Growing up in the small town of Ebetsu outside of Sapporo, Yumiko Takeshima discovered ballet at the age of 4. By the time she reached 11, she knew she wanted to be a dancer, although she insists she had no special talent.
"I was never the teacher's favorite, never awarded a scholarship," she says. "I just knew I could dance, somehow."
After encouragement from a visiting ballet teacher from California, Takeshima, then 13, headed to the U.S. West Coast with the aim of joining the San Francisco Ballet School. She was allowed to audition, and although there were no promises or scholarship, she was told she could try the school for six months. "My parents really believed in me," she explained, "so I always thought of it (the tuition) as a scholarship from my parents."