STUDENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Our students’ accomplishments testify to the success of our program. Dancers have been accepted and awarded scholarships to attend the summer programs at the schools of major ballet companies, and many have gone on to professional careers in dance.
Southland Ballet Academy students have participated in prestigious ballet competitions and exhibitions around the world, bringing home many awards and acknowledgements. These include annual representation at regional and national finals of Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP), the Spotlight Awards at the Los Angeles Music Center, and Southland Ballet Dancers have represented the United States in the Prix de Lausanne Ballet Competition in Switzerland, and the First International Ballet Competition in Nagoya, Japan.
2022 Student Accomplishments
YAGP Finals:
Sophia Koo, Bronze Medal, Junior Women
Leon Sai, Silver Medal, Pre-Competitive Men Classical
Afina Gosla & Leon Sai, Top 12, Classical Pas de Deux
YAGP Regionals:
San Diego (November)
Kotone Matsuzaki, 3rd Place Classical, Junior
Amelie Hoang, 3rd Place Contemporary, Pre-Competitive and Top 12 Classical, Pre-Competitive
Los Angeles (January)
Emma Chen, 2nd Place Classical, Senior and Top 12 Contemporary, Senior
Sydney Madolora, Top 12 Classical, Senior
Michelle Lu, 3rd Place Classical, Junior and Top 12 Contemporary, Junior
Charlotte Bengfort, Top 24 Classical, Junior
Leon Sai, Hope Award, Pre-Competitive
Los Angeles (February)
Ashley Chung, 1st Place Classical, Senior and Top 12 Contemporary, Senior
Juliet Garbacz, 2nd Place Classical, Senior and Top 12 Contemporary, Senior
Sami Santos, Top 12 Classical, Senior
Towako Wunsch, Top 12 Classical, Senior
Rachel Lee, Top 24 Classical, Senior
Bella Dinglasan, 2nd Place Classical, Junior
Keira Kuennemann, Top 12 Classical, Junior and Top 12 Contemporary, Junior
Brielle Aucoin, Top 24 Classical, Junior
Hailey Van, Top 24 Classical, Junior
Madison Chen, Top 24 Classical, Junior
Afina Gosla, 2nd Place Classical, Pre-Competitive and Top 12 Contemporary, Pre-Competitive
Amelie Hoang, 2nd Place Classical, Pre-Competitive
Afina Gosla & Leon Sai, 1st Place, Pas de Deux
Chicago
Charlotte Bengfort, 3rd Place Classical, Junior
Aurora Kellogg, Top 12 Classical, Junior and Top 12 Contemporary, Junior
Las Vegas
Afina Gosla, 1st Place Classical, Pre-Competitive
New York
Charlotte Bengfort, Top 12 Classical, Junior
San Francisco
Adella Mehringer, Top 12 Classical, Junior
San Diego (February)
Aimee Cho, 2nd Place Classical, Senior and Top 12 Contemporary, Senior
Aurora Kellogg, 2nd Place Contemporary, Junior
San Diego (March)
Aimee Cho, 2nd Place Contemporary, Senior
Towako Wunsch, Top 12 Contemporary, Senior
Sophia Koo, Youth Grand Prix, Junior
Natalie Ho, Top 12 Classical, Junior
Keira Kuennemann, Top 24 Classical, Junior
Brynn Oh, 3rd Place Classical, Pre-Competitive
Sophia Koo & Holden Kunowski, 1st Place, Pas de Deux
LA Music Center Spotlight Awards 2022
Sophia Koo, Classical Ballet, Grand Prize Finalist
Ashley Chung, Classical Ballet, Honorable Mention
Aimee Cho, Classical Ballet, Semi-Finalist and Dance, Semi-Finalist
Emma Chen, Classical Ballet, Semi-Finalist
Michelle Lu, Classical Ballet, Semi-Finalist
Juliet Garbacz, Classical Ballet, Merit Award
Universal Ballet Competition – Los Angeles (November)
Sophia Koo, Legacy Award Winner, 1st Place Classical, Junior Competitive and 1st Place Contemporary, Junior Competitive
Aimee Cho, 3rd Place Classical, Junior Competitive and 1st Place Contemporary, Junior Competitive
Juliet Gabarcz, 5th Place Classical, Junior Competitive and 6th Place Contemporary, Junior Competitive
Michelle Lu, 6th Place Classical, Junior Competitive and 13th Place Contemporary, Junior Competitive
Kotone Matsuzaki, 9th Place Classical, Junior Competitive and 12th Place Contemporary, Junior Competitive
Bella Dinglasan, 14th Place Classical, Junior Competitive
Brielle Aucoin, 15th Place Classical, Junior Competitive and 14th Place Contemporary, Junior Competitive
Hayden Tran, 2nd Place Classical, Junior Intermediate and 2nd Place Contemporary, Junior Intermediate
Leon Sai, Rising Star Award Winner, 1st Place Classical, Primary Intermediate and 1st Place Contemporary, Primary Intermediate
Ginevra Liu, 5th Place Classical, Primary Intermediate and 3rd Place Contemporary, Primary Intermediate
Magnolia Liu, 8th Place Classical, Primary Intermediate and 5th Place Contemporary, Primary Intermediate
Afina Gosla, 2nd Place Classical, Primary Competitive and 5th Place Contemporary, Primary Competitive
Universal Ballet Competition – Finals
Bella Dinglasan, 5th Place Classical, Junior Competitive
California Dance Classics – Los Angeles (March)
Amelie Hoang, Silver Award Classical, Ages 11-12 Classical and Silver Award Contemporary, Ages 11-12
Bella Dinglasan, Honorable Mention Award Classical, Ages 13-14
Charlotte Bengfort, Honorable Mention Award Classical, Ages 13-14
Sean Sai, Gold Award Classical, under 8 years old
Ginevra Liu, Honorable Mention Award Contemporary, Ages 9-10