Yuliya has been dancing professionally for many years, starting in her native Ukraine and continuing since arriving in the United States. Her focus is on the International styles of ballroom dance. Together with her partner, Sergiy Samchynsky, she is the three-time and current U.S. Professional Ten Dance Champion. At the 2015 World Professional Ten Dance Championship, the two of them placed 2nd. In addition to working at Academy Ballroom, Yuliya has coached the competition team for the Ballroom Dance Club at Georgia Tech since its inception in 2015.
Josh graduated from Georgia Tech in 2017 with a B.S. in Computer Engineering and in 2023 with an M.S. in Robotics. He joined the Ballroom Dance Club during his first semester of grad school. His interest was sparked in Irvine, CA the summer before grad school when he learned East Coast Swing and wanted to continue at Georgia Tech. Finding the Ballroom Dance Club, Josh was excited to learn all 16 Ballroom dances! He feels that dancing is a dying art that should be fostered, openly expressed and enthusiastically promoted. He is always happy to answer any questions or talk about anything, especially regarding Ballroom or working out.
Ashley is a PhD student in Human Centered Computing. She started social dancing as an undergraduate and joined the ballroom dance club after coming to Tech in 2021. When she's not working or dancing you can find her cooking, hiking, watching movies, and playing board games with friends.
Chris is a third year studying ISyE and French, and he started dancing ballroom both socially and competitively during his first semester at Tech. After serving for two years on the board and officially coaching starting last spring, he’s thrilled to be back for another year of dancing! His favorite dances are Smooth Tango and Latin Rumba, but he’s ready to dance anything. On the rare occasions when he’s not dancing, you may find him staring longingly at maps of Paris or quoting Clue (1985) with his roommates. Let’s dance!
Jace has been ballroom dancing for two years. He is a Georgia Tech alum and currently works in IT for Scheller. His favorite dances are Tango and swing, which he loves to dance both socially and competitively. Outside of dance, Jace is fascinated in cybersecurity (a field he will enter in the spring) and also loves to read a variety of fantasy books. Additionally, Jace loves watching Georgia Tech Football and is a member of the goldfellas. Jace is happy to discuss dancing to football to anything in between. This semester, Jace is the social beginner lead coach. Go jackets!
Hannah graduated Georgia Tech in December 2023 with a Batchelor's of Science in Chemistry and has been with the club for two years. Her favorite dances are foxtrot and swing, When she is not dancing, she assists in brewing beer, writes music, draws, or reads one of the many Sci-fi/Fantasy books on her to be read list. She loves to listen and talk about niche interests so feel free to chat with her. She hopes she can foster a love for ballroom dancing for people as both a competitive sport and as a social activity with friends!
Shamita is a fourth year Physics and Economics major who started dancing in Fall of 2021. After deciding to go to a beginner lesson on a random whim, a year and a half later it’s now her favourite activity. Her favourite styles include anything Smooth and Standard, but she’ll always down to dance an East Coast Swing. Beyond ballroom, Shamita enjoys playing card games and rafting. She’s very excited to coach this semester, and she hopes that everyone falls in love with learning ballroom!