Guest Artist - The Nutcracker, 2024
Artist, American Repertory Ballet
Nanako Yamamoto was born and raised in Japan where she began her training at the Geijutsuza Ballet Studio “Jardin des Arts”, performing such roles as Clara in The Nutcracker, Rose Adagio in The Sleeping Beauty and the title role in Cinderella. In 2005, she was selected to attend the prestigious Royal Ballet Summer School, then was accepted to the Elmhurst School for Dance in Association with the Birmingham Royal Ballet. While a student, she performed in the Birmingham Royal Ballet’s National Tour of Firebird, Fokine’s Petrushka, Petipa’s Raymonda and David Bintley’s Beauty and the Beast. She performed for his Royal Highness Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall in addition to the grand re-opening of Birmingham’s Town Hall. Since graduating in 2009, she has performed with New Tampa Dance Theatre, Dance Theatre of Tampa, Ballet Fleming, Virginia Regional Ballet, in Giselle with Boca Ballet Theatre alongside Julie Kent and Marcelo Gomes, and as soloist in La Bayadere with Gillian Murphy and José Manuel Carreño. Since joining ARB, she has danced featured roles in The Nutcracker, including Sugar Plum Fairy and Snow Queen, the title role in Ethan Stiefel and Johan Kobborg’s Giselle, Changeling and Titania in Stiefel’s world premiere of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, as well as Belle in Kirk Peterson’s world premiere of Beauty and the Beast. She has also been featured in Gerald Arpino’s Confetti and Sea Shadow, Peterson’s Carmen and Glaznov Variation, Claire Davison’s world premiere Time Within A Time and other works by Douglas Martin, Kirk Peterson, Mary Barton, David Fernandez, Colby Damon and Ethan Stiefel.
