Today we’d like to introduce you to Brianna Pilkinton.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My dance journey began like so many others, with the Nutcracker Ballet. I was just two years old, but completely enchanted. That moment sparked a lifelong passion, or perhaps obsession, with dance. My mom loves to tell the story of how, as a tiny tot, I whispered a secret into her ear… “ballet forever.” That phrase became a personal mantra, a promise to myself that has guided me ever since.
Growing up in Orange County, I trained in many dance modalities and dreamt of being a dancer. But alongside pliés and pirouettes, I was also falling in love with tidepools, estuaries, and coastal ecosystems through immersive science programs in Southern California. I realized I could be both curious and creative, analytical and expressive.
I pursued a degree in Biology with an emphasis in Marine Biology at San Diego State University. After graduation, my (now) husband and I moved to Northern California, where I began my career as a wildlife biologist by day and taught dance in the evenings and weekends. It was a bit like living a double life, think boots, binoculars, and birds by sunrise, ballet slippers by sunset.
Returning to San Diego, I found myself leaning into both paths. My environmental consulting career flourished, eventually leading to my current role as a Senior Principal and Business Center Operations Leader with Stantec, where I lead strategy and performance for a nearly $60M business across Southern California and Hawaii. I work with brilliant scientists, engineers, and planners to solve complex environmental challenges. But through it all, dance has remained my constant creative outlet.
In 2008, I auditioned for San Diego Dance Theater’s Trolley Dances, on a whim, and was cast. That experience was transformative, connecting me with a vibrant community of movers and makers. In 2016, I received my first professional choreography commission through Malashock Dance’s Engagement Ring series, which helped me discover my artistic voice. Those two moments were the catalysts for my creative journey.
Most recently, I founded Accipiter Dance, a project-based company that merges my passions for dance and the environment. Through this platform, I create work that explores movement, storytelling, and collaboration, mostly inspired by ecological themes and the natural world. It’s a meaningful merging of the two forces that have shaped my journey, art and science, and I continue to be guided by that childhood whisper: “Ballet forever.”
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Money and time are the two most constrained resources for a part-time dancer/choreographer with a full-time demanding corporate career. I’m incredibly proud of my career as an environmental scientist, but there’s a part of me that feels I failed my dance-self. There’s a part of me that feels like an outsider constantly trying to balance two separate halves of my full self. Also, I wish I could pay my dancers more. It’s a constant battle to scrape together the funds.
To the rest of the non-dance world, my creative endeavor may be seen as just a hobby. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely do dance for fun, exercise, and social camaraderie. But for me, my choreography and dance practice is a robust way for me to tap into artistic, even spiritual, inquiry. It’s not just a hobby. It’s so much deeper.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
As a dance-maker I am dedicated to making and curating performance art that encourages dialogue and a deeper inquiry into oneself and our role as inhabitants and custodians of planet earth. By leveraging my expertise in both dance and as a professional environmental scientist, I hope to create work that sparks meaningful reflection about intersection between nature and humanity. Recurring themes in my work include: natural systems as a metaphor for human interactions and experiences, tidal ebb and flow, flora and fauna, flocking, flight, birds.
I value connecting with audiences who don’t typically attend dance performances. For instance, in my partnership with San Diego Bird Alliance our audiences include amateur and professional birders, nature enthusiasts, conservation scientists, and families who wouldn’t normally engage with modern dance. I create work for people who show up to birdwatch, explore marshes, or walk the beach, people who may not expect to encounter dance but are open to being moved by it. Last year my dance company performed at the Association of Women in Water, Energy, and Environment (AWWEE) conference, a full-circle crossover moment between my professional and dance career. My goal is to meet people where they are, both physically and emotionally, and offer them a meaningful experience through movement. I hope to find more moments for crossover between my two worlds.
My creative process starts with observations from nature, the ebb and flow of the tide, or the flick of a bird tail. I then layer language prompts (spoken word or text from a poem or book) to build movement through an iterative and collaborative process with dancers. I love learning about my subject matter, and I share that sense of curiosity with collaborators. Next, I’d like to focus on creating dance without the pressure of performance attached to it. I feel like I have miles to go in terms of my choreographic voice. In January 2026, I’m looking forward to a participating in Malashock’s generous choreographic initiative “Germinate,” which provides space residency and a supportive environment for artists to deeply engage with their work and creative process.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I’ve been incredibly fortunate to learn from strong mentors and inspiring figures in the dance community who model both success and inclusivity. In that world, the line between mentor and friend often blurs. I’ve found mentors just by being present, showing up, putting myself out there. Similarly, in my professional journey as an environmental scientist, I’ve served as a mentor, both formally and informally, and discovered a common thread between these two realms… the power of experiential learning. Having the freedom to experiment and receive feedback from people I trust has been the most effective way to elevate my own skills . Another common denominator in my mentorship experiences both as a creative and in my professional career is the mentor taking on the role of connector to link the mentee to a network of peers in the industry. The value of those connections is often underestimated, yet they can be transformative.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.accipiterdance.com/
- Instagram: accipiterdance_sandiego
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BriannaPilkinton
