About
Soo Dance Academy offers classes in ballet, pointe, jazz, hip-hop, K-pop, tap, tumbling, contemporary, lyrical, character, acro, modern, Korean dance, musical theatre, and acrobatics. The program includes both recreational classes and an elite competition team with unlimited weekly training hours and selective competition team acceptance. Instruction is based on a premier Vaganova-based training system with personalized training pathways for students.
• Ages: 2.5–18 years old
Soo Dance Academy was established in 2010 and later moved into a 5,000 square foot custom dance facility in 2015, with a second studio opening in 2018. The program presents two performances each year, the Spring Show and the Winter Show, and students enrolled in two classes per week are eligible to participate in the annual recital. The academy reports 16+ years of operation, more than 40,000 students trained, over 300 competition awards, and more than 30 full-length ballet productions, including The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Giselle, Coppelia, and Don Quixote.
The leadership team includes Soo as Owner and Artistic Director, Isabella Marines as Competition Director, and Mimi Rana as Associate Director, with Elena as a ballet instructor, LaTonya as a hip-hop and jazz instructor, and Skye Montante as a hip-hop and contemporary instructor. Soo’s background includes formal training at SUNHWA Art School in Korea in the Russian Vaganova methodology, performing the role of Clara with the Universal Ballet Company, study at the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington D.C., and choreography and performance training at Korea National University of Art. She later earned a B.A. in Environmental Economics and Dance from the University of California, Berkeley, performed at the SF Ethnic Dance Festival, taught Korean dance at Claire Lilienthal School in San Francisco, and became a certified Progressing Ballet Technique instructor (Junior, Senior, Advanced) in 2018 and an ABT-certified instructor in 2021.
Isabella (Isa) Marines is a California native who has performed with studio and theatre companies and trained in ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, musical theatre, and acrobatics. Isa began studying acrobatic safety and techniques at age 12 under Acrobatic Arts professionals and has choreographed since age 16 for theatre, recreational dance, and competition routines, with multiple pieces placing in the Top 10, Top 5, and Top 3 at regional and national competitions. Mimi has 15 years of studio training in jazz, tap, modern, lyrical, ballet, acro, and hip-hop, began competing at age 10, and has received numerous national dance awards along with invitations to scholarship workshops at Alvin Ailey and Joffrey Ballet. She completed college dance studies at Ohlone College and California State University, East Bay, has 10 years of experience in the child care industry, and has taught and created preschool dance programs and worked with young adults and pre-professional dance teams, including professional credits with the Los Angeles Clippers, semi-pro dance teams, and the Santa Cruz Warriors.
Elena graduated from the Moscow Bolshoi Ballet Academy and continued as a world-class adagio performer in dance, acrobatics, and illusion, appearing on television and performing in more than 40 countries as part of the professional duo Pasha and Aliona, whose choreography was broadcast on America’s Got Talent. LaTonya has directed and choreographed for Bay Area theatrical companies and has received multiple honors, including Shellie Awards for Best Choreographer and Best Director, a Women of Distinction Award, induction into the Pittsburg California Entertainment and Arts Hall of Fame, and BroadwayWorld San Francisco Regional Awards for Best Director of a Play and Best Play.
Soo Dance Academy’s competition team consistently places in the Overall Finalist Top 3 at events such as The International Dance Challenge, Spotlight National Dance Cup, EnerGy National, StarBound National, California Dance Classics, Showbiz, 24 Seven/Nuvo, Hollywood Vibe, Rainbow, Revolution Talent National, and YAGP competitions. The academy reports placing many students into the Kirov Academy, Stanford University, and NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Soo received the Director Award at Spotlight National Dance Cup in 2019 and 2020, and the studio received Triple Crown & Studio Achievement awards in 2024, 2025, and 2026, as well as the 2025 ADCC Studio of Excellence Award and the 2025 Excellence Studio Award at Hollywood Vibe.
Parent testimonials describe children taking a wide variety of classes such as acro, ballet, hip-hop, jazz, and contemporary, mention two recitals a year, and note participation on the competition team. Parents also describe the choreography as well-crafted, the studios as clean and professional, and refer to long-term enrollment and positive experiences with teachers and class options.
