kinjo University, she joined NBA Ballet Company. Akiko moved to the USA in 2019 and has continued her career in Los Angels, Cincinnati, and Dallas.

Linda Brown needs no introduction in the Dallas area. She has been a beloved ballet instructor for many years, having touched the lives of hundreds of dancers in and around Dallas. Before moving to Dallas, she was the Dance Director at Camp Pendleton for over 350 students. Also while in California, she choreographed at the Performing Arts Center for Children and was an integral part of fusing the dance and theatre divisions together through many performances. Locally, along with teaching at Tuzer Ballet for the past 30 years, Linda teaches at several schools and frequently coaches advanced dancers for the Youth America Grand Prix Competition. Linda brings her wonderful style of teaching, rich experience and added depth to our company classes.