Under her father’s wing, teen ballerina finds new beginning in Lausanne

Seventeen-year-old ballerina Yeom Da-yeon, who won second prize at one of the most prestigious ballet competitions in Lausanne, Switzerland, said her love for dance never loosened its hold on her -- even in moments when she wanted to quit.

“I think I endured the difficult moments because I truly love ballet,” she said during a press conference on Thursday in Seoul, following her second-place finish at the 2026 Prix de Lausanne earlier this month. “Even on days I wanted to rest or give up, I found myself back in the studio. Ballet is something I can’t separate from my life.”

Founded in 1973, the Prix de Lausanne is open only to students ages 15 to 18 and has long served as a gateway to leading ballet schools and companies abroad. Yeom also received the audience favorite award, determined by votes from those in attendance.

“There were so many talented dancers, and so many with extraordinary gifts,” Yeom said, recalling how daunted she felt at first. “I worried, ‘Can I really do this? Can I hold out to the end?’ I was very nervous in the beginning, but I think I was able to show my abilities.”

Much of the attention surrounding Yeom has focused on her unconventional decision to pursue homeschooling rather than enroll in an arts high school. After middle school, she chose to be homeschooled, devoting herself entirely to ballet training.

Her father, Yeom Ji-hoon, a former ballerino, danced principal roles with the Royal New Zealand Ballet -- where he became its first Korean soloist -- as well as the Maryland State Ballet, the Korean National Ballet and the Universal Ballet. Her mother, Hara Saori, is a Japanese ballerina. Together, her parents run a ballet academy, where Yeom has trained since childhood.

Her father said he chose homeschooling so that she could fully immerse herself in ballet and focus intensively on the fundamentals.

“I trained her very, very strictly because I wanted her to build the strength to endure difficult circumstances," he said. "If she hadn’t kept up, we couldn’t have continued. But I felt we shared the same mindset, so I thought, let’s go all the way.”

“I fought with my father countless times in class,” Yeom Da-yeon said. “There were many times I wanted to give up. Sometimes I wished I could go to another academy and learn like other students.”

But, she added, her father knew her better than anyone. “Because he understood me so well -- and perhaps because I’m his daughter, he was even stricter -- I think that helped me grow.”

On Feb. 23, Yeom will perform the Black Swan pas de deux at a ballet gala hosted by Korea Youth Ballet Stars. On March 8 at the Seoul Arts Center and again on March 12 in Daegu, she will appear in “Ahn Jung-geun: A Dance in Heaven,” dancing the role of independence activist Ahn Jung-geun’s wife.