Yukari Saito was born in Yokohama. She took her first ballet lessons from her mother, also a professional dancer. From the age of 16, she frequently visited Moscow and was fortunate enough to take lessons from Asaf Messerer and Marina Semyonova at the Bolshoi Theatre.
After gaining stage experience both within and outside of Japan, she joined the Tokyo Ballet in 1987.
While touring Europe with the Tokyo Ballet in 1988, she was chosen to dance the role of 'Lady Kaoyo', the heroine of Béjart's "THE KABUKI", and greatly impressed dance critics throughout Europe. In "Béjart's Ballet Gala" also held in 1988, she performed "BUGAKU" with dancers of the Béjart Ballet at Béjart's request. Her distinguished lyrical expression inspired the creation of the American Choreographer, John Neumeier's "SEVEN HAIKU OF THE MOON", which premiered in 1989. During the Tokyo Ballet's Russia tour in 1992, she danced the leading role in "LA SYLPHIDE" at the Bolshoi Theatre, the Maryinsky Theatre, and the Kiev National Shevchenko Theatre, receiving the highest praise that Russian critics could offer by being called the "Japanese Marie Taglioni". In Autumn 1999, she performed as the leading dancer of "CARMEN" choreographed by Alberto Alonso.
Since then, she has been chosen to dance important roles at both world-premiere and the Tokyo Ballet's premiere performances of many outstanding choreographers such as Neumeier's "SEASONS-THE COLORS OF TIME" (2000) and "SPRING AND FALL" (2000), Béjart's "BHAKTI III" (2000), Vladimir Vasiliev's "Don Quixote" (2001), John Neumeier's "DIE KAMELIENDAME" (2004), "LA SYLPHIDE" (2004), Frederick Ashton's "THE DREAM" (2005), and 'Fleur des Champs' in Pierre Lacotte's "LA FILLE DU DANUBE" (2006). She also danced with many exceptional principal dancers, such as with Farukh Ruzimatov of the Mariinsky Ballet in "BAYADERKA" at "The World Ballet Festival" in 1991, with Sergei I. Filln at "The World Ballet Festival" in 2000, with Vladimir Malakhov in "GISELLE" in 2004, with Mathieu Ganio of the Paris Opera Ballet in "LA SYLPHIDE" in 2005, with Sergei Filin of the Bolshoi Ballet in "GISELLE" in 2006, with Friedemann Vogel of the Stuttgart Ballet in "GISELLE" in 2007.
She was chosen to dance "DON QUIXOTE" at Ekaterina Maksimova's sixty-fifth birthday commemorative performance held at the Kremlin Palace of Congresses in Moscow in February 2004. She also appeared at the memorial performance celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of the joint Soviet-Japanese film, "Moscow, Mon Amour", dancing Pas de Deux of "Giselle."
Saito's repertoire includes full-length classical ballets such as "LA SYLPHIDE", "THE NUTCRACKER", "SWAN LAKE", "THE SLEEPING BEAUTY", "GISELLE", and "DON QUIXOTE", as well as neoclassical works such as George Balanchine's "LE PALAIS DE CRISTAL", "THEME AND VARIATIONS", and Maurice Béjart's "L'OISEAU DE FEU" and "DON GIOVANNI".
Besides working with The Tokyo Ballet, Saito has been highly acclaimed as a guest artist. By way of examples, she performed "GISELLE" at various theatres in Russia. In the production of "ANYUTA", choreographed by Vladimir Vasiliev, she rehearsed with Ekaterina Maksimova, the originator of the role, and made guest appearances with many Russian ballet companies. She is highly respected internationally as a dramatic prima ballerina.
She wrote her first essay expressing her history as a dancer, as a woman and as a mother, which was published from Sekai Bunka Publishing Inc. in 2002. In 2004, she was awarded "Art Encouragement Prize*" from the Agency of Cultural Affairs. In celebration of her reception of this prize, the Tokyo Ballet held a commemorate performance in August of 2005 featuring Saito herself in her three favorite roles from her repertoire as "LA SYLPHIDE," "CARMEN," and "DIE KAMELIENDAME."
*Art Encouragement Prizes is presented to those whose outstanding achievements have opened up new vistas in a given year. They are awarded in 10 fields: drama, film, music, dance, literature, fine arts, classical arts, broadcasting, popular entertainment, and criticism.
