A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Kara Wilkes began her professional career performing classical ballet and contemporary repertoire for five seasons with Milwaukee Ballet Company. In 2006, she became a soloist withVictor Ullate Ballet in Madrid, Spain. Kara joined North Carolina Dance Theatre (now Charlotte Ballet) in 2007, where she performed works by choreographers such as Alvin Ailey, Twyla Tharp, Dwight Rhoden, Nicolo Fonte, Mark Godden, George Balanchine, Uri Sands, and Nacho Duato. She was named one of “25 to Watch” by Dance Magazine in 2009 and joined Alonzo King LINES Ballet in 2011.
During her five seasons with LINES, Kara was recognized as one of “12 Standout Performances of 2015” by Pointe Magazine and performed in TEDWomen 2016. Kara has choreographed for Wake Forest University, the LINES Ballet BFA Program at Dominican University of California, Midland Festival Ballet, Wilmington Dance Festival, and the Center for Creative Arts (COCA) in St. Louis. She has taught all levels of dance, including master classes for Duke University, University of Iowa, Hollins University, East Carolina University, UC Santa Barbara, and abroad in Dublin, Ireland. Kara received her MFA in Dance from Hollins University and joined the dance faculty at Wake Forest University in 2019. She rejoined Alonzo King LINES Ballet as Ballet Master in 2020.
Alonzo King LINES Ballet | Summer Program
Photography | © Quinn B. Wharton