Rehearsal DIRECTOR

Reika Sato

Born in Nagano, Japan, Reika graduated from the London Studio Centre and has danced with Cape Town City Ballet and Victor Ullate Ballet. She received 3rd place in the All Japan Ballet Competition and was a finalist in the Cape Town International Ballet Competition. She danced Principal roles with Cape Town City Ballet, including Coppélia and Orpheus in the Underworld and toured all over the world with Victor Ullate Ballet to places such as Israel, Jordan, Peru, Italy, France and Spain.

In September 2014, Reika moved to Perth to join West Australian Ballet where she danced many lead roles including First Violin in Concerto Barocco, Cinderella in Jayne Smeulder’s Cinderella, Jordan Baker in The Great Gatsby and Effy in La Sylphide.

Reika has also choreographed for 2018’s Genesis season, creating Kindred with Ana Gallardo Lobaina.

In 2019 Reika retired from dancing and was appointed as the Company’s Assistant Rehearsal Director where she worked with Andries Weidemann on Peter and the Wolf in 2019 and The Adventures of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie in 2020 for the AWESOME Arts Festival. Other highlights include working with Krzysztof Pastor on Light and Shadow in 2020 and with Natalie Weir on 4Seasons in 2021.

Reika was promoted to the position of Rehearsal Director in December 2021.

Image: Reika Sato in Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's In Transit at Takuto: Ballet at the Quarry (2017). Photo by Sergey Pevnev.