Maya Tsuruki-Holden

Dancer

Originally from Sendai, Japan, Maya began her ballet training at a local studio. After moving to the U.S. at age fifteen, she continued her training at Pasadena Dance Theatre, CA, under Cynthia Young and Lawrence Blake. She also attended pre-professional programs with Joffrey Ballet School, ABT, and The Rock School. Maya holds a B.A. in Music Composition from Smith College, and while there, danced in productions by the Five College Dance program and Pioneer Valley Ballet under Thomas Vacanti and Maryanne Kodzis. 

She joined NAB in 2017, where she has been the principal dancer in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Puck), and featured soloist In The Mood (Bookworm), an original swing ballet by Lucy Warren-Whitman. 

As a freelance artist, her other notable ballet/dance credits include: Synergie (Jacob Taylor, Ballet Arts NYC), Urban Nutcracker (City Ballet of Boston), Thriller (Boston Symphony Orchestra), and Midsummer Color of Jazz (Denise “Red”Randall). Maya also has performed with regional theatres in: The Beautiful and Damned (Gloria; Landmark Theatre, NY), Wizard of Oz (Nikko; FPAC, MA), The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Helena Landless; New Players Theatre, MA), and Cabaret (Fritzie; Theatre III, MA).

She enjoys extending her creativity off-stage, working as an actor and model, and can be seen in: Irises (Independent short; Houston International Film Festival and Tokyo Lift Off Film Festival finalist), 100 Years of Coats (Glamour Mag. Online), Lose Control (Complexion of Sound), and a number of regional/national commercials.