Last updated April 10, 2026.
• Ages: 2.5–18 years old
Soo Dance Academy was established in 2010 and later moved into a 5,000 square foot custom dance facility in 2015, with a second studio opening in 2018. The program presents two performances each year, the Spring Show and the Winter Show, and students enrolled in two classes per week are eligible to participate in the annual recital. The academy reports 16+ years of operation, more than 40,000 students trained, over 300 competition awards, and more than 30 full-length ballet productions, including The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Giselle, Coppelia, and Don Quixote.
The leadership team includes Soo as Owner and Artistic Director, Isabella Marines as Competition Director, and Mimi Rana as Associate Director, with Elena as a ballet instructor, LaTonya as a hip-hop and jazz instructor, and Skye Montante as a hip-hop and contemporary instructor. Soo’s background includes formal training at SUNHWA Art School in Korea in the Russian Vaganova methodology, performing the role of Clara with the Universal Ballet Company, study at the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington D.C., and choreography and performance training at Korea National University of Art. She later earned a B.A. in Environmental Economics and Dance from the University of California, Berkeley, performed at the SF Ethnic Dance Festival, taught Korean dance at Claire Lilienthal School in San Francisco, and became a certified Progressing Ballet Technique instructor (Junior, Senior, Advanced) in 2018 and an ABT-certified instructor in 2021.
Isabella (Isa) Marines is a California native who has performed with studio and theatre companies and trained in ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, musical theatre, and acrobatics. Isa began studying acrobatic safety and techniques at age 12 under Acrobatic Arts professionals and has choreographed since age 16 for theatre, recreational dance, and competition routines, with multiple pieces placing in the Top 10, Top 5, and Top 3 at regional and national competitions. Mimi has 15 years of studio training in jazz, tap, modern, lyrical, ballet, acro, and hip-hop, began competing at age 10, and has received numerous national dance awards along with invitations to scholarship workshops at Alvin Ailey and Joffrey Ballet. She completed college dance studies at Ohlone College and California State University, East Bay, has 10 years of experience in the child care industry, and has taught and created preschool dance programs and worked with young adults and pre-professional dance teams, including professional credits with the Los Angeles Clippers, semi-pro dance teams, and the Santa Cruz Warriors.
Elena graduated from the Moscow Bolshoi Ballet Academy and continued as a world-class adagio performer in dance, acrobatics, and illusion, appearing on television and performing in more than 40 countries as part of the professional duo Pasha and Aliona, whose choreography was broadcast on America’s Got Talent. LaTonya has directed and choreographed for Bay Area theatrical companies and has received multiple honors, including Shellie Awards for Best Choreographer and Best Director, a Women of Distinction Award, induction into the Pittsburg California Entertainment and Arts Hall of Fame, and BroadwayWorld San Francisco Regional Awards for Best Director of a Play and Best Play.
Soo Dance Academy’s competition team consistently places in the Overall Finalist Top 3 at events such as The International Dance Challenge, Spotlight National Dance Cup, EnerGy National, StarBound National, California Dance Classics, Showbiz, 24 Seven/Nuvo, Hollywood Vibe, Rainbow, Revolution Talent National, and YAGP competitions. The academy reports placing many students into the Kirov Academy, Stanford University, and NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Soo received the Director Award at Spotlight National Dance Cup in 2019 and 2020, and the studio received Triple Crown & Studio Achievement awards in 2024, 2025, and 2026, as well as the 2025 ADCC Studio of Excellence Award and the 2025 Excellence Studio Award at Hollywood Vibe.
Parent testimonials describe children taking a wide variety of classes such as acro, ballet, hip-hop, jazz, and contemporary, mention two recitals a year, and note participation on the competition team. Parents also describe the choreography as well-crafted, the studios as clean and professional, and refer to long-term enrollment and positive experiences with teachers and class options.
Last updated April 10, 2026.
Is this your business? There is no cost, but you will be asked to sign up or log in.