Faculty

Cristina Munro (Owner and Director of the Munro Ballet Studios)

Born in England, Cristina Stirling Munro trained in London with some of Europe's finest teachers in Cecchetti and Royal Academy methods of dance. She danced with Sadler's Wells Opera, National Ballet of Holland, London Festival Ballet, and was a founding member of Eliot Feld's American Ballet Company in New York. She also served as co-director of the Louisville Ballet and was the Ballet Mistress for the Houston Ballet. Ms. Munro has been a guest teacher all over the U.S., and has won an Emmy Award for producing a television special on Ballet. She has been the sole Artistic Director for the Corpus Christi Ballet since 1985, and is the Director and Owner of the Munro Ballet Studios.

Alexandra Emory (Associate Director and Teacher for the Munro Ballet Studios)

Alexandra Emory

Alexandra Emory was a former Principal Dancer and Ballet Mistress for the Corpus Christi Ballet and now serves as a Co-Artistic Director. Alexandra received her dance training from the Houston Ballet, the Munro Ballet Studios, and Joffrey Ballet. She has performed leading roles in many of the Corpus Christi Ballet productions. Alexandra graduated from Carroll High School in 1994 and was invited to dance professionally with the Louisville Ballet Company. There, she performed in many of the classics, including: Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, Dracula, Coppelia, Peter and the Wolf, The Firebird, Carmina Burana, Raymonda, Les Patineurs, Gaite Parisienne, Billy the Kid, Gala Performance and numerous other works choreographed by the company. She returned to Corpus Christi in 1997 and joined the faculty at the Munro Ballet Studios. She also taught dance in the public school system at Chula Vista Fine Arts Academy for a year.

As a Principal artist with the Corpus Christi Ballet for eight years, some of her favorite roles include: "Snow Queen", and "Sugar Plum Fairy" in the Nutcracker. "Esmerelda Pas de Deux", "Odette" in Swan Lake, and "Swanhilda" in Coppelia. Alexandra has performed in Dallas and Abilene as a guest Artist in their Nutcracker, in the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy. She was invited to perform in Naples, Florida, as Odette in Swan Lake and was a guest teacher with Abilene Ballet Theatre for their summer course. In 2005, Alexandra officially retired with her performance of Aurora in Sleeping Beauty.

She will now concentrate on her role as Co-Artistic Director of the Corpus Christi Ballet and at Munro Ballet Studios teaching and coaching the next generation of dancers. She is thrilled to be married to Tom Emory, and they have five wonderful children between them!