Yuriko Kajiya

She won a Prix de Lausanne in January 2000, allowing her to continue her training with the school of the National Ballet of Canada in Toronto.

[4][5] Her repertoire at ABT included Kitri in Don Quixote, Giselle in Giselle, Gamzatti in La Bayadére, Gulnare in Le Corsaire, Clara, the Princess in Alexei Ratmansky's The Nutcracker, Olga in Onegin, Lilac Fairy and Princess Florine in The Sleeping Beauty, the Waltz in Les Sylphides, Miranda in The Tempest, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux and leading roles in Ballo Della Regina, Brief Fling, In the Upper Room, The Leaves are Fading, Petite Mort, Rabbit and Rogue, Seven Sonatas, Baker’s Dozen, Chamber Symphony and Theme and Variations.

[6] Kajiya joined Houston Ballet with her life partner Jared Matthews to pursue great artistic opportunities.

Her repertoire now includes Kenneth McMillan's Manon[9] and Mayerling,[10] William Forsythe's Artifact Suite,[11] and Stanton Welch's Giselle,[12][13] Madame Butterfly,[14] The Nutcracker,[15] La Bayadere,[16] Paquita,[17] and Swan Lake.

In July 2010, she appeared on an episode of the American television series So You Think You Can Dance, alongside her partner and fellow soloist Jared Matthews.

Kajiya dances for Swans for Relief in 2020