Sayaka Ichikawa
Sayaka was born in Chiba, Japan, where she began dancing at the age of two. She trained in New York and in 2003 moved to London to study at the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance. Sayaka graduated in 2006 with a First Class BA (Hons) degree. Since graduating, she has performed with Vienna Festival Ballet and Ballet Theatre UK as a Principal Dancer in Coppélia, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker and Swan Lake and in 2009 performed Le Corsaire with American Ballet Theatre at the London Coliseum. Sayaka performed in Ross McKim’s Moving Visions Dance Theatre at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London and York Minster. She has also danced for English National Opera and Opera North in their production of Madam Butterfly. Sayaka appeared in the musical The King and I and in the film, StreetDance: the Movie. She has also been a Guest Principal Dancer and Guest Teacher for Ballet Riviera in Switzerland since 2008. Sayaka was a member of the Ballet Black Associate Programme for several years before becoming a Senior Artist with Ballet Black in 2011. Since joining the Company, Sayaka has been a featured dancer in ballets by Jonathan Watkins, Henri Oguike and Martin Lawrance. In 2014 she created the role of Helena in Arthur Pita’s production of A Dream Within a Midsummer Night’s Dream. After a year off to have her first child, Sayaka returned to Ballet Black for the 2015/16 season, where she danced in featured roles for Arthur Pita, Christopher Marney and as Lulu White in Christopher Hampson’s Storyville. In 2017, Sayaka was a featured dancer in the Michael Corder quartet, House of Dreams and danced the roles of Wolf Acolyte and Red in Annabelle Lopez-Ochoa’s Red Riding Hood. In 2018 she returned to the role of Helena in Dream and danced the part of Matilda in The Suit. Between 2019 and 2021, Sayaka danced in new choreographic creations by Mlindi Kulashe, Mthuthuzeli November, Martin Lawrance and Will Tuckett. Sayaka is also a guest teacher for the Yorkshire Ballet Seminars, National Youth Ballet and Central School of Ballet.
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12Sayaka Ichikawa
Sayaka was born in Chiba, Japan, where she began dancing at the age of two. She trained in New York and in 2003 moved to London to study at the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance. Sayaka graduated in 2006 with a First Class BA (Hons) degree. Since graduating, she has performed with Vienna Festival Ballet and Ballet Theatre UK as a Principal Dancer in Coppélia, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker and Swan Lake and in 2009 performed Le Corsaire with American Ballet Theatre at the London Coliseum. Sayaka performed in Ross McKim’s Moving Visions Dance Theatre at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London and York Minster. She has also danced for English National Opera and Opera North in their production of Madam Butterfly. Sayaka appeared in the musical The King and I and in the film, StreetDance: the Movie. She has also been a Guest Principal Dancer and Guest Teacher for Ballet Riviera in Switzerland since 2008. Sayaka was a member of the Ballet Black Associate Programme for several years before becoming a Senior Artist with Ballet Black in 2011. Since joining the Company, Sayaka has been a featured dancer in ballets by Jonathan Watkins, Henri Oguike and Martin Lawrance. In 2014 she created the role of Helena in Arthur Pita’s production of A Dream Within a Midsummer Night’s Dream. After a year off to have her first child, Sayaka returned to Ballet Black for the 2015/16 season, where she danced in featured roles for Arthur Pita, Christopher Marney and as Lulu White in Christopher Hampson’s Storyville. In 2017, Sayaka was a featured dancer in the Michael Corder quartet, House of Dreams and danced the roles of Wolf Acolyte and Red in Annabelle Lopez-Ochoa’s Red Riding Hood. In 2018 she returned to the role of Helena in Dream and danced the part of Matilda in The Suit. Between 2019 and 2021, Sayaka danced in new choreographic creations by Mlindi Kulashe, Mthuthuzeli November, Martin Lawrance and Will Tuckett. Sayaka is also a guest teacher for the Yorkshire Ballet Seminars, National Youth Ballet and Central School of Ballet.