Linda Hurkmans is an international ballet, Pilates, and P.B.T. teacher, and ballet coach and judge. She founded Linda Hurkmans Open Class program (2012-present), is the former Artistic Director of San Jose Dance Theatre academy (2013-2021) and launched their professional ballet company in 2020. She is a founding mentor of Leap of Dance Academy, helping shine a light on ballet in Nigeria and allowing many youth to receive scholarships to prestigious international ballet schools and win ballet competitions.

Linda has been a ballet Judge for Korea International Ballet Competition, Seoul, Korea, 2022, the World Ballet Grand Prix Norway, 2024, and Y.A.G.P. San Diego, 2024.

Linda was trained by Martha Neal, Connie Schwarze, who studied at the Leningrad Vaganova Choreographic School in Russia (now known as the Vaganova Academy), Larissa Sklyanskaya (soloist Bolshoi Ballet), Benjamin Harkarvy (founder of Nederland’s Dans Theater), Paul Curtis (founder of San Jose Dance Theatre), Conrad Ludlow (principal New York City Ballet, Artistic Director Utah Ballet), Janek Schergen (Artistic Director Singapore Ballet), Li Chou Cheng (TCU Ballet Professor), Natasha Papina (soloist Bolshoi Ballet and 1st ballet partner of Mikhael Baryshnikov), and Shannon Bresnahan (with the work of Maggie Black). Linda received full scholarships to Pacific Northwest Ballet School, the Royal Danish Ballet School, The Juilliard School, and at the age of 16, was the 1st recipient of the Toni Landers Full Scholarship to study Ballet at the University of Utah, founded by Lew and Willam Christiansen.

Linda earned a Bachelors of Fine Arts, Cum Laude with an emphasis in Ballet Performance on full scholarship from the University of Utah in 1989. She earned a Masters of Arts in Psychology from Notre Dame de Namur University with full honors in 1997. Linda earned full Pilates Mat and Apparatus Certifications from Nora St. John (owner of Turning Point Studios and now Pilates Education Content Creator at Balanced Body, Inc. worldwide) in 2001. She was fully certified in Progressing Ballet Technique in 2018.

From the age of 16-27, Linda was honored to perform with Utah Ballet, Principal Dancer, Ballet West, Norwegian National Ballet, Zahkraz Dance, Royal Danish Ballet, Andanse Ballet, Western Ballet and have original choreography set on her by Conrad Ludlow, Li Chou Cheng, Raymond Van Mason, Alessandra di Pierro, Robert Sund, Oyvind Joergensen and Jane Hveding. Linda competed in the ITI International Ballet Competition in Helsinki, Finland in 1991. Linda appeared in the television CBS Mini-series “At Mother’s Request” starring Stefanie Powers in 1988, for ABC 7 News Midday LIVE with a Live interview and performance in 2019, and for NBC Bay Area News with a Live interview and her choreography in 2021.

Linda has choreographed 30 pieces of original choreography including full length ballets “The Firebird”, “A Midsummer Nights Dream”, “Sleeping Beauty”, “Kom til Meg”, and “The Nutcracker” and her work has been performed internationally. Linda has a long teaching career including Stanford University, Santa Clara University, where she founded their Pilates program, and many professional schools in California, Nevada, Italy, Germany, Norway, and Nigeria.