Biography

Ms. Valerie was born and raised in Champaign, IL. From age seven through high school, Ms. Valerie trained at Champaign Ballet Academy, under Deanna Doty, and performed with pre-professional company Champaign Urbana Ballet. There she grew to love classical ballet and had the privilege to dance Paquita, Cinderella, La Bayadere, The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and The Nutcracker. Linsner first became acquainted with Ballet 5:8 in 2013 when she attended their Summer Intensive, and returned for a second summer in 2014. Since then, she has enjoyed attending summer intensives at Boston Ballet School and American Ballet Theatre, New York. Upon graduating high school, Ms. Valerie felt called to join Ballet 5:8's trainee program, in which she had the honor to perform in Scarlet, Compass, Four Seasons of the Soul, and The Space in Between. Linsner was promoted to Apprentice in 2019, Company Artist in 2020, and Solo Artist in 2021, performing principal and soloist roles in many of Julianna Rubio Slager’s works, including Reckless, Golden Sessions, Butterfly, and Brothers & Sisters. She joined the School of Ballet 5:8 staff in 2018, where she currently teaches and serves as Pre-professional Program Co-Director.