Sae Maeda

Japanese dancer Sae Maeda is a First Soloist of The Royal Ballet. She joined The Royal Ballet's Aud Jebsen Young Dancers Programme from the start of the 2017/18 Season and was promoted to Artist in 2018, to First Artist, 2022, Soloist in 2023 and First Soloist, in 2024.

Maeda was born in Yokohama and began dancing aged seven. She trained at Mayumi Kinouchi Ballet School and at The Royal Ballet School on a Prix de Lausanne scholarship. Roles while at the school included Les Patineurs, Les Sylphides, Soirées musicales and The Sleeping Beauty pas de quatre at the annual matinees and in Concerto at the John Cranko Schule Gala and the 2016 Beijing International Dance Performance Series. 

Professional engagements while a student include dancing with The Royal Ballet in The Nutcracker. Her repertory with the Company includes Perdita (The Winter's Tale), Kitri's Friend (Don Quixote), The Fairy Spring (Cinderella), Princess Florine (The Sleeping Beauty), Prince Siegfried's Sister and Cygnet (Swan Lake), Juliet's Friend (Romeo and Juliet), Clara and Mirliton (The Nutcracker), pas de six (Giselle) Lead role in Rhapsody and roles in Danses concertantes, The Dante Project, Scènes de ballet, Asphodel Meadows and Infra. She has created roles in Jessica Lang's Twinkle and Untitled, 2023.

Maeda's awards include Critics' Circle National Dance Awards 2023 Emerging Dancer.