Mr. Bill, an NYC transplant, originally from NH, is a professional actor, musician, teacher of voice/acting/piano, and a proud member of the Actors’ Equity Association. He studied musical theatre at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Mr. Bill has toured nationally as Gus/Growltiger/Bustopher Jones in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats, and internationally with Disney Cruise Lines, where he originated the role of Hades in Disney’s first all villains musical, Villains Tonight! His regional theatre credits include Musical Theatre West, CA, the Walnut St. Theatre, PA, Theatre Under the Stars, TX, TheatreZone, FL, Ogunquit Playhouse, ME, Westchester Theatre, NY, Fulton Theatre, PA, Palace Theatre, NH, and more. Some of his favorite credits include Mr. Bumble in Oliver! (nomination best supporting actor in a musical, Broadway World, LA) Max Bialystock in The Producers, Chef Louis in Disney's The Little Mermaid, Valjean in Les Misérables, Gomez in The Addams Family, and Cogsworth in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Currently, Mr. Bill is teaching Musical Theatre Vocals at YDA and YDAI.

Ms. Grace has nearly 20 years specializing in Chinese dance. Trained in dance from a young age. Graduated from Shenyang Conservatory of Music Dance Conservatory and Yanbian School University College of Arts. Received training from Professor Qiu Youren, former President of Beijing Dance Academy, and Professor Zhong Runliang, a first-level dancer from the Central Ballet.

Ms. Icey Senior Ballet Instructor MFA in Ballet, Belarusian State Academy of Arts Featured Dancer, CCTV Spring Festival Gala Ms. Icey is an internationally trained ballet educator with over 20 years of teaching experience. She has performed on prestigious stages, including the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, and brings a strong artistic foundation to her work. Her teaching integrates technical precision with a strong emphasis on physical safety. Known for her ability to communicate complex concepts in an accessible and engaging way, she inspires students to develop both understanding and passion for dance. Through the Vaganova Method, she builds solid fundamentals while enhancing strength, control, musicality, and expressive quality. Ms. Icey’s teaching style is disciplined yet inspiring. She emphasizes clarity, control, and artistry in every movement, guiding students to develop not only correct technique but also a deeper artistic awareness. She believes true ballet goes beyond imitation—it is the refined cultivation of both body and artistic sensibility. Whether working with beginners, advancing students, or those preparing for pre-professional training, Ms. Icey provides individualized guidance tailored to each dancer’s needs. Her expertise, dedication, and passion consistently earn the trust of both students and families. Ballet is an art of detail and strength—where precision meets expression

Jonah Boswell is an arts administrator, live event and production professional, educator, and business development leader whose work bridges the creative and business sides of the performing arts. His experience spans national touring events, arts administration, dance education, theatrical production, client and studio relations, fundraising, and organizational strategy, with a focus on building creative experiences that are artistically meaningful, operationally strong, and sustainable. Boswell earned dual degrees from Chapman University in Orange, California, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Dance and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management. A Chancellor’s Scholar, he has shaped an approach to leadership through his interdisciplinary education that combines artistic understanding with business strategy, organizational management, and operational execution. Boswell works within the national dance competition and convention industry with Amplified Productions, supporting Adrenaline Dance, Revive Dance Convention, and Monsters of Hip Hop. As a Convention Manager working across event operations and competition administration, he helps execute large-scale, multi-day touring events in approximately 18–20 cities throughout the United States each season. His responsibilities include studio and client relations, convention operations, registration, competition administration, scoring and adjudication processes, awards, scheduling, guest services, and real-time event troubleshooting. Working directly with studio owners, educators, dancers, families, and industry professionals has strengthened his interest in creating exceptional client experiences through strong operational systems. Previously, Boswell spent three years at the Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA), serving as Conservatory Manager and faculty member for the Commercial Dance Conservatory. He helped administer a department with approximately 130 students and 19 faculty members, overseeing communications, scheduling, admissions, contracts, payroll, guest artist coordination, fundraising, and departmental operations. He supported an admissions process involving more than 230 applicants and helped raise more than $20,000 for student programming, performances, and educational opportunities. As a faculty member, he also taught and mentored developing artists in technique, performance, audition preparation, and professional development. Boswell’s production and creative experience includes multiple collaborations with the Irvine Barclay Theatre, where he served in assistant-directing and assistant-creative-directing capacities on large-scale dance productions. His interdisciplinary projects have also included executive producing a dance-and-robotics collaboration, movement direction and choreography incorporating professional cinematic lighting technology, and co-choreographing an original musical at Chapman University. His academic and professional interests extend to the organizational structures shaping the performing arts. His research at Chapman examined corporate leadership within the dance competition and convention industry, including organizational culture, consolidation, ethics, compensation, dancer welfare, and sustainable leadership. He is particularly interested in leadership models that combine genuine artistic understanding with strong business practices and organizational accountability. Across his work, Boswell is drawn to the infrastructure behind exceptional artistic experiences—the people, strategy, systems, relationships, and execution that allow creativity to flourish. His professional interests include arts administration, organizational leadership, producing, programming, creative direction, business development, and large-scale live event management, with the long-term goal of helping lead organizations that expand opportunities for artists and strengthen the institutions that support them.

