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The Company
Mai Aihara
Yamanashi, Japan
Joined ABT 2013
Biography
Photo: Charles Tandy.
Born in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, Mai Aihara began her training at the age of three. Aihara studied at the Sasaki Mika Ballet Academy in Kanagawa, Japan with Mika Sasaki and Mikio Ikehata. She also trained at the John Cranko School in Stuttgart, Germany from 2010-2012 with Tadeusz Matacz, Sarah Abendroth and Galina Solovieva.
In 2012 Aihara became an apprentice with the SemperOper Ballet in Dresden, Germany. Her repertoire included the grand pas de deux and Aurora’s Act II variation from The Sleeping Beauty, the pas de deux from Swan Lake, Act III, Clara and the Sugar Plum Fairy from The Nutcracker and roles in George Balanchine’s Jewels, Serenade, Symphony in C and Theme and Variations. She also danced in Hans van Manen’s Five Tangos and Jiri Kylian’s Evening Songs.
Her awards include First Prize at the 18th Kobe Dance Competition, First Prize at the 13th Ballet Competition in Japan and Semi-Finalist at the Prix de Lausanne 2010 in Switzerland.
In December 2013 Aihara joined American Ballet Theatre as a member of the corps de ballet. Her repertoire includes the Chinese Dance in The Nutcracker and a little swan in Swan Lake, as well as roles in all of the Company’s full-length ballets.
Ms. Aihara’s performances with American Ballet Theatre are sponsored by The Mathey Family.
Repertoire
- The Nutcracker (Ratmansky) - Chinese Dance
- Swan Lake (McKenzie) - Little Swan