Outlier ballerina: Kim Danbi dances her way to the top

By Kang Hyun-kyung

• Published Oct 1, 2026 3:42 PM KST
• Updated Oct 1, 2026 4:15 PM KST

Homeschooled ballerina rewrites Korea's rules of success

Kim Danbi, 26, was in disbelief when her name was called by Houston Ballet Artistic Director Julie Kent as its newest principal ballerina following her performance in the title role of "Giselle," which closed out the season.

For several seconds, she looked as if she had no idea what had happened. Then, realizing that the mind-blowing announcement was real, Kim became teary-eyed. She walked toward Kent, and the two embraced amid thunderous applause from the audience.

“I hoped that someday I could become a principal dancer, but I had never thought that day would come so early,” she said during a recent phone interview with the Korea Times. She rose to the top rank of the Houston Ballet on June 21, one year after she was promoted to first soloist.

Giselle was Kim’s dream role, making the announcement even more meaningful because her promotion came on the very stage where she had just completed her performance.

Her dedication to dance had paid off.

Like Giselle, Kim is a passionate dancer.

In the romantic ballet, Kim dominates the stage with her commanding performance. In Act 2, she performs Myrtha, the Queen of the Wilis, the ghosts of young maidens who died of broken hearts before their wedding days after being betrayed by unfaithful lovers. She performs sequences of turns, fluid arm movements and floating leaps across the stage.

With dynamic steps and fiery eyes, she exudes charisma.

Her artistry and technical prowess reflect the tireless work she has devoted to overcoming her weaknesses and understanding and portraying the characters she performs.

Before her performance, Kim said she researched her character and tried to immerse herself in the role.

She said Giselle is not a frail, passive girl.

“She has the strength to transform herself from a vulnerable one born with a weak heart into one with the biggest heart in the end,” she said.

Kim said she spent considerable time answering one critical question: Who is Giselle?

“I tried to imagine a pure, innocent girl falling in love. In Act 1, I presented the girl as she is, without exaggeration. I tried to visualize every minor detail to embody a girl in love and her pounding heart. For example, when I perform a scene where Giselle teaches Albrecht how to dance, I thought about what it is like to be a girl in love and how she would feel when she is passing her knack for dance on to the man she loves.”

Kim and her character, Giselle, have several parallels.

Like Giselle, Kim was born to dance. She discovered her passion for ballet after her mother enrolled her at a ballet academy near their home. Although she was only a first grader at the time, she said she knew ballet would become part of her life. Her excitement about dancing was like the electric spark Giselle might have felt when she first met her love interest, Albrecht.

“Why do I like dancing? It’s a hard question to answer,” she said. “Let’s say it’s like love at first sight. When you love someone, you will find it tough to explain why you love him. I just loved ballet.”

By sixth grade, Kim had begun to think seriously about ballet as a career.

After consulting with her mentor, Lee Won-a, founder of Releve Ballet, a private ballet academy in Gwacheon, 17 kilometers south of Seoul, Kim chose homeschooling instead of attending an arts school designed to prepare students for college.

It was a risky decision. At the time, as now, Korea was highly competitive academically, with children competing from an early age. Among Korean parents, there is a widespread belief that success comes through education, particularly at prestigious schools. For aspiring ballerinas, attending an elite arts school is often considered a natural path.

Kim, however, chose to take the risk. She said she realized that independent learning and having more free time suited her better than traditional schooling because she could devote more time to ballet training.

Her mother was on the same page. She fully supported her daughter’s decision to forgo traditional schooling and pursue a career as a dancer full time.

“My mom knew how much I love dancing. I won various competitions, a feat that I think helped my mom have sort of trust in me and my career choice,” Kim said.

After leaving middle school to be homeschooled, the 13-year-old worked day and night. In the morning, she went to a nearby library to study for the exams required to earn her middle and high school diplomas. She then spent most of her time taking one-on-one ballet lessons from Lee before joining group lessons with other students.

“I had no regrets about my decision on homeschooling. I was a carefree, optimistic girl, and this probably explains why I had no peer pressure,” Kim said.

Her mentor Lee, who has coached Kim since she was in sixth grade, said Kim is a gifted dancer with enormous potential to become a world-class ballerina.

“Danbi is a quick learner and has a knack for interpreting music. This explains why her presence is felt on stage,” Lee said. “She became a different person on stage. She immersed herself in the role she is performing, keeping her audiences focused.”

Kim became the first Korean ballerina to rise to the top rank of a globally renowned ballet company through homeschooling.

“Danbi learns fast, and she was excellent academically as well. I understand that she was one of the top five academically achieving students in her school before she quit,” Lee said. “I personally think homeschooling was the right choice for Danbi. She might not have been discovered if she had gone to an elite arts school in Korea because of the cookie-cutter education here.”

Kim won numerous competitions at home and abroad, including Youth Grand Prix at Tanzolymp in Berlin and the Prix de Lausanne. Her achievements in international competitions helped her earn a place at the Houston Ballet Academy.

Her career has had a smooth trajectory since then. Kim began her career with the Corps de Ballet in 2019 and was promoted to soloist in 2023. She became a first soloist in 2025, a year before rising to the top rank of principal ballerina.

In a press release issued on June 23 announcing Kim’s promotion, Houston Ballet praised her artistry and versatility.

“She has a commanding presence, matched by her exacting technical prowess, musicality and nuance. We are so proud of her journey through our academy and company ranks and excited for all that is to come,” Artistic Director Julie Kent was quoted as saying in the statement.

Kim’s talent, dedication and unconventional choice to pursue homeschooling instead of attending an arts school all played a role in making her dream come true. She also credits her mother’s unwavering support with helping her stay focused on her goal of becoming a dancer on the global stage.

Her success may resonate with Koreans pursuing their own paths because of the unconventional route she took to achieve it.

“In Korea, ballet is considered an expensive performing art, and it is believed to be off-limits to children from humble backgrounds, even though they are talented. It is also said that attending an elite arts school is a must for success,” she said. “My family is not rich. My parents were a double-income family, and both my parents were working when I was raised. I didn’t go to an arts school, either. Despite this, I am here.”

Kim followed her heart when choosing her career. Although gifted, she was never content with her past accomplishments. Instead, she continued to push her limits through focused, sustained efforts to overcome her weaknesses — ultimately turning a childhood passion into a career on one of the world’s most prominent ballet stages.