Despina Simegiatos
Founder/Artistic Director

Despina was born into a family of dancers and musicians in Brooklyn, New York.  Her mother was a principal dancer with the Greek National Ballet, her father a tenor with the Greek National Opera and her grandmother alongside her aunt, were the founders of the Hellenic Ballet Theatre. Despina began her ballet training at the early age of two at the Vicky Simegiatos Performing Arts Center and continued her studies at Broadway Dance Center, Steps NYC. She graduated from LaGuardia High School of the Performing Arts under the direction of Michelle Mathesius. Despina has worked extensively with an array of high profile masters in the field including Joe Lanteri, Deborah Zall, Elisa King, Penny Frank, Jacquelyn Buglisi, David Howard, Madame Gabriela Darvash, and Brunilda Ruiz. She has also performed the works of Shapiro & Smith and Elisa King.

Despina’s professional career began in 1992 when she joined Vicky Simegiatos Dance Company (VSDC) performing as a member of the corps de ballet. In 1994 she was promoted as a soloist in the company.  Since then, Despina has been on the faculty as the main instructor and resident choreographer of the contemporary,  jazz, and modern divisions for one of Brooklyn’s leading performing arts centers, Vicky Simegiatos Performing Arts Center. In 1998 she founded the VSPAC Competition Division. Since then, she has been the main director of the VSPAC Dance Competition Companies.

Despina has become an extremely sought out teacher and choreographer in New York. She is credited with a sagacious and cognizant eye for intuitive talented dancers. She has a strong conceptual vision that rises through artistic purity and a passion toward artistic excellence. She has confidence in her observation that integrating accomplished performers of different techniques into a work sparks fire.Many of her students have moved on to professional careers in dance. Her students have gone on to dance for Disney, Broadway,  music  videos,  film, School of American Ballet, New York City Ballet, Miami City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre School, Boston Conservatory, Marymount Manhattan College, Dance Theatre of Harlem, LaGuardia High School of the Performing Arts and American Ballet Theatre School. Despina has won numerous awards nationwide for her teaching and choreography including "Teacher of the Year 2009" and “Most Innovative Choreographer” at Kids Artistic Revue Nationals. 

In 2004 Despina, along with her sister, Matina Simegiatos, began Brooklyn’s most prestigious talent competition, METRO Talent Competition.  It gives Despina great honor providing dancers the best opportunity to display their talent in front of the most reputable dancers and adjudicators.

In addition to performing and choreographing, Despina has appeared on numerous covers of Body Wrappers Dancewear catalogues as their featured dance model. Her students have also had the experience of appearing in several Body Wrappers Dancewear catalogues.  Furthermore, Despina has assisted the resident Body Wrappers choreographer for various catalogue photo shoots.

Matina Simegiatos
Founder/Artistic Director

Matina was born in Brooklyn, NY into a very musical family and began studying dance and voice at the tender age of 2. She was accepted to the School of American Ballet at the age of 7, where she studied and performed in numerous New York City Ballet productions over the course of 10 years.

Matina also managed to pursue a career in musical theater during this time, and appeared in Broadway and Off-Broadway productions alongside such greats as Ray Charles, Anne Reinking and Barry Harris.

At age 15, while attending LaGuardia High School of the Performing Arts (the Fame school), Matina signed with Atlantic Records as a solo artist and continued to have a successful career as a singer/songwriter for over 11 years. She also maintained a career in theater. Some of her Broadway credits include Crime and Punishment and The Kenny Rogers Christmas Show.

Matina is currently a resident choreographer and instructor at the Vicky Simegiatos Performing Arts Center, where she has directed and choreographed at least 90 works. She has also been working with Body Wrappers, America's leading dance wear company, as their resident choreographer, choreographic film editor, model casting director and dancewear consultant for over 18 years.

Yesid Lopez
Artistic Director/Resident Choreographer

Yesid was born in Columbia.  Yesid has been involved with several

companies 

performing in Columbia, 

 UK, Cuba, and the USA as a dancer and choreographer. He was also a choreographer-featured dancer in South Korea in Latin styles with Hanwha Resort in Sokcho City.
In 2006, Yesid moved to New York where he was selected to be part of the Steps On Broadway's Ensemble and co-founded L&L Dance performing most of his repertory in different venues in the New York City area such as, Winter Follies- Spoke The Hub, Steps Lab Series, PMT Seasonal Showcase, RHYTHMS, Mojito/DanceOmopolitan at Joe's Pub, Dance Tracks NYC, Dumbo Dance Festival, Bridge for Dance, Local Produce- Spoke The Hub, COOL New York, Latin Choreographers Dance Festival. Yesid has received reviews in publications such as,  Attitude The Dancers' Magazine, Ballet-Dance Magazine and Dance Magazine. By the fall of 2007 he joined Contemporary Ballet Theatre as a Co-Artistic Director staging and choreographing The Nutcracker in collaboration with the Bronx Symphony Orchestra at the Hostos Community Center in the Bronx. He has been commisioned new works for the Mystic Ballet and DeMa Dance Company and has performed with his own project at Jacobs Pillow. Yesid has taught and danced with Ballet Hispanico of New York and was choosen by the WDA America for the 2010 International Young Choreographer Project in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan.
Yesid currently works as a Ballroom Dance Instructor and choreographer at Dance Times Square, as well as guest teaches contemporary at the Alvin Ailey Extension and as a Zumba instructor at SHOCKra Studios in Manhattan.