Ms. Julia is a professional dancer, teacher, and choreographer with artistic roots in the Bay area of California. Julia graduated from Santa Clara University, where she trained and performed extensively with the Santa Clara Department of Theater and Dance. As part of her honors thesis, she choreographed/produced a series of dance films, which received national recognition from the American Dance Festival. Julia continues to train and perform as a company artist with Twopoint4 Dance Theater. Ms. Julia is also the competition director and lead choreographer of the award-winning Chinese American dance studio Lisa’s Performing Arts. Julia’s passion for teaching has allowed her to travel across the country as a masterclass teacher and freelance choreographer for various competitive studios and professional companies. You can see her most recent collaboration ‘Pedestal’ with Leandro Damsco, on tour with Waterstreet Dance Company. She is a founding member of the INK co-op and looks forward to contributing to their second season.

Ms. Kristin received her formative training in Michigan with Cornelia Sampson, along with studies at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and San Francisco Ballet School. She began her professional career at the age of sixteen with the Nashville Ballet, where she held many leading roles. Most recently, Ms. Kristin was a principal dancer with Ballet West, where she performed the title roles in numerous ballets as well as a full range of contemporary, classical, and neoclassical works. She has performed internationally in China and Europe, including appearances in the 2004 Edinburgh International Festival. She appeared as “Sugar Plum Fairy” in a nationally televised broadcast on PBS and performed in the Winter Olympics with Ballet West in 2002. Kristin is also a certified yoga teacher, a practice she finds particularly complementary to the demands of ballet training. She has taught for institutions such as Ballet West and Ballet West Academy, University of California-Irvine, and Michigan Ballet Theatre, in addition to teaching international master classes. Most recently, she taught at the world renowned Beijing Dance Academy, where she has been invited to return as a Guest Professor in 2016. From 2005-2007, she served as an adjunct professor at Wright State University and was a faculty member of Pontecorvo Ballet School. From 2008-2011, she served on the faculty of the Indianapolis School of Ballet and the Central Indiana Academy of Dance. Currently, Ms. Kristin is a faculty member at the Maple Conservatory of Dance in Irvine, California.

