Quick Facts

Born: Tokyo, Japan
Trained: Shimura Ballet School in Japan and Canada’s National Ballet School
Joined: 2012
Second Soloist since: 2019

Kota Sato is sponsored through Dancers First by Tony Arrell, C.M. & Anne Arrell.

Five Things to Know

1. 1Kota has loved acting since he was a child and relishes the opportunity to perform dramatic roles. In 2018, he performed the emotional role of Levin in John Neumeier’s Anna Karenina.
    
2. 2Born in Tokyo, Kota moved to Toronto at the age of 15 to attend Canada’s National Ballet School. He joined the company as an RBC Apprentice in 2012.
    
3. 3In 2020, he returned to Japan to perform the famous Grand Pas Classique with Shimura Ballet, where he received his early dance training.
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5. 4He dances featured roles such as The Fool in Swan Lake, Bluebird in The Sleeping Beauty, Brother Clown in The Winter’s Tale, an Icicle in The Nutcracker, the Golden Slave/the Faun in Nijinsky and L’Ivrogne in Le Petit Prince.
    
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7. His repertoire of classical and contemporary works includes Romeo and Juliet, Giselle, Cinderella, Frame by Frame, Manon, Chroma, The Man in Black, Angels’ Atlas and Orpheus Alive, among others.

Favourite Ballets

1. 1Nijinsky
    
2. 2Onegin
    
3. 3Anna Karenina
    
4. 4The Man in Black
    
5. 5The Four Seasons

Full Biography

Kota Sato was born in Tokyo, Japan and trained at the Shimura Ballet School in Japan and Canada’s National Ballet School. Kota joined The National Ballet of Canada as a RBC Apprentice in 2012 and was promoted to Second Soloist in 2019.

Recently, Kota made his debut as Peter/The Nutcracker in The Nutcracker and performed in the world premiere of Wayne McGregor’s MADDADDAM and the Canadian premiere of David Dawson’s Anima Animus. He has also danced such roles as Rothbart in Swan Lake, Levin in Anna Karenina, Bluebird in The Sleeping Beauty, Brother Clown in The Winter’s Tale, an Icicle in The Nutcracker, the Golden Slave/the Faun in Nijinsky and L’Ivrogne in Le Petit Prince. His repertoire also includes Romeo and Juliet, Giselle, Cinderella, Onegin, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Merry Widow, A Streetcar Named Desire, Pinocchio, Manon, The Dream, The Four Seasons, The Second Detail, Approximate Sonata 2016, The Man in Black, Carousel (A Dance), Symphony #9, Emergence, Angels’ Atlas, Elite Syncopations, Symphony in C, After the Rain, Concerto, Frame by Frame, Being and Nothingness, Skyward, Crepuscular and as seen from before.

Kota was awarded the Patron Award of Merit in 2019.