Lillian Wilner began her training at the University of Utah’s School of Ballet, under the direction of William Christiansen. She received a scholarship to attend high school at the North Carolina School of Fine Arts. Her early training also included scholarships to the Banff School of Fine Arts and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School.
Lillian trained in New York City with Maggie Black, Zenna Rommett, Laura Alonso and David Howard. She performed as an Apprentice with Les Grand Ballet Canadians before starting her professional career with the Alberta Ballet Company. Her professional career included lead roles in Allegro Brilliante, Raymonda, Paquita, Coppelia, Firebird, Cinderella, Promenade, Melodie, Effanesence/Knoxville, Alice in Wonderland and The Nutcracker, as well as numerous other roles. Lillian was a Principal with the Indianapolis Ballet and the Alberta Ballet Company.
During her professional career, Lillian taught at various schools in Edmonton, Alberta, such as the Alberta School of Ballet, Lecky School of Dance and Dance Workshop Studio.
She attended Canada’s National Ballet School’s Intensive Teacher Training Courses for three years before moving to Wisconsin in 1988 with her husband. In 1988, Lillian opened her own school, The Wisconsin Academy of Ballet, in Spring Green, Wisconsin. She taught all levels of Ballet and produced and choreographed The Nutcracker for six years. She also was a guest teacher at Ballet Madison, the Madison School of Ballet and Kanopy Dance.
In 2000, she closed her school to take a job with the Madison Ballet as the Ballet Mistress. In 2001, she began working at the Madison Professional Dance Center (MPDC), teaching Intermediate and Advanced Ballet, Pointe, Variations and Stretch & Strengthen. She started up the “Ballet Company”, working with a chosen group of ten dancers to prepare choreography and set variations for competitions. She moved back to Calgary, Alberta, in 2006, and taught at the Alberta School of Ballet, as well as the MacDonald Wilson Dance Academy.
Lillian returned to Wisconsin in September 2010 and has enjoyed teaching at MPDC and choreographing for the MPDC Company.
