Sakura Oka

Originally from Jagoya, Japan, Sakura previously danced with both Columbia Classical Ballet and Virginia National Ballet. Now in her third season with Columbia City Ballet, Sakura is a Demi-Soloist. She trained under Maiko Uemura at the Ecole de Ballet MU and had her first opportunity to come to the U.S. in the summer of 2011. In Japan, Sakura successfully auditioned for the Kirov Academy of Ballet Summer Program and was subsequently invited to stay for the year-round program on scholarship. In 2013, Sakura graduated from the Kirov Academy and joined Columbia Classical Ballet. Her beautiful technique has received several awards: 2017 World Ballet Competition Bronze Medalist; 2014 Varna International Competition Semi-Finalist; a Silver Medalist at the 2013 Valentina Kozlova International Ballet Competition; 2013 ADCIBC SR Grand Prix and Second Place in the 2012 Japan Grand Prix. Sakura has appeared in several principal roles including Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Sugar Plum Fairy in Nutcracker, Kitri in Don Quixote, and Odile in Swan Lake.