Sun-Mi Cho

Ballet SunMi, Founder & Director

In Korean, “Sun” means virtue and “Mi” means beauty. Ballet SunMi exists to cultivate virtue and beauty of the individual through connecting to a community through dance.

With over 25 years dedicated to dance arts, I see the overall value dance offers is the ability to connect with others. Kinesthetic intelligence hones the art of perseverance with other individuals who learn to support, encourage and uplift one another.

After nearly 11 years on Ballet Faculty at The Rock School for Dance Education, full Dance Scholarship from Southern Methodist University, Adjunct Faculty at Temple University and over 15 years as a professional dancer, I see the long-game benefits of the arts for healing, advocation and finding an empowering narrative unique to the individual students.

I build ideas of community though leading all my classes with kindness, respect and pursuit of excellence. My hope is that all of my students feel valued and embraced in an environment where there is no such thing as failing, only "multiple opportunities to attempt".

My former pre-professional students received scholarships to programs like American Ballet Theatre, Houston Ballet, Ellison, Joffrey, PA Ballet, Princeton Ballet, The Rock School and scholarships to Universities like UARTS, Southern Methodist, Julliard, NYU, Chapman, and Point Park, Fordham and Butler University.

All my classes, whether adults or children are focused on giving each person feedback, encouragement and individualized corrections for consistent improvement.

Sun-Mi teaches Creative Core, Foundations, Teen, and Adult Ballet classes.

William Burden

William attended the Rock School of Dance Education and was a scholarship student at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center. William also has many years of training with Tap Team Two & Company co-directed by his father, Robert Burden. William has been a company member with Eleone Dance Connection, Eleone Dance Theater/Artistic Director Shawn Lamere Williams and Spectrum Dance Theatre under the artistic direction of Mr. Donald Byrd. Will enjoys teaching both children and adults at all levels.

Alyssa Buenaga

Alyssa studied dance at The Dancer’s Workshop in Wall, NJ from the age of 5 and is trained in ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, contemporary and acrobatics. Alyssa attended Temple University where she continued her dance career on the dance team Dare to Dance while earning her bachelor’s degree in finance. Alyssa’s passion for dance has never faded and she continues to make it a priority in her life. She cares deeply for her students and provides a fun and safe space in her classroom for both children and adult dancers to express themselves with physical movement.

Alyssa teaches Creative Core Ballet 1, Creative Core/Tap, Foundations Ballet 1, and Teen/Adult KPop classes.

Kathryn Schweingruber

Kathryn Schweingruber is a versatile dancer, teacher and choreographer from Philadelphia, PA. She grew up training at Gwendolyn Bye Dance Center and went on to earn a B.S. in Dance from Drexel University. Kathryn has choreographed works from Drexel’s Dance Ensemble and FreshDance Ensemble, Dancefusion’s fusion2, Penn Dance Company and Philadelphia Dance Academy. Currently, Kathryn is a member of Philadelphia Jazz Tap Ensemble, the assistant choreographer for Gweynedd Mercy Academy High School’s musicals and teaches at several studios and schools in the Philadelphia area.

Kathryn teaches Kids Tap and Creative Core Ballet classes.

Jenny Rosario

Jenny started Ballet at 14 years old. Born and raised in North Philadelphia, dance was not accessible, so that meant long journeys to dance studios, once or twice a week. At age 17, Jenny was accepted into the Pre-Profesional division at The Barbara Sandonato School of Ballet. Barbara Sandonato is a living legend in the Ballet world, having been the first dancer to sign a contract with The Pennsylvania Ballet, now known as The Philadelphia Ballet. Trained in both the Vagonva and Balanchine styles, Jenny brings technical knowledge and encouraging care into every class! With SunMi Cho as her mentor, Jenny finished her Teacher Training Program and is now an instructor at Ballet SunMi.

Jenny teaches Toddler Time, Pre-Ballet, Creative Core, Foundations and Adult Ballet classes.

Felicia Victoria Cruz-Sharpe

Felicia started her dance training early and continued her training on scholarship at the Richmond Ballet of VA, and the Rock School of Philadelphia summer intensive programs. In 2010, she received her BFA in ballet performance from the University of the Arts. Since she has accepted contracts to perform with Meredith Rainey’s Carbon Dance Theater, and with Jim Bunting in Jim Bunting Dance Co.  Felicia is a founding member of DanceSpora, a contemporary ballet company established in 2008. She was promoted to Assistant Director in 2011. Felicia has a deep passion to pass on the knowledge she’s learned throughout her career. She’s been busy teaching and setting work at Bryn Mawr College and Swarthmore University, curating summer dance programs, and holding the position as Assistant Director & rehearsal mistress to her local studios.

Felicia teaches Foundations Ballet and Jazz classes.