Julia Wilkinson Manley Oral History

Interview with Julia Wilkinson Manley conducted by Christin Crampton Day. Julia Wilkinson Manley began her dance training with Cristina Munro in Corpus Christi, TX. Her training continued at the Boston Ballet Centre for Dance Education and Houston Ballet Academy. She went on to earn her BFA in Ballet Pedagogy from University of Oklahoma. After her career as a professional dancer with Ballet Ireland, David Taylor Dance Theater, and Ballet Nouveau Colorado, Julia Wilkinson Manley became the School Director for Broomfield-based Ballet Nouveau Colorado from 2003-2013. In 2013 she founded a new non-profit organization, Colorado Conservatory of Dance (CCD), becoming CEO and Artistic Director. As a leader of CCD for 10 years, she developed community education programming for over 60,000 individuals, a nationally-respected syllabus for dance training, and produced and choreographed over 25 ballets. In 2015, she completed the Community Arts Education Leadership Institute under the mentorship of John McCann. Passionate about dance history and education, she has served on The Dance Archive Board since 2012 where she chairs the Development Committee. In 2023, Julia founded Colorado Movement Lab and serves as Director.