Erica Lynette Edwards
Close-Up
Erica Lynette Edwards joined The Joffrey Ballet
in 2001 after being one of the first dancers in the Arpino
Apprentice program in 2000.
She trained at the Salt
Creek Ballet School under the direction of Patricia Sigurdson
where she performed major roles in their pre-professional ballet
company. Ms. Edwards attended summer programs at the School of
American Ballet, San Francisco Ballet and Bryant Ballet on merit
scholarships, the American Ballet Theatre, Royal Winnipeg Ballet
and Ruth Page Foundation. She also trained two years at Butler
University in Indianapolis, Indiana on talent, academic and
leadership scholarships.
Since joining The Joffrey, Ms.
Edwards’ repertory includes Apollo, Appalachian Spring,
Creative Force, Laurencia Pas d’Action, Miracle Interrupted, The
Nutcracker, Petrouchka, Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the
Shrew, Tensile Involvement, Viva Vivaldi, and A Wedding
Bouquet. During The Joffrey’s performances at The Kennedy
Center in Washington, D.C., she performed a solo role in
Kettentanz and also appeared as one of the Red Girls in Les
Patineurs at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.
In 2001 the Chicago Sun Times spotlighted Ms. Edwards as
a “Black History Maker,” and in 2002 she was The Joffrey’s
nominee for the Princess Grace Foundation Award. Ebony magazine
featured Ms. Edwards as a Young Leader of the Future in the Arts
in February 2003.
A native of Downers Grove, Illinois,
Ms. Edwards enjoys shopping, reading and volunteering.