Amber Barbee Pickens

Amber Pickens is currently a second year BFA dance student at The Juilliard School. Since the age of two, she has danced at local dance studios in Dallas, Texas. When she attended the Debbie Allen Dance Institute as her first summer dance intensive in fourth grade, she knew she wanted to become a professional dancer. A 2011 graduate of Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, Texas, Amber received the highest honor awarded to performing arts students in Texas. The Texas Commission on the Arts selected Amber as one of 15 members for the 2008 Class of Texas Young Masters of the Arts, making her the first Booker T. Washington HSPVA freshman to win the honor in its history. She was also awarded honorable mention by the National YoungArts Foundation in both Modern and World Dance-African. Amber has studied as a fellow at the prestigious Alvin Ailey School in New York for four years, Debbie Allen School of Dance for 10 years and The Martha Graham School. Amber is an advocate for community engagement in the arts and was part of the 2012 Juilliard PEPS (Performing Educational Programs for Schools), interactive dance performances for students in New York City middle and high schools. She we travel to Durban, South Africa during summer 2013 to fulfill her dream of sharing the experience of dance with children in various schools and community organizations.