Leah Yukari Terada
My practice investigates dance as both an artistic medium and a mode of research, asking how disciplined embodied practice generates knowledge, meaning, and connection across choreography, dramaturgy, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Grounded in curiosity about the body as an archive, performance as a cultural exchange, and accessibility as a creative ethic, I explore how movement, memory, language, and collaboration can expand what dance—and ballet in the twenty-first century—can communicate and whom it can serve. I value adaptability as highly as rigor, embracing experimentation, failure, and dialogue across disciplines as essential conditions for artistic discovery, while developing tools that help artists realize their ideas and audiences find meaningful points of entry. Because dance exists only in the act of being experienced, I create work that invites people to notice, feel, question, and connect, treating performance as a temporary yet transformative encounter that affirms the irreplaceable value of our embodied lives.
Work History
Dancer, Performing Artist
Soloist ('22), Corps ('16), Apprentice ('15)
- Built a high-profile career in a highly competitive field, performing leading roles across both classical and contemporary repertoires, and collaborating with internationally acclaimed choreographers (including Crystal Pite, Jessica Lang, Justin Peck).
- Served as a student-to-faculty liaison in PNB’s Mentorship and Wellness Program ('23,'24,'25), helping students each year through a structured approach to career guidance and mental wellbeing. Acted to promote lasting, inclusive change in the program’s educational model.
Leader, Arts Management
9 Years 7 MonthsArts Administrator
Damfino Arts - Public Event Specialist ('19)
- Worked as sales manager and FOH manager at Skid Road Gallery: a pop-up exhibition at Seattle's McCaw Hall that showcased more than 200 works by 65 local low-income artists.
- Coordinated art exhibition, managing logistics and vendor relations to ensure seamless execution.
Francia Russell Center - Program Lead and Educator ('24)
- The Pacific Northwest Ballet School and Spectrum Dance Theater collaborated on a contemporary summer workshop featuring Donald Byrd and Leah Terada
- Collaborated with Donald Byrd, AD of Spectrum Dance Theater, in leading a week-long choreographic program.
- Implemented educational outreach that engaged Bellevue local communities in arts appreciation and participation.
- Lesson planned a comprehensive course on applied techniques of choreography practiced at Spectrum Dance Theater
- Led dancer training on the choreographic process: listening, choice-making, collaboration, and “what success looks like” in new work.
- Developed structured lessons emphasizing technique as language, phrasing, task-based exploration, and discovery.
- Guided students to participate confidently in rehearsal by understanding choreographer intent and responding to feedback.
- Cultivated performance and communication skills through reflective processing and verbally articulating discoveries.
- Organized and led a special event showcasing participants' growth throughout the week.
Teaching Experience
- Ballet technique, pointe, and repertoire variations, adult and youth students - PNB, Issaquah Dance Theater, Vashon Center for Dance, Contemporary Ballet of Dallas
- Conditioning - certified Polestar Pilates instructor
- Masterclass in improvisation and applied deep-listening somatics in dance - Lawrence University
Creative Collaborations
2026 Muscle Memory, Discontinued
- Producer, organizer, and choreographer for the performance event
- Partially sponsored by Seattle Art and Culture Week
2026 ONCE REMOVED
- temporary art project in Seattle created by gallerists Zoë Hensley and Sammy Skidmore
- Directed movement and film director for exhibit by Jennika Cruz
2025 Rituals of Becoming
- project organizer, producer, performer
2023/4 Wander/Wonder
- outdoor public dance event on Bainbridge Island, WA
2023 Revere
- dancer in Price Suddarth's duet
- performed at Seattle International Dance Festival and Ballet Sun Valley as an independent contractor
2023 Hisako’s House
- dancer and collaborator in residency under Robyn Mineko Williams, Chicago, IL
2023 Come to Ground
- dancer in triptych solos choreographed by Emily Schoen Branch
- live performance at Seattle International Dance Festival
2023 A Liminal Space
- dancer and collaborator for award winning short film presented by Seattle Dance Collective under the direction of James Yoichi Moore and Noelani Pantastico
2022 Guttural
- choreographer, live performance at Northwest Film Forum, presented by The Seattle Project
2020 The Only Thing You See Now
- creative collaborator and dancer featured in the award winning film
- Damfino Arts/Seattle Dance Collective
2020 Happening
- dance film co-created
- a project partially ensuring dancers of Pacific Northwest Ballet's employment during COVID-19
- Featured on TEDxSeattle
Education
Bachelor of Fine Arts - Interdisciplinary Arts Management
- Dean's and President's lists - while a full-time student '24-'25
- Pursued this degree while working full-time at Pacific Northwest Ballet
- SUURJ: Seattle University Undergraduate Research Journal applicant - At the Intersection of All: Audience Accessibility and Ballet as a Public Performing Arts Service
- cum laude graduate
High School Graduate
Skills
Dance Training
2014 Royal Danish Ballet Danish American Dance Cultural Exchange Scholarship Recipient - Nikolaj Hübbe, Eva Draw, Adam Lüders, Mogens Boesen, and Florence Clerc of Paris Opera Ballet
2010-15 School of American Ballet Peter Martins, Kay Mazzo, Susan Pilarre, Suki Schorer, Darci Kistler, Katrina Killian, Jock Soto, Yvonne Borree, Jonathan Stafford, Andrei Kramarevsky
1999-10 Dallas Metropolitan Ballet Ann Etgen and William Atkinson
Continued Professional Development
2026
July Jacob's Pillow Festival
Jan- June Esther pointe work training
'25
Dark Room Workshop
Stage Management Internship Sandy Barrack - Internship with resident stage manager Sandy Barrack; organized stockroom inventory to enhance accessibility and efficiency, maintained cleanliness and safety standards throughout theater and studio areas, and demonstrated flexibility in adapting to changing needs and priorities, willingly taking on additional responsibilities as needed to support overall operations.
'24-'25 store sales at Baskette, Seattle, WA
'24 Deep Dive Day
2023 Residency Robyn Mineko Williams
2023 SHARE - Joy Alpuerto Ritter, Akram Khan
2023 B12 Summer Workshop - Florian Hoffmeier, Joy Alpuerto Ritter, Abhilash Ningappa, Brandon Lagaert
2022 FOH host, server, assistant general manager at Meet Korean BBQ, Seattle, WA
2021 Lawrence University Dance Series Workshops - presented as guest teacher, hosted by Margaret Sunghe Paek
2020 Webseries with Bonnie Bainbridge
2017
Movement Invention Project - Sidra Bell, Shannon Gillen, Shamel Pitts, Elia Mrak, Troy Ogilvie, Alexandra Wells