Mariko M. Sasaki

Mariko Sasaki was born in Tokyo and trained at the Yuriko Kawaguchi Ballet School. She was a finalist at the 2010 Prix de Lausanne, winning a scholarship to study at The Royal Ballet Upper School. She graduated in 2013 and joined Birmingham Royal Ballet before transferring to The Royal Ballet in the 2014/15 Season. She was promoted to First Artist in 2021, Soloist in 2022, and First Soloist in 2024. Her repertory includes Odette in Swan Lake, the Sugar Plum Fairy and Rose Fairy in The Nutcracker, Mercedes and Kitri's Friend in Don Quixote, Fairy Summer in Cinderella, and roles in works by Wayne McGregor and Christopher Wheeldon. She is married to fellow Royal Ballet dancer Lukas Bjørneboe Brændsrød.