Faculty Members

Ricky Burks - Fine & Performing Arts Department ChairJazz Band and Saxophone Quartet

A versatile musician with training in both jazz and classical idioms, Ricky Burks earned his B.S. in Music Education from the University of North Alabama in 1990 and his M.A. from the University of North Alabama in 2000. Mr. Burks has utilized his performing skills with a number of ensembles, including groups such as the Edd Jones Orchestra, the Muscle Shoals Area Big Band, the Sammy Kaye Orchestra, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Steel City Sound, the Russ Morgan Orchestra, and Alabama Pipe and Drum. He was also a founding member of the Night Life Saxophone Quartet, which has been featured on National Public Radio. In addition, he has served as an adjudicator and clinician throughout the Southeast. Mr. Burks directs the Jazz Band and Saxophone Ensemble at Wallace State, where he has been employed since 1990 as woodwind instructor and director of bands. Currently, Mr. Burks serves as the Chairperson of the Fine and Performing Arts at Wallace State Community College.

Brooke Desnoës - Dance

Brooke Desnoës is one of the most gifted teaching artists of her generation, with over twenty years of experience at the international level. She is pushing the boundaries in dance, and has developed a dance program at WSCC built upon strong classical roots, which is committed to exploring and redefining where the art form is headed. Her pre-professional training program opens the doors to successful professional careers for her students. Mrs. Desnoës trains her students “from the inside out” and provides them with an educational experience of the highest caliber.

Brooke Desnoës received her early dance training in her native Alabama and went on to dance with ballet companies across the Southeast and in Europe. She has danced a varied repertoire including leading roles in many classic ballets such as “Sleeping Beauty,” “Cinderella,” “Paquita,” and “Romeo and Juliet,” as well as works by contemporary choreographers. After a period of teaching at The Washington School of Ballet in Washington D.C., under the direction of Mary Day, Brooke Desnoës founded L’Académie Américaine de Danse de Paris (AADP) which grew to become one of the largest and most reputable ballet schools in Europe under her direction. Mrs. Desnoës has been on faculty at Wallace State since fall of 2018, where she directs the Allegro Dance Theatre and Wallace State Pride Line.