teacher

	Miss Li Zhang-Founder & Principal Miss Li Zhang's love affair with the art of dance started from early childhood. At the age of eight she entered the Shanghai Ballet School and started her rigorous training in formal classical ballet. After graduation Miss. Zhang joined the esteemed Shanghai Ballet Company as a principal dancer. Since 1979 she has starred in the lead role in a number of major pieces in the classical ballet repertoire, including Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Giselle, Coppelia and the Nutcracker. As a highly acclaimed young professional ballerina of national stature, Miss. Zhang went on stage tours with the Shanghai Ballet Company all over the world, including performances in France, Russia, New Zealand, Singapore, Cuba and Hong Kong. She won numerous awards in major ballet competitions both at home and aboard, including the 7th International Classical Ballet Competition in Paris, where her exquisite technique and graceful artistic interpretation earned her a gold medal in the duet dance as well as the title of Best Ballerina. In early 1991, Miss Zhang immigrated to the U. S. and attended the prestigious San Francisco Ballet School, before becoming a principal dancer with the Los Angeles Classical Ballet. In 1993, Miss Zhang founded Li's Dance Studio together with her husband, Mr. Zhi-Quan Zhao, a former renowned dancer with the Shanghai Ballet Company in an effort to beak new grounds in her successful dance career. The venture brought remarkable success in establishing the first Chinese Ballet Studio in San Gabriel Valley, providing children with cultural appreciation as well as a solid foundation that are valuable in any future endeavor, whether in the theater arts or in the professions where confidence and discipline are essential. Many of her students have won awards in dance competitions at local as well as national levels.

	Xiao-Yun Li-Artistic Director Ms. Xian-Yun Li is a First Class Choreographer, an artistic title conferred by China. Graduated from Beijing Dance School, the seven years of intensive training brought her the most invaluable aspects of technique of uniting expressive medium in Western Ballet and Chinese folk dance comprehensively and systematically. In 1961, she started her career as teacher for Shanghai Ballet School and as choreographer for Shanghai Ballet Troupe. She was later appointed as Art Director in Shanghai Ballet Theatre in recognition of her distinctive artistic style. Highlights of Ms. Li's work include “Rose”, “The Heroic Young Sisters in the Grassland”, “Golden Silvery Dance”, “Fisherman's Song”, “The Brook Around the Mountain”, “The Surrounded Ambush”, and much more. In 1989, Ms. Li won the national “Great Achievements” award for her creation of “The Charm”, and anthology of her great works. In this performance, she successfully incorporated the movement of Western ballet to the songs and dances of ancient China. She has developed not only her unique artistic form but also her exceptional ability to prepare, produce and stage outstanding ballet performances. In 1992, Ms. Li united with her family in the U. S. She was still sought after by many Chinese art organizations and commissioned to choreograph other pieces. Her most recent masterpiece is staging a four-act ballet “Liang Shan-bo and Zhu Ying-tai”, premiered successfully on Oct. 1, 1997 in Shanghai, performed by Shanghai Ballet Troup accompanied by Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, bringing the highest caliber in Chinese Classical Ballet to audiences throughout the Region. Ms. Li was invited to join Li's Dance Studio as Artistic Director in 1998. While her primary energies are directed toward choreography and artistic involvement, Ms. Li shared the Studio's vision of its commitment to the art form and the dedication to the joy of dancing. Besides teaching young children, Ms. Li is the chief instructor for the Adult Class at the Studio.