Portrait (4) Risako Ikeda, Ballet Dancer & Second-year student, Department of Law, Faculty of Law

“Ballet is an art form that pulls the heartstrings of the audience using only physical expression. After so much practice, I try not to think too much when on stage, and by releasing my mind when dancing, I believe I can move the audience.”
At age four, she first encountered ballet dancing in Hong Kong, where her family moved to, and she was hooked. After returning to Japan, she became even more passionate about it, and while a student at Keio Girls Senior High School, she won first place at the NBA Ballet Company’s 13th National Ballet Contest in the high school girls’ division. She also won a scholarship and went abroad for one year to study at the Hungarian Dance Academy, Budapest. “Having been to Europe, I felt a strong desire for Japanese people to know more about the appeal of ballet, so I decided to dance in Japan rather than abroad.” Presently, she has temporarily left the professional ballet company she belonged to since last year to focus on her university studies. “Ballet is who I am. But now, I want to gain more life experiences, learn more from my teachers, and expand my social circle and general knowledge. I believe that this will help boost my expressiveness in ballet.”