Iyonna Barris

Inspired by the Grand Pas de Deux from The Nutcracker at just 8 years old, Ms. Barris started her journey in dance at the Blue Springs Ballet. After a just few years, she told her mother she wanted to dance professionally. Ms. Barris took a year to study at home to increase her focus and then chose KC Dance Day for her first classes to take outside of her home study. From that moment on, Kansas City Ballet was her home. Ms. Barris was chosen to participate in Kansas City Ballet School’s Daytime program and was a member of the Kansas City Youth Ballet. She had the wonderful opportunity to perform with Kansas City Ballet’s professional dancers in many KCB productions including: Todd Bolender’s The Nutcracker, Devon Carney’s The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan, and Swan Lake, and Septime Webre’s Alice (in wonderland). Her tenure at KCB School opened doors for her to travel the country for summer intensives in New York, New Mexico, Cincinnati, and St. Louis to further her training in the diverse world of dance. During her graduating year, she ventured out to other parts of the art world building a career in modeling. Ms. Barris graduated from Kansas City Ballet School with the class of 2020 and was offered a 2-year internship to become a teacher for KCBS. She is very excited about now being a part of the very school that launched her career in dance.