Get to know Julia ♡

Growing up, I eagerly anticipated Mama’s stories about my family’s own wonder women: my great babushka’s escape from the Nazis in Crimea via bombed-out railroad tracks; my baba’s perseverance as the only woman designing Soviet satellites during the space race; and my mama’s emigration to the U.S. with zero English and not a penny to her name, which she turned into a successful computer science career.

Determined to build on their legacy in my own way, I pushed myself to become a judo national vice-champion and even reached the Olympic training center for rhythmic gymnastics. But it wasn’t until I discovered my passion for ballroom dance—far beyond a quest for accolades—that everything clicked.