Virginia Smith
Virginia Smith is a Kansas City local who started her dance training at the age of 6. She found her love of specifically ballet early, which led her to the Kansas City Ballet School. There, she was given the chance to perform both student and professional roles in Todd Bolender’s Nutcracker, Devon Carney’s Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Paquita, and La Bayadare with the Kansas City Ballet Company and the Kansas City Youth Ballet. During her time there, she met and was taken under the wing of Suzanne Ryan-Strati, who mentored her and asked her to perform in a piece titled A Tulip Unfolding, a story of those living with Parkinson’s Disease in 2015. After high school, she was accepted to the University of Missouri - Kansas City where she was mentored by Gary Abbott, Paula Weber, Ronn Tice, Tobin James, Deeanna Hiett and Molly Wagner. She graduated with her BFA in Performing Arts and Choreography with an emphasis in Ballet and Modern. After college, she performed in events across Kansas City with Kansas City Contemporary Dance such as Modern Night at the Folly, Modern Night at the Gem, Dance in the Park, and First Fridays, as well as KCCD sponsored performances. She is excited to move forward in her dance career with Kansas City Dance Collective as she enters her second season with them.