Amanda Luyks began ballet at age 3 at Southland Ballet Academy, where she trained for many years under Salwa Rizkalla. She performed in Festival Ballet Theatre productions like The Nutcracker, Don Quixote, and Swan Lake, and competed in YAGP. After graduating from Huntington Beach High School, she attended Colorado Ballet Academy’s Summer Intensive on Scholarship. Now a mechanical engineering major and dance minor at CSULB, Amanda teaches at Southland Ballet Academy and assists Professor Lisa Johnson at CSULB, while continuing ballet training as an alumni student.