Mr. Leon is a dancer, choreographer, educator, and filmmaker from Sacramento, CA. He started his professional dance career with Nicholas Leichter at the Joyce Theater in New York City and trained with Bay Area companies such as Joe Goode Performance, Axis Dance, Bandaloop, and Pauvfe Dance. He has appeared in Merce Cunningham’s , staged by Jean Freebury, and trained with Richard Seigel of William Forsythe’s Ballet Frankfurt during the American Dance Festivals. Mr. Leon later joined the Los Angeles-based company DIAVOLO in 2012. He became the company’s first resident choreographer, highlighting his choreography in the trilogy L’espace Du Temps, which first premiered at the Movimentos Festival in Wulfsburg, Germany. As an avid traveler, Mr. Leon's choreographic and teaching residencies include CSU Sacramento, Marin Academy, Scottsdale Community College, Utah Valley University, CSU Los Angeles, CALArts, University of Central Oklahoma, UC Irvine, and Santa Clara University. After completing and touring DIAVOLO’s latest repertoire, L.O.S.T., and appearing on America’s Got Talent, Mr. Leon studied and earned his MFA in Dance from the University of California, Irvine, where he has assisted and performed world-renowned choreographer Lar Lubovitch’s Northstar. In addition, Mr. Leon developed his movement research and philosophy of Ebb and Floorwork, a movement methodology aimed at harmonizing the body with the floor by entering a flow state through mental and physical challenges. At Santa Clara University, Mr. Leon teaches Contemporary Dance, Performance Collaboration, Movement for Athletes, Hip Hop and Dance Cinematography. He is an international soloist, Director of Photography, and choreographer for dance films, with his works appearing internationally in the Nabla Festivals in Italy, Knowbox Dance Festivals in Mexico, Canada, South Korea, and Lebanon with the Lebanese Independent Film Festivals. Mr. Leon is a Residency Guest Choreographer and Instructor this season.

Ms. Marin started her dance training when she was 6 years old in Japan, training primarily in classical ballet. Born with a love for performing, this talented artist has made a career out of her passion for dance. This drive propels her forward and she hasn’t looked back. She came to the United States at the age of 17 and enrolled in the Dance Department of California State University Fullerton where she completed her BA in Dance Performance. Over the years, she had the opportunity to work on a number of incredible productions as a guest artist and collaborative projects such as the Nutcracker Ballet and Sleeping Beauty Ballet with several outstanding professional choreographers, such as Erin Landry, Stephanie Powell, Bernard Gaddis, Martha Psmintuan, Paula Vreulink and Jeff Hendrix. She has also performed jazz, modern, contemporary, African American dance, hip-hop and improvisation on the stage. In addition, Marin has performed with Walt Disney parks and resort, Knotts Berry Farm and Universal Studios. Thriving on creative challenges and building long-term relationships with audiences along the way, Marin Asano is always leaving an impactful impression behind. As a dance artist, she loves being a part of human evolution through her dance expression. Ms. Marin currently teaches Mini Ballet, Jazz, and Creative Movement at YDAT.

Ms. MeiLu started dancing at age 4 in Tianjin, China, and received full-time academic ballet training at the Tianjin Art School from age 11. She was awarded a scholarship to the Beijing Dance Academy, and graduated with degrees in Performance Ballet and Ballet Education. She danced with the National Ballet of China for 8 years, with leading roles in Maurice Bejart’s Firebird, Carmen, and In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated. With the National Ballet of China, Zhai performed on some of the world’s most prestigious stages across 11 countries, including the Paris Opera House, the Royal Opera House in London, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., and was the opening act at the Edinburgh Arts Festival. Her performance repertoire includes Natalia Makarova’s Swan Lake, Roland Petit’s Carmen and L’Arlesienne, joint productions of Eugene Onegin and Romeo and Juliet with the Stuttgart Ballet, a joint production of Sylvia with Paris Opera, and original National Ballet of China productions of Raise the Red Lantern working with film director Zhang Yimou, Peony Pavilion and Red Detachment of Women. Zhai is currently Principal dancer and instructor with IPB and Yaya Dance Academy and lives in San Diego CA.

Born in Manila, Philippines and raised in Southern California, Mike Esperanza (he/him) has established himself as a sought after teacher and choreographer throughout the nation. With a BFA in graphic design from California State University, Fullerton, Mike's approach to visual construction has influenced a unique movement orchestration on stage. His works have been commissioned by prestigious college and university dance programs including Chapman University, Loyola Marymount University, UNLV, Cal State Long Beach, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and Utah Valley University to name a few. Six choreographic works have made regional gala appearances at the American College Dance Festival with 3 going on to perform at the American College Dance Festival National Gala held at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. In 2005, Mike was awarded the "Dance: Creation for Performance" grant presented by Dance/USA and the Irvine Foundation. With this distinguished award, BARE Dance Company began. BARE has produced numerous show around Southern California including the Lestor Horton Award nominated "Manhattan" - an alternative take on West Side Story. Mike has also been a finalist at the Palm Desert Dance Under the Stars Choreography Festival in 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010 taking second place in 2009 and winning the paid engagement award in 2010. BARE was recently part of the "Innerstate" roster presented by ODC Theater and funded by the Irvine Foundation. The program allowed the company to perform numerous cities in Southern and Northern California.

