Today we’d like to introduce you to David And Renee Kim.
Hi David and Renee, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Our Story
I’m originally from Southern California, and my wife grew up in Brooklyn. Our paths crossed in New York City, at the world-renowned Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH). Under the visionary leadership of the late Mr. Arthur Mitchell, we were privileged to dance for one of the most celebrated companies in the world.
Our careers took us across the United States and abroad to Israel—performing everywhere from small-town theaters to grand opera houses, and even at the White House for President George W. Bush. Renee also had the honor of performing for First Lady Laura Bush on multiple occasions.
Those were magical years—young, in love, and living the life of performing artists in one of the greatest dance cities in the world.
Eventually, we returned to Southern California, where we continued to perform as freelancers, picking up projects and performances while discovering a growing passion for teaching.
When COVID hit, we officially retired from the stage and shifted our focus to training the next generation. During that time, we found an empty former dance studio that had been sitting vacant. The moment my wife saw it, she knew—it was the right place. Her intuition has always guided us well, and this was no exception.
We invested everything we had saved for a home into building our dream. After months of renovation and redesign, we transformed the two-studio space into a warm and inspiring home for ballet. Our largest studio can even convert into a Black Box Theater, allowing us to host and produce performances both for our students and for outside companies.
Recently, we expanded to include a third studio, just down the hall—bringing our total to over 5,000 square feet of dedicated dance space.
Our business continues to grow, and for that we’re deeply grateful. But if our careers have taught us anything, it’s that art matters more than money. In a world that can often feel divided, dance reminds us of our shared humanity—and of all the beauty that still exists in this world.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, it has not been entirely smooth, but honestly, there hasn’t been anything catastrophic or truly devastating. Just some people that let us down a little bit. We learned from our friend, colleague and business mentor to bless and release the people that are not meant to be with us.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Between my wife and I, we have been in 3 major ballet companies, 3 major opera houses, performed alongside A list celebrities like Aretha Franklin, Kristen Chenoweth, Paul Newman, Itzhak Pearlman to name a few. As I said earlier, we danced at the White House for President Bush and have toured extensively throughout the USA and lived and danced in Israel for 11 months. We are highly sought after teachers, outside of our own studio we are faculty members at Cal State Long Beach, guest faculty at Pomona College and recently go invited to join the faculty at Chapman University. So if you come train with us, you’ll be receiving the highest quality training around. We are deeply grateful that we get to have a positive impact on our students young and old. Ballet is for everyone, the benefits are myriad and it’s truly a total mind, body and soul affirming endeavor.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
Shagging tennis balls for my Mom and Dad as they taught tennis. My mom played Tennis for the Korean National Team and my dad was also a Pro-Am Tennis Player.
Pricing:
- $26 for a standard ballet class
- $20 for a professional and college rate
- 10 class cards are $230
- 20 class cards are $415
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.pdalosalamitos.com
- Instagram: premierdanceartslosal
