Nana Nakagawa

Biography

Nana, born in Seattle and raised in Japan, began dancing at the age of four at Masami Funo Ballet Studio, where she trained until 2020. Her exceptional talent was recognized early on, as she received the Governor of Tokyo Award for contemporary dance and first place in classical ballet at the NBA All Japan Ballet Competition in 2021. She continued her education at The New National Theatre Ballet School in Tokyo, graduating in 2023.

During her studies, Nana performed notable roles, including Conrazoncorazon choreographed by Cayetano Soto, the Black Swan in Swan Lake, Paquita in Paquita, and Kitri's Friend in Don Quixote.

While still a student, she also danced professionally with the New National Theatre Tokyo in NINJA, a contemporary production under the artistic direction of Miyako Yoshida, with choreography by Kaiji Moriyama. In this work, she performed as a soloist, portraying roles such as the Japanese Princess and the Ogress.

In the 2023/2024 season, Nana joined the Czech National Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet. Her repertoire with the company includes leading and soloist roles, such as the main role in La Sylphide (Johan Kobborg), Bella Figura (Jiří Kylián), Big Swans in Swan Lake (John Cranko), Lilac Fairy in Sleeping Beauty (Márcia Haydée), and Mrs. Cratchit / Christmas Fairy in The Nutcracker – A Christmas Carol (Youri Vámos). She has also performed Swanilda's Friend as a Prayer in Coppélia (Ronald Hynd), Q5 in Bill (Sharon Eyal), and as part of the three couples in Frank Bridge Variations (Hans van Manen).