Ms. Phoebe is a talented performer and dance instructor. She graduated from the Minzu University of China with a degree in Dance Performance, and later pursued further training in Acting at the New York Film Academy. Throughout her career, Phoebe has achieved numerous accolades in dance competitions, including first place in the 2006 National Youth Talent Competition is Beijing and the third place in the Latin division of the 2007 Global Chinese Sports and Dance Competition in Hong Kong. Ms. Phoebe has also worked extensively as a dance choreographer and performer, having been a member of the Little Golden Deer Art Troupe in Liaoning Province from 2006 to 2010. She has worked as a dance performer and choreographer for various events, including the 2008 Beijing Olympic Bird’s Nest Sino-Japanese-Korean Concert, and the 2016 New York Film Academy Dance and Musical Theatre troupes. In addition to her performing career, Ms. Phoebe has also been a dance teach at multiple institutions, including the Little Golden Deer Art Troupe in Liaoning Province from 2006 to 2012, Beijing Shihua Primary School from 2007 to 2010, and The Shining Star Preschool in Southern California, the United States, from 2016 to 2021. Currently, she is teaching at the Star Factory Acting and Music Academy, where she continues to share her passion for dance and instruct students in various style, such as Chinese dance, Jazz, and Latin dance. Her dedication and expertise in the field of dance have earned her a reputation as an exceptional performer, instructor and choreographer. Currently, Ms. Phoebe teaches K-Pop, Musical Theatre, and Beginner’s Ballet at YDAT.

Mr. Rad is an all-rounded, multi-disciplinary artist, choreographer and facilitator in dance based in California. He holds an MFA in Dance from UC Irvine where he was offered a full scholarship for the two-year program. Mr. Rad’s choreography is often thought-provoking, and usually revolves around the theme of life and culture. His works have premiered internationally in Malaysia, China, Canada, and the US. He has danced with the Kolben Dance Company and Vertigo Dance Company in Israel, Lar Lubovitch, and worked closely with SiZheng Wang, choreographer from National Ballet of China. Mr. Rad had also performed in All That Jazz and A Chorus Line in college. He was lucky to have choreographed with Yaya Zhang for Pacific Symphony’s Lunar New Year event, Love Feast, since 2018. Their choreography Happy Valley was also invited to perform at YAGP’s final in Tampa, Florida in 2021. Mr. Rad currently teaches beginner ballet, intermediate/advanced jazz, intermediate/advanced contemporary and facilitates the Elite Competition Team at YDA, YDA Irvine, and YDA Torrance.

Sadie Black is a freelance Ballerina, Choreographer and Teacher from and based in Los Angeles. She has performed with Los Angeles Ballet, Barak Ballet, Luminario Ballet, Raiford Rogers Modern Ballet, The Realm Company. Sadie has also produced projects for Freaks With Lines and created new works for LA Grooves. Her training was with Riverside Ballet Arts, Ballet Pacifica, Houston Ballet Academy, and the School of American Ballet. Before her freelance career, Sadie was a company dancer with Texas Ballet Theater, Columbia City Ballet and Los Angeles Ballet. Running parallel to her performing career, is her passion for teaching ballet & yoga. She is on the faculty at Westside School of Ballet the The SIX Compound. Sadie has also coached and choreographed for students competing at Youth America Grand Prix and several other dance competitions. Her ballets "Ra" and "Swing Time" were both invited to perform at the YAGP Finals in NYC.

