Yoshiko Kamikusa and Luzemberg Santana to Guest in Greater York Youth Ballet’s THE NUTCRACKER

Yoshiko Kamikusa and Luzemberg Santana, principal dancers of the Indianapolis Ballet, will appear as guest artists in the Greater York Youth Ballet/Dance It Forward production of The Nutcracker on December 13, 2025, at the Appell Center for the Performing Arts in York, Pennsylvania.

Born in Tokyo, Japan, Yoshiko Kamikusa began ballet training at age seven in Hawaii and later studied at the Goh Ballet Academy in Vancouver under Vera Solovyeva and Nikolai Levitsky. She began her professional career with Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet, performing leading roles including Odile in Swan Lake, Clara in The Nutcracker, Puck in The Faerie Queen, and principal parts in Balanchine’s Serenade and Forsythe’s The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude.

Kamikusa joined the Indianapolis Ballet in 2018 as a founding principal dancer. Her repertoire includes Juliet in Septime Webre’s Romeo and Juliet, Aurora and Princess Florine in The Sleeping Beauty, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, and the title roles in Carmen, Snow White, and The Firebird. She has also performed principal roles in Balanchine works such as Who Cares?, Rubies, Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux, and Allegro Brillante.

Kamikusa is the recipient of numerous international awards, including the Bronze Medal at the 2016 Helsinki International Ballet Competition, First Place at the 2013 Japan Grand Prix, and the Gold Medal at the 2011 Tanzolymp in Berlin.

Brazilian-born Luzemberg Santana trained at the Bolshoi Theater School in Brazil, where he developed his foundation in classical ballet. At age 18, he joined Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet, performing a range of classical and contemporary repertoire over five seasons. He later danced with Tulsa Ballet and joined Houston Ballet in 2018, where he was promoted to Demi-Soloist the following year.

In 2025, Santana became a Principal Dancer with the Indianapolis Ballet. His repertoire includes leading roles in Don Quixote, Swan Lake, Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, Coppélia, Romeo and Juliet, and Balanchine’s Jewels, along with contemporary works by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Jorma Elo, and Mark Morris.