Meet our Team

Artem Yachmennikoff

WDA Owner

WDA Artistic Director

MCBT Artistic Director

Mr. Yachmennikoff graduated from the Vaganova Ballet Academy. He was the first soloist with the world famous Bolshoi Theater in Moscow; a soloist at The Mariinsky Theater (Kirov) in St.Petersburg; and a principal dancer at the Dutch National Ballet, which is one of the most prestigious European theaters. He was also a principal dancer at San Francisco Ballet, one of the largest and long lived professional ballet companies in the United States. He performed on the most prestigious ballet stages in the world such as Covent Garden in London, Grand Opera in Paris, Metropolitan Opera in New-York, The London Coliseum Theater, and Champs-Elysees Theater in Paris. Mr. Yachnmennikoff enjoyed the honor of receiving an invitation from Her Royal Majesty Queen Beatrix of Netherlands to attend an official ceremony recognizing his artistic accomplishments. As an experienced and professional Ballet Master, Artem has been an integral part of our team since the beginning. Mr. Artem is also the Artistic Director of Melbourne City Ballet Theatre and the Artistic Director of Classical Arts Entertainment's We Dance Program that offers performance opportunities of the highest level to the ballet dancers of all ages of the East Coast during the State Ballet Theatre of Ukraine tour across the US. MCBT and CAE have successfully produced such shows, as the Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake and Cinderella. 

Ekaterina Vaganova-Yachmennikova

WDA Owner, Coordinator of Operations

MCBT Artistic Director

WDA Ballroom Program Director

Ekaterina, former professional Latin American & Standard dancer. Graduated from the University of Culture in promotion and production of cultural public programs. She is the great-grand daughter of the world-famous ballerina, Agrippina Vaganova, who created the well-known method of professional training for ballet dancers all around the world. Ekaterina herself is a three-time World Champion ballroom dancer, WDC European champion, multiple champion of Italy, Ukraine and Spain. She won her first World Cup at the Under 21 age category in Los Angeles, USA in 2006. She was the winner of the prestigious Festival of Dance in Cervia, Italy; the Imperial Dance Championship; and Universal Dance Competition in London, England. She has been a pro teacher on Dancing With The Stars in Italy for five seasons and choreographer on So You Think You Can Dance. She brings the highest level of ballroom experience to the Space Coast. Ekaterina is also the Coordinator of Operations of WDA.