Darli Iakovleva began her training at the Tallinn Ballet School in Estonia at age five. After moving to the U.S., she continued her training with her mother, the founder of European Dance Studio in Virginia. She also studied at the Governor’s School for the Arts, Eastern Virginia School of Performing Arts, Va. Chamber Ballet, and Virginia Beach Ballet Academy.

Ms. Iakovleva graduated from the ballet program of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts with a degree in Ballet in 2001. She continued her training at the Washington School of Ballet (2001-02) and returned to the Tallinn Ballet School (2002-04). She later earned her Bachelor of Arts in Dance and Choreography from Tallinn University in 2006.

Darli has danced professionally for several companies, including New York Theatre Ballet (2006-07), Oklahoma City Ballet (2008-12), Ballet Theatre of Maryland as a soloist (2012-13), Connecticut Ballet as a soloist (2013-14), and Columbia City Ballet (2014-15) and Vanemuine Theatre Ballet from 2004-2006 and rejoined the company from 2015-2021 in Tartu, Estonia.

Her teaching experience includes full-time appointments at the academies of Ballet Theatre of Maryland, East Coast Ballet, and the Vanemuine Dance and Ballet School. She has taught at the European Dance Studio, Denison Dance Academy, and served as an assistant teacher at New York Theatre Ballet. From 2022-2026, Ms. Darli and her husband, Anton, were the founders and owners of Classical Ballet Academy LLC in North Port, FL. Additionally, she served as an Adjunct Ballet teacher for the North Port High School Performing and Visual Arts program for the 2024/25 season.

Ms. Iakovleva has served as a guest faculty member for numerous organizations, including Oklahoma City Ballet, Oklahoma Conservatory of Dance, ARTs Ballet, Montgomery Ballet, Connecticut Ballet School, Summer Wind Youth Ballet for the University of Oklahoma, Tanssila Dance School in Helsinki, and First Coast Ballet.