American dancer and choreographer, Yuriko Kikuchi, has died at age 102, following a brief illness.
Known to audiences by her stage name Yuriko, was best known for her work with the Martha Graham Dance Company.
Born on February 2, 1920, Yuriko joined the Martha Graham Dance Company in 1944 and continued with the company for the next 50 years.
She danced in the first production of Graham’s masterpiece, Clytemnestra, as well as in Appalachian Spring, Cave of the Heart, and Dark Meadow.
She has also reconstructed a number of Graham’s dances such as Primitive Mysteries.
In addition to her work in modern dance, Yuriko performed on Broadway in the original productions of The King and I (1951–54) and Flower Drum Song (1958–60) and directed the 1977-78 Broadway revival of The King and I.
She has also performed on television, and in motion pictures and danced to works by Halim El-Dabh and Eugene Lester. She taught famous dancers such as Mikhail Baryshnikov, Reiko Sato, and Miki Orihara.
She formed her own modern dance company in 1967, which remained active until 1973.
Yuriko married Charles Kikuchi in 1946 and had two children. She died in Manhattan on March 8, 2022, at the age of 102.