About Me

Background information

Hi! I'm Julianna Owyang, the founder of Tippy Toes Ballet. I'm a 17-year-old ballet dancer based in Sunnyvale, California. I am currently dancing at Ramon Moreno School of Ballet, a competitive studio. Ballet has always been one of my biggest passions ever since I was a little girl.

I love to dance and I also love working with children. As a very shy child growing up, I know how hard it is to try a new activity and get plugged in. I want to show the joy of dance in a welcoming, fun, and encouraging class environment. I can't wait to meet you!

In the beginning...

My journey with ballet began when I was 3 years old. My mom signed me up for Toddler Ballet class and I was hooked. The pink tutus and ballet shoes were so pretty, and I enjoyed twirling around and copying all the moves of the teacher. As I moved through my elementary school years, I attended ballet classes 3x to 4x per week and also participated in regular performances. My favorite ballet memory to this date has always been the annual Nutcracker ballet performances. I have danced in roles ranging from Little Mouse, Little Ginger, Party Scene, Candy Cane, Chinese, Russian, Spanish, Flower, Snow, "Clara", Flower Principle, Dew Drop, and Snow Queen.

My ballet journey ...

In middle school, I started attending the Ramon Moreno School of Ballet. Mr. Ramon is very serious about ballet training and I felt my skills started improving by leaps and bounds. I also started competing with my ballet friends in the YAGP and CDC ballet competitions. The spring and winter performances helped me to learn a lot of different ballet choreography. A highlight was that our team won 2nd place at the California Dance Classics last year!

From dancer to teacher ...

In the summer of 2019, I started my first ballet summer camp. Since I LOVE kids, I decided to create my own ballet program. I have spent the previous 4 summers as a helper for my teacher's dance summer camp so I have started gaining experience in teaching ballet. In addition, I have also honed my experience in working with kids through Sunday Schools, Vacation Bible School programs, and babysitting.

That summer, I had 12 students. I ran a 7-week summer course that met on Saturday mornings at my house (it was pre-Covid). It was the first time I had to organize the whole program by myself and be the main teacher in front of a whole group of preschoolers.

The following summer, I ran a virtual ballet camp with First5 California, a non-profit that funds educational programs for the underserved for the critical first 5 years of a child's life. Due to Covid, this 6-week camp was conducted online and I had 10 students. Separately, I have also had the opportunity to give private ballet lessons to students on a one-on-one basis. Currently, I teach part time at the Tutu School in Sunnyvale and run ballet sessions for summer camps.