Cassandra Walter – Masterclass

Cassandra Burney Walter began her career in dance in the early 1970s with the Mississippi Ballet Theatre (MBT) under the direction of Jo Bee Best. Prior to coming to Mississippi, JoBee had been teaching and training dancers in New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles for many years. In addition to her classical ballet training, JoBee had also studied jazz technique under Luigi himself.

As a company member of MBT, Cassandra studied classical ballet, modern dance and Luigi jazz technique as part of the required curriculum. She received further training at Julliard School and The School of American Ballet. After leaving New York City, she danced at the University of Southern Mississippi in 1981.

Cassandra’s training in Luigi technique made it possible for her to continue dancing after obtaining a law degree from Ole Miss in 1988. She was a member of ” Simply Jazz” and the ” Keri Amis Dancers” who performed for many private fundraising events.

While building a successful career in law, Cassandra’s passion for dance did not diminish. She became a ballroom dancer in 2011, under the tutelage of the late John T. Murphy, formerly a Dance Director for the Arthur Murray organization.

In 2023, Cassandra founded “Ballroom Mississippi, LLC”, Mississippi’s first ballroom dance school whose mission is to make ballroom dance accessible to all ages and in all communities throughout Mississippi regardless of location or socioeconomic status.

Cassandra is both thrilled and honored to have recently accepted the position of Executive Director of Ballet Mississippi alongside David Keary.