Kayleigh was born in Brisbane, Queensland, she is of Japanese and Chinese heritage and was raised in a Japanese-speaking household. She began dancing at the age of three, initially following in her sister’s footsteps, and quickly discovered a genuine love for it. She trained at Debra Whitten’s School of dance on Brisbane’s south side, which soon became like a second home. She later continued her training at The Australian Ballet School through their Interstate Training Program (Level 1 to Invitee year), before progressing into the Full-Time Program in Level 5.
One of her favourite moments on stage since joining the school, is having the opportunity to perform George Balanchine Scotch Symphony, Serenata by Stephen Baynes and Lyra by Prue Lang. In Level 7 she was grateful to receive the Excellence Award in Classical Ballet, Graeme Murphy OA Award for Contemporary Dance, and the Ballet Victorian Society award, all of which supported her continued training. This year, she has been fortunate to receive a secondment with The Australian Ballet, learning La Bayadère and Ballet Imperial, gaining valuable experience working alongside the company. She is looking forward to traveling the country on national tour with the Australian ballet performing repertoire and excerpts from Nutcracker.
Kayleigh is drawn to dance for its ability to communicate what words often cannot. Looking ahead, she hopes to continue growing as a versatile artist, exploring a range of styles while contributing to environments that value creativity, collaboration, storytelling.
Outside of dance, she enjoys matcha (perhaps a little too much her iron levels may disagree), arts and crafts, and spending time with friends.
