Alumni of Ayako School of Ballet
What they are doing now.
Amy Briones
Ayako School of Ballet instructor and student Amy Briones (pictured above) was very busy this summer. In June she competed in the USA International Ballet Competition (USAIBC) in Jackson, Mississippi.
Amy was able to compete in the USAIBC partly as a result of the support that she received from friends and well wishers who attended the April benefit concert, sponsored by Ayako School of Ballet. Amy, her family, and Ayako Takahashi, Director of ASB, are grateful for all of the support given by friends and well wishers.
Simply being invited to the USAIBC competition is a rare and prestigious honor; it has been called the Olympics of ballet. Amy made it into the top 12 among 50 who competed in the Junior Division. Perhaps more significantly, she was offered a contract with Ballet San Jose / Silicon Valley (BSJ/SV) based on her performance.
It looks like Amy will be no less busy in the next several months. She is expected to first appear on stage with BSJ/SV in November, 2006, in their production of Giselle. She will also appear in BSJ/SV’s Nutcracker Ballet this year. Since the Peninsula Youth Ballet’s production takes place earlier than that of BSJ/SV, Amy will also perform as a principal dancer this year in PYB’s Nutcracker. In November 2006, Amy appeared on stage with BSJ/SV in their production of Giselle, as well as BSJ/SV’s Nutcracker Ballet. That same year, Amy also performed as a principal dancer in Peninsula Youth Ballet’s Nutcracker.Congratulations to Amy on a job well done!
Mariko(Mari)Takahashi
While a guest dancer in Giselle with PBT, Mariko Takahashi earned this review:
-- ". . . her port de bras managed to be well and fully phrased, and her technique totally adequate to the demands." Renee Renouf Hall, ballet.co
While a principal dancer with the Oakland Ballet, Mariko Takahashi received these comments:
-- " . . . the eye-catching Mariko Takahashi . . ." Ballet - Dance Magazine-- [In the first act of the Nutcracker Ballet] "Here, Marie (a charming Mariko Takahashi). . ." Oakland Tribune
Mariko has been dancing as a guest dancer for Solano Civic Ballet (as a Sugar Plum Fairy) and for Peninsula Ballet Theatre (Giselle pas de Deux and more).
Other Alumni
(not yet pictured)
Sascha Radetsky: Soloist - American Ballet Theatre
Jessica Radetsky: Dancer - Phantom of the opera (Broadway N.Y.)
Yuki Fujimoto: former - ODC San Francisco
Rika Onizuka: former - Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley, Ohio Ballet, Smuin Ballet S.F.
