Dancer of the Week: Koki Yamaguchi

This season we’re featuring a Eugene Ballet dancer of the week to help you get to know these talented artists bringing our season’s ballets to life. Got something you’ve always wanted to ask a professional dancer? Email your questions to [email protected], and they may be featured in our next Dancer of the Week post!

This week, we’d like to introduce you to Koki Yamaguchi. Koki attended Rudra Béjart School in Switzerland where he learned classical ballet, contemporary ballet, Martha Graham technique, acrobatics and theater. He is in his second season as a Eugene Ballet Principal Dancer. 

See Koki’s Full Bio.

Follow Koki on Instagram.

-Where are you from and when did you start dancing?
I’m from Japan and I started to take ballet class when I was 11 years old.

-What roles do you enjoy performing the most?
I mostly have fun when I dance HAPPY roles such as Pulcinella from Act 2 of The Nutcracker. 

-What do you enjoy about living in Eugene?
First, I like the view from my room, the greens and the sky make me feel relaxed.  I also like to walk around my neighborhood and eat at local restaurants. 

-What’s your favorite food?
Everything!  Especially sweets like cookies or cakes.

-How do you prepare for a role?
I’m always trying to put my own personality into each role I dance.  I try to imagine what would I think or how would I react if I were this character in the world of this story. 

-What performance are you most looking forward to right now?
Romeo & Juliet.  Mercutio has been my favorite character since I saw R&J for the first time.  So I’m really happy and excited that I will be performing this role.  I hope I can present a lovable Mercutio.