[1] She was the first American to be sanctioned as a "Certified Practitioner and Teacher of the Teaching Method of Classical Ballet" by the Vaganova Academy in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

[5] She studied with John Barker of New York, and Valentina Roumiantseva of the Vaganova Ballet Academy of St. Petersburg, Russia.

[6] In 1992, she received an invitation to complete her advanced level pedagogical studies in Teaching Method at the Vaganova Ballet Academy in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

[10][1] She wrote, directed and supervised the series Music for the Classical Ballet Lesson with Ludmilla Petrovna Vlasenko as pianist, and wrote, directed and narrated the video series Classical Ballet Lesson which featured Galina Mezentseva.

[16] During her years at Bay High School, she held the office of president of the drama club, and secretary of her junior class.

[12] During the summers of 1969, 1970 and 1971, she and her sister Sheila Willis were hired as performers at Mr. Koplin's Tombstone Territory on Panama City Beach.

[21] Paul Aarnio holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree (with honors) from Cornell University, and is a retired Air force pilot.

[22] Peggy Willis-Aarnio and her sister Sheila Willis-Kleiman had a lifelong collaboration of teaching, performing, choreographing their entire lives together.

[24] Willis-Aarnio received Texas Christian University's Alfie Special Achievement Award for her choreography in Gilbert and Sullivan's ballad operetta, Patience.

[25] Willis-Aarnio held the honor of being the first American to choreograph a new classical ballet work for several top Russian Companies in Saint-Petersburg, Russia.