'Dancing has always been a core part of who I am.’, MiYoung said.

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MiYoung started her dance journey at a young age. Growing up in Seoul, South Korea she graduated with a BA in Dance and a MS in Physical/Dance Education.

She classically trained with Ballet, Modern (mainly Martha Graham) and Korean Traditional Dance through her Undergraduate Degree from Korea National Sports University in Seoul. As a student, she performed internationally. 

Outside of classical styles, she learned Salsa and couple dances outside of the classroom at the bohemian Salsa clubs in Seoul, eventually growing to teach Salsa.

With a Master's in Education, she left the stage behind, but continued to teach such as Ballet, K-pop, Korean Traditional Dance and Salsa.

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She relocated to Seattle in 2005. After she moved to Seattle, she worked with local cultural associations organizing events and spent more time teaching Ballet, K-pop and Zumba within the community. After she met her now husband Jeffrey Margolis, he further broadened her dance repertoire by introducing her to Argentine Tango.  After nearly 12 years in Seattle, she felt that she really missed the group format stage dance, that's when she discovered the group, 'Dare to Dance Seattle' in 2017.

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MiYoung said, ‘Dare to Dance Seattle inspired me as a collection of both professional and amateur / life dancers that focused more on self-expression than having perfect technique which is beautiful and wonderful. It gave me an initial opportunity to return to the stage.  It was during my first season of performances that I met Tatiana, who is now one of my Principal Dancers.’

She also said, ‘Dare to Dance Seattle as a platform continued to support me for multiple years as I further extended my network within the Seattle Dance community.  Giving me both the opportunity to Choreograph, as well as providing a stage on which to perform and to show my work.’

When COVID forced the dance world to re-evaluate how dancers work, practice and perform, she found herself to be extremely fortunate to work with her husband to open their business, Gallery B612 which is an Art Gallery, Dance Studio and Korean Language and Cultural Learning Center in the SODO neighborhood of Seattle. While the front of the commercial space is an art gallery, they built out the back room as a dance studio with a sprung floor and a wall of mirrors.  This space unlocked opportunities to host socially distanced rehearsals for her next Dare to Dance piece. Throughout the Pandemic, she connected not just with new friends from Dare to Dance Seattle, but also to a network of Korean Dancers with connections that date back to her early days in Seoul.

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This is when MMDC was created.  Rather than just preparing a single piece for an annual performance, she had an explosion of choreography. She has choreographed well over an hour of original dance pieces in the own unique style that fuses classical, contemporary and traditional Korean dance.  Due to the Pandemic, MMDC focused on screen dances were recorded outdoors.

Besides being a dancer, choreographer and dance film producer, also MiYoung is a fashion designer of "Seattle Aphrodite", founder & owner of "Gallery B612" and art, dance & Korean Culture & Language teacher.

(MMDC Dancer since 2018)

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Kang Hee was born and raised in Seoul, Korea.

She has trained in dance since the young age of 6 and has been dancing ever since.

She earned a bachelors degree in Dance from Se-Jong Univ. in Seoul, Korea.

After graduation, Kang Hee worked as a dance teacher in public schools

and as a professional dancer at the Choom-Da-Som Dance Company.

She then found her passion in Broadway Musical Theater performances,

spending most of her 20’s performing on stage in works such as: Guys and Dolls, Cats, 42nd Street and Miss Saigon.

In 2008, Kang-Hee relocated to Seattle, WA where she soon met MiYoung who encouraged her to return to the dance stage.

Kang-Hee said, “MiYoung and I always have promised each other that we will dance together

until the end of our lives. We live on stage together. We die on stage together.”

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Dance Style :

Korean Royal/Folk Traditional Dance

Modern & Classical Ballet

& Contemporary/Lyrical Dance

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(MMDC Dancer since 2020)

Tatiana grew up studying various forms of dance, from classical ballet to Flamenco but took a break from it in her 20's. 
She regained her passion for movement when she joined Dare To Dance Seattle, where she met so many amazing people who shared her passion for dance, including MiYoung Margolis.

Tatiana also mentioned, 
“I am incredibly honored to be continuing my dance odyssey with the talented members of the MiYoung Margolis Dance Collective and can't wait to see what new adventures our future will bring!”

“Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion.”
– Martha Graham

Dance Style :
Classical Ballet, Contemporary Lyrical Dance,

Graham Modern, Jazz Dance & Flamenco 
 

(MMDC Dancer since 2019)
 

Christie (Kyeong-Suk) has over 20 years experience learning and teaching Korean historical Royal/Folk Dancing and playing Korean traditional instruments.
She met MiYoung in 2018 when they collaborated on a performance and later joined the MMDC.  
Christie said, "My time in the MMDC has been a new chapter in my dance journey.  With every piece I get a new opportunity to fall deeper in love with dancing, this is especially true with our team.  I am so pleased to Swing and Breathe together.   Now as a wife, a mother of two boys and  a woman.  Dancing with the MMDC has been an unforgettable and delightful memory"

Dance Style :
Korean traditional Royal & Folk Dance 
Korean modern & lyrical Dance 

(MMDC dancer since 2020)

Born and raised in Iran, Parmida Ziaei is a performer, choreographer and designer currently based in Seattle.
Parmida started dancing at a young age.
She first trained in classical Ballet, and then expanded to other dance styles including Classical Persian dance, competitive ballroom dancing (Latin and standard dances), and Contemporary.