Ms. Xie graduated from the People’s Liberation Army Academy of Art as a dance major. She danced as a soloist and lead dancer in various performances, including the CCTV New Year’s Gala. She received numerous awards from a variety of dance competitions, including top honor from the Taoli Cup of China. After moving to the US, she continued to express her love and passion for dance and began teaching young children Chinese folk dance and flexibility training at Yaya Dance Academy. In addition, she also choreographs routines for various dance competitions. She is a wonderful teacher and choreographer who understands and loves the art of dance. Ms. Xie currently teaches beginner/intermediate/advanced folk dance and facilitates the Junior Competition Team at YDA.

Yaya Zhang is an interdisciplinary young artist with twenty years of experience in stage performance, dance choreography, and contemporary art creation. She is a graduate of the Beijing Dance Academy. Ten years of professional training at the Beijing Dance Academy has made her incredibly proficient in dance elements such as Chinese classical dance, Chinese Folk dance, and choreography. Yaya Zhang not only has rich experience in choreography and movement creation, but she is also an interdisciplinary artist. In 2004, she joined Japan’s Shiki Theatre Company as a foreign actress and acted as one of the featured roles “Rumpleteazer” in the classical musical “Cats”. In 2005, she participated in the choreographic creation of the children’s film “Qian Lan Shen Lan”. In 2006, she served as the main director for the opening ceremony of the Jiangxi Provincial Games with over nine thousand participants in the evening ceremony. Since 2006, she has collaborated numerous times with China Children’s Art Theater for musical productions and choreography. Her works include: “Shangri-La”, “Xiao Tu Kuai Pao”, and “Little Match Girl”. Among them, the creation “Xiao Tu Kuai Pao” received the “Wenhua Award”, the highest art award in China. At the end of 2007, she chose to follow her husband and stay in the US where she continues to work as a teacher and choreographer in major dance companies in Los Angeles. In 2013, she continued to study in the US and obtained an MFA in Musical Theatre from the New York Film Academy. In 2014, Ms. Zhang founded the “YAYA Dance Academy”. YAYA Dance Academy is the “base” for dance artist Yaya Zhang to promote Chinese dance. In just a few years, her students have participated in major American and international dance competitions, winning many awards and honors. In 2014, her students performed her new work “Gu Wu Xin Yun” at China’s CCTV show “Dance World” where they received the “All-star” award. In 2015, as an independent artist, Ms. Zhang launched her contemporary dance work, “Yun Being” and performed at the LATC Art Festival where it was well-received. In 2016, Ms. Zhang cooperated with the Claire Trevor School of the Arts at the University of California, Irvine as a guest artist. From 2016-2020, she served as the director for Pacific Symphony’s Spring Festival Concert, “Love Banquet”, for six consecutive years when she collaborated with the renowned conductor Mr. Carl St. Clair. The “Love Banquet” Spring Gala launched at the Segerstrom Concert Hall, becoming Pacific Symphony’s best banquet concert of the year, and students of YAYA Dance Academy were published in the Los Angeles Times. In 2020, YAYA Dance Academy ranked first overall at the mainstream dance competition, KAR, in the US and also received the “Best Studio of 2020” award. In 2020 YAYA Dance Academy was invited to perform at the halftime show on the court of the American NBA basketball game.

Ms. Yelena began her training in ballet and character dance in Ukraine at the age of 5. She continued her ballet studies in Los Angeles, CA, before being accepted into the North Carolina School of the Arts, where she earned a BFA in Ballet. Throughout her career, Ms. Yelena has performed professionally with renowned companies such as the New Jersey Ballet, Staten Island Ballet, Pasadena Dance Theatre, Riverside Ballet, and LA Chamber Ballet/Raiford Rogers Modern Ballet. Her repertoire includes solo roles from classic ballets such as Sleeping Beauty, Le Corsaire, Firebird, Paquita, Raymonda, La Bayadere, and The Nutcracker. For the past six years, Ms. Yelena has expanded her career internationally, collaborating with prestigious companies including the Russian National Ballet Theater, Russian Moscow Ballet, Classical Ballet Theater, and the State Ballet Theater of Russia. During this time, she has performed solo roles in beloved productions such as Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, and Cinderella. Ms. Yelena speaks fluent Russian, has six years of classical piano training, and has a unique passion for parrots—she admires their love for dancing, which matches her own.