Born and raised in Sapporo, Japan, Ayana Yonesaka moved to San Francisco in 2009 to pursue her career in dance. Since graduating summa cum laude with a BA in Dance from San Francisco State University in 2013, she has worked in the Bay Area as a dance instructor, performer, and choreographer. In addition to teaching at San Francisco Youth Ballet Academy, RoCo Dance & Fitness, and ODC, in 2017 she founded ayanadancearts. Ayana aims to investigate choreography rooted in her native Japanese cultural narrative. Her work navigates the seam between her Japanese and American identities, choreographing through a cross-Pacific framework.

https://www.instagram.com/ayanadancearts/

Photo of Kioku (2017) by Dave Golden