Ekaterina Vaganova-Yachmennikova graduated from the Moscow University of Culture in promotion and production of cultural public programs. She is the great-grand daughter of the world-famous ballerina, Agrippina Vaganova, who created the well-known method of professional training for ballet dancers all around the world. Ekaterina herself is a three-time World Champion ballroom dancer, WDC European champion, multiple champion of Russia, Italy, Ukraine and Spain. She won her first World Cup at the Under 21 age category in Los Angeles, USA in 2006. She has been a pro teacher on Dancing With The Stars in Italy for five seasons 2012-2017 and choreographer on So You Think You Can Dance in Russia in 2015, 2016. She also performed on Channel One Russia, season 2014, with a prime-time Saturday night show «Midnight Run», where she interpreted an Italian character and performed with a variety of dance styles routines and hosted the show together with Alexey Chumakov and Timur Rodriguez.
While serving as the Founder and Artistic Director of Melbourne City Ballet Theatre, MCBT has produced two major productions The Sleeping Beauty (2018) and Swan Lake (2019) at the Maxwell C King Center for the Performing Arts in collaboration with the National Ballet of Odessa, Ukraine, which included 55 professional dancers from Ukraine, 100 dancers from the community of Melbourne, FL and 50 musicians from the Satellite Symphony Orchestra. In 2021 & 2022 Melbourne City Ballet Theatre has produced such legendary ballets as the Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake and Cinderella at the Maxwell C King Center for the Performing Art, collaborating with the Classical Arts Entertainment. MCBT productions have received outstanding reviews described as “the highest quality” “the likes of which are seen in major cities around the world.” We have entertained over 6,000 people at the King Center for the Performing Arts alone. Both productions were groundbreaking for Brevard with many historical firsts and included some of the youngest dancers ever to have graced a professional stage seamlessly integrating with the corps de ballet. MCBT has received grant funding from the Brevard Cultural Alliance, The Space Coast Board of Tourism and from the state Florida Division of Cultural Affairs for the powerful vision for dance in Brevard.
Ekaterina serves as the We Dance Program director since 2019 until present time, engaging the studios with the Classical Arts Entertainment’s We Dance Program all over the country. The Program has significantly grown into a 30+ studios that perform throughout the tour every year. Ekaterina now also serves as the producer of Classical Arts Entertainment, Inc, producing the Grand National Tour 2025 for the State Ballet Theatre of Ukraine.