Ayako Shapiro hails from a small town in upstate NY. After graduating from Skidmore College with a BA in Dance and Asian Studies, she moved to Seattle where she currently works as a free-lance dancer and as a program coordinator at a non-profit. She has had the opportunity to perform in pieces choreographed by Brian Brooks, Take Ueyama, Stephanie Liapis, Imana Gunawan, and Alicia Mullikin. Ayako has performed in several festivals throughout Seattle and is interested in the intersections of dance and the human experience.