FACULTY
Kyudong Kwak
Artistic Director/Founder of Las Vegas Ballet Company
Kyudong Kwak was born in Daegu Korea. He began his ballet training at an early age with the Universal Ballet Company. Later he received additional training at the Kirov Ballet Academy in Washington D.C.
He won the gold medal at the Korean Dance Competition and in 1992, he won the silver medal at the Dong-Ah Ballet Competition. He was the first Asian guest dancer at the Kirov Ballet where he danced the role of Blue Bird in their production of Sleeping Beauty in 1993.
Kyudong danced with world-renowned Universal Ballet Company for eight years and with the Seoul Ballet Theatre for three years as principal dancer. His career in Nevada began in 1998 at Nevada Ballet Theatre as a principal dancer, and later advanced to ballet master. He was former faculty at Dixie State University’s dance department.
His repertoire includes Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty Copelia, Giselle, Cinderella, Nutcracker,
George Balanchine's Serenade, Allegro Brilliant, Four Temperaments, Somnambular, and most famous classical ballet. He has danced works by Roy Tobias, Oleg Vinogradov,James Jeon, Bruce Steivel, Val Caniparoli, Bruce Mark, and Peter Anastos. Kyudong Kwak has an extensive fan base in the Las Vegas Community.
Yoomi Lee
Ballet Mistress/Executive Director
Yoomi Lee was born in Seoul, Korea and graduated from Sun-Hwa Arts School. She received additional training at the Kirov Ballet Academy in Washington D.C. before going on to dance with world-renowned Universal Ballet Company where she danced numerous supporting and leading roles.
In 1991, she competed in and earned the Silver medal in the Dong-ah Competition. In 1999, she joined Nevada Ballet Theatre and was promoted to principal dancer in 2003. She is now the Las Vegas Ballet Company ballet mistress and principal dancer. She has choreographed The Nutcracker, re-staging Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and Paquita.
Ms. Yoomi's repertoire includes Swan Lake, Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Coppelia, Scheherazade, Midsummer Night's Dream, and George Balanchine's Serenade, Allegro Brilliant, Who cares?, and many others. She has also danced works by Roy Tobias, Oleg Vinogradov, Bruce Steivel, Peter Anastos, Val Caniparoli, Kathryn Posin, James Jeon.
Summer Reece
Instructor
Summer Barreto is a dance performer and teacher in the Las Vegas area, specializing in Contemporary, Ballet, and Jazz dance. She attended California Institute of the Arts and University of Nevada Las Vegas as a dance major. Graduating with a BFA and receiving the outstanding performer award. She studied Vagonava style ballet at Nevada Ballet theater for 8 years and focused on dance choreography throughout college. She is a proud Las Vegas Academy alumni and one of the original first students at Kwak Ballet Academy.
She has performed in many dance festivals including IABD, Check it out, ACDFA, and Dance in the Desert. Performing in places like California, Utah, New York, and even Korea. She has been teaching dance for over 10 years.
She has been a member of Sample dance, Dream K, and Red Desert Dance companies while currently performing with Las Vegas Ballet Company. She spent 2 years dancing for Star N Stilettos, an off the strip weekend show. She has worked with artists such as: Victoria Baltimore Dale, Lawrence Blake, Avree Walker, Greg Sample, Cathy Allen, Jesus Nanci and many others.