She has been teaching, performing and choreographing dance and theatre performances nationally and internationally.

Parmida's unique style combines the intricacy and flow of Classical Persian dance, the freedom of contemporary movement and fierceness of Latin dance to tell a story.

Dance Style :
Classical ballet, Ballroom,
Traditional Persian,
contemporary & Lyrical dance

(MMDC dancer since 2021)

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Ben ‘Heartbreaker’ Chi began dancing in 2007. He took his first Hip-Hop class shortly after discovering breakdancing videos on Youtube. He then focused on Popping and Breaking for the next 8 years.

In 2015, he moved to Seattle from Hawaii.

A year later he was inspired and taught by Rina Pellerin and Tracey Wong in their dance style, Waacking.

Since then Ben has been an active member of the Waacking community and competes in street dance battles across the North West.

Over the past several years he has diversified into contemporary dance, choreography, and tricking expanding his movement into an original fusion of styles.

He’s currently working on different dance projects and creating his unique performance style.

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Dance Style :

Waacking, Popping, Tutting, Soul Step, Breaking, Liquid, Hip-Hop

& Contemporary/Lyrical dance

(MMDC dancer since 2019)

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After moving to Seattle in 2016, Stephanie began pursuing her passion for dance and stage performance.

After training in various partner dances like salsa and tango, Stephanie now focuses on competing internationally in West Coast Swing and expanding her solo movement experience through lyrical and hip hop.

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Dance Style :

Salsa, Tango, West Coast Swing

& Contemporary/Lyrical Dance

(MMDC dancer since 2019)

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She was a self-taught dancer throughout her childhood and could eventually join a dance team at UW.

In college is when she started to explore all kinds of dance styles by taking community classes here and there.

Now as a wife and mom of 3, she finds it more important to dance when she could, to show her family her passion and to inspire her children. 'She mentioned it, to also keep her fit'

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Dance style :

Breakdance, Latin inspired dance moves

& Contemporary Jazz dance

(MMDC dancer since 2021)

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Ever since Jae-Won was a child, she always has loved to dance,

She started classical ballet when she was 7 years old and attended the art focused, Deok-Won Arts High School in Seoul, South Korea.

Dancing has been always her passion and she was pursuing a degree in Dance.

Jae-Won said, “I always hope to continue to grow with my dance career. So I decided to study in Modern Dance and earned both a Bachelor’s Degree & Master’s degree in dance majored at Sook-Myung Women's University”

In her 20’s, she enjoyed exploring body movements and focused on learning Pilates. She is Certified by The Pilates Academy International (PAI) in New York.

Jae-Won also mentioned, “now I’m a wife & mom of a princess, I am very excited and eager to resume my dance career with MiYoung Margolis Dance Collective”

Dance style :
Modern, contemporary and classical ballet
 

(MMDC Dancer since 2019)

Venus "Vee" Volante started dancing on stage during elementary school with traditional Pilipino dances.

She enjoyed taking Fusion Belly dance, Salsa, and Zumba classes in college.

Nowadays, she battles in All-style and Waacking Dance competitions in street-dance events representing an American underground gay dance style called Punking.

MiYoung Margolis Dance Collective is her first professional dance troupe.

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Dance Style :

Waacking, Punking, EurAsia Dance

Ballroom Dance

Contemporary/Lyrical Dance

(MMDC Dancer since 2019)

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Jun-Hee began her journey in dance at the age of 18, since then she has always enjoyed sharing and expressing her emotions and thoughts through her body movements.

She earned a degree in performing theater arts and spent most of her 20’s on stage.

Jun said, “I am always happy when I find myself on the stage. The moment I communicate with my audience; It sets me free. Telling a story and sharing my emotions through dance makes it even more meaningful.”

Since moving to the USA, she took a break from dance, but rather focused on teaching yoga in Seattle. In 2019, her passion for dance was reignited when she met MiYoung and joined the MMDC.

She said, ‘I am very grateful to have the opportunity to dance with the MMDC, it gives me a stage to perform on, an audience to connect with and a talented crew of dancers to collaborate with.”

Her performances in 2021 are exceptionally special, as they include an additional guest dancer, a precious gift in the form of her soon to be born son.

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Dance Style :

Theater Jazz, Modern and Lyrical Dance

(MMDC Dancer since 2022)

(MMDC Junior Dancer since 2021)

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Claudia is a 12 years old Korean American middle school student from Kirkland, Washington who has been dancing since the age of 4.

She has trained with Emerald Ballet Theatre, Premiere Dance Center, Vam Studios, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and choreographer Elbert Lubas, director of Synocopation Dance Project.

In spring of 2021, Claudia began performing lyrical/traditional folk/contemporary pieces under the exclusive training and direction of MiYoung Margolis and the MMDC.

Aside from dance, Claudia is an accomplished rhythmic gymnast, holding state and regional all-around titles, as well as having placed in the national rankings.

Claudia’s love for performing continues to grow and she hopes to pursue dance as a lifetime interest.