Ekaterina Vaganova-Yachmennikova graduated from the Moscow University of Culture, specializing in Promotion and Production of Cultural Public Programs. She began developing the We Dance Program in 2021 to include around 25 ballet studios participating in Classical Arts Entertainment productions. Under her leadership, the program has continued to expand, reaching 50 ballet Host Studios across the U.S. and Canada for the 2025–2026 season. This unique program allows ballet students of ages 5+ to perform with the professional ballet companies and gain a one-in-a lifetime educational and cultural experience.
In 2023, Ekaterina became the co-producer and co-founder of We Dance Production, Inc., alongside Michael Art. They have grown the North America ballet tour from 72 to 150 performances across the United States, creating one of the largest classical ballet tours in North America. As a producer, she has been instrumental across multiple departments — from marketing and strategic planning to production coordination — and is presenting the International Ballet Stars Grand North America Tour 2025–2026, which will feature over 150 performances in the US & Canada.
Ekaterina’s lifelong mission has been to popularize dance in all its forms. She began dancing at the age of 2.5 years and devoted 20 years to professional ballroom dance, earning titles such as three-time World Champion, two-time Champion of Russia, five-time Champion of Italy, Champion of Ukraine, and World Cup winner. She has also worked with celebrities as a teacher and choreographer in such TV formats, as Dancing With The Stars in Italy (2012–2017) on RaiUno channel, Dancing With The Stars in Russia (2009), and So You Think You Can Dance Russia (2015–2016) on TNT channel, working with stars like Bobo Vieri, Sergio Assisi, Kirill Pletnev, Valerio Aspromonte, Michele Morrone, Marco Del Vecchio, Bruno Cabrerizo, Anton Panufnik, and others. She was also part of the renowned TV format Midnight Run on Channel One Russia, performing alongside popular singers and presenters Alexey Chumakov and Timur Rodriguez, and hosting celebrities such as Alexey Yagudin, Viktoria Bonya, Dmitry Shepelev, Boris Moiseev, and many others.
As the owner of two dance studios We Dance Academies in Brevard County (2017-2022) with 250+ students, Ekaterina raised Florida and international dance champions and staged professional ballet productions. Ekaterina and Artem Yachmennikov founded and directed Melbourne City Ballet Theatre, producing landmark productions such as Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella at the King Center for the Performing Arts, which received widespread acclaim and grant support from the Brevard Cultural Alliance, Space Coast Office of Tourism, and the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs.
Fluent in Italian, Spanish, English, Russian, and Ukrainian, Ekaterina continuously advances her expertise, combining her experience as a dance educator and organizer with her work as a visionary producer of world-class cultural events.