Underwriter
Cabrina and Steven Owsley
Birthplace
Suwon, South Korea
Dance Training
Lee Won-A Dance Academy (Suwon, South Korea)
Houston Ballet Academy
Houston Ballet II
Year Joined
2018
Promotions
2026 - Principal
2025 - First Soloist
2023 - Soloist
2019 - Corps de Ballet
Favorite Ballet
Stanton Welch's Marie, Ben Stevenson's Coppelia and The Sleeping Beauty, Ronald Hynd's The Merry Widow, and John Neumeier's A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Defining Moment
"My favorite role, number one, is Hippolyta and Titania because I never thought of me doing that kind of role. When John [Neumeier] was here and we had rehearsals, he would say 'Is this real? Are you real? Are you in love?'
Performing that role made me tear up because this is the actual real ballerina that I always dreamed of being."
Bio
Originally from Suwon, South Korea, Danbi Kim began dancing around five years old after school. After a move, she sought out a dance studio herself. Originally wanting to do traditional Korean dance, a teacher inspired her to take ballet more seriously. From there she began participating in various international competitions including Youth Grand Prix, Tanzolymp in Berlin where she was awarded gold, Seoul International Dance Competition, and Prix de Lausanne which ultimately got her to Houston Ballet Academy. She joined Houston Ballet in 2019 as a part of the Corps de Ballet. Her promotions included Soloist in 2023 and First Soloist in 2025. She was recently promoted to Principal in 2026 for the 2026-2027 season.
Photos
Tyler Donatelli
Angelo Greco