Masterclasses
Yurikp Kajiya, born in Aichi, Japan, began her training at the age of eight. At ten, she moved to China and became one of the first foreign students to study with and graduate from the Shanghai Ballet School on scholarship. Kajiya joined American Ballet Theatre's Studio Company in September 2001 and was promoted to the main Company as an apprentice in 2002. She performed with ABT for fifteen years, seven of those as a Soloist. In 2014, she joined Houston Ballet as a First Soloist and was quickly promoted to Principal in November 2014 following her performance as the Sugar Plum Fairy in Ben Stevenson’s The Nutcracker.
Learn more about Yuriko Kajiya at https://www.houstonballet.org/explore/dancers/principal/yuriko-kajiya/
Karina González is a native of Caracas, Venezuela and a silver medal winner of the New York International Ballet Competition in 2007. She trained at the Gustavo Franklin Ballet School in Caracas, Venezuela and has danced professionally with Ballet National of Caracas and Tulsa Ballet, where she reached the rank of principal in 2007. Ms. González joined Houston Ballet as a soloist in 2010 and was promoted to principal dancer in February 2013 following her performance as Nikiya in Stanton Welch's La Bayadère.
Learn more about Karina González at https://www.houstonballet.org/explore/dancers/principal/karina-gonzalez/
How to prepare
1. Please arrive at least 10 minutes before class to check-in and get settled.
2. Come already dressed in classical ballet attire (pointe shoes are not required)
3. You may bring your personal water bottle into the studio with you.