SACHIKO "La Chayí"

A native of Osaka, Japan, Sachiko “La Chayí” is a Twin Cities-based Flamenco dancer, teacher, choreographer and producer.  

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She has received awards, recognition and grants from Minnesota State Arts Board, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, the Jerome Foundation, the Minnesota SAGE Awards for Dance, and New York State Flamenco Certamen.  Sachiko is the recipient of a 2017 McKnight Dancer Fellowship, administered by the Cowles Center and funded by the McKnight Foundation.  

 

Her dance and choreography have been commissioned and/or presented by The Walker Art Center, The Cowles Center, Zorongo Flamenco Dance Theatre, Intermedia Arts, Minneapolis Guitar Quartet, The Southern Theater, and Hamline University.

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Sachiko’s artistic expression in movement and music are the heart of her artistry. Sachiko’s ability to shatter cultural barriers with diverse audiences is intentional. She testifies Flamenco is a universal language which speaks the raw and authentic human emotions to the audience.

 

Sachiko was a resident artist of Zorongo Flamenco Dance Theatre in Minneapolis, MN from 2003 to 2009. She attributes her artistic formation to her most significant mentor, Zorongo's Artistic Director Susana Di Palma.  She lived and studied the art of Flamenco in Seville, Spain from 2010 to 2015 which became the foundation of her current dance and work.  Besides her daily life surrounded by the culture of Flamenco in Seville, she owes her artistic values and work  to her incomparable teachers in Spain including Farruquito, Javier Heredia, Juan del Gastor, Luis Peña, Miguel Funi, and Pilar Montoya Manzano “La Faraona”. 

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Sachiko is a STOTT PILATES® instructor with full certification. 

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"You can't remain unmoved by Sachiko's fierce flamenco inventions"  (Lightsey Darst, MN Artist)

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"Flamenco dynamo Sachiko"

(Linda Shapiro, The Saint Paul Pioneer Press)

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"Sachiko is a master of her craft"

(Jon Behm, HowWasTheShow)