Kazuko Sumimoto

Kazuko Sumimoto started her ballet education in 1979 at the Tokiwa Ballet School in Tokyo, Japan.
Between 1981-1984 she attended the Momoko Ballet School where she studied the Vaganova
method. She continued her training with famous teachers, former soloists and principals of
renowned companies in Japan and Europe.
From 1984 to 1996, she worked as a professional dancer with the Momoko-Tani Ballet Company in
Tokyo and danced in various classical production such as Don Quichotte, Swan Lake, Nutcracker,
Giselle, The Sylphides as a solist. She worked with the Japan Ballet Association and participated at
various Ballet Festivals in Japan as a guest dancer. In 1997, She created and open her own school in
Japan, which is encountering a wild success
In 2005 she started teaching at the former Mandorla Ballet School in Brussels, Belgium, where she
first met Anderson Santana who was the Director of the school. Anderson and Kazuko founded
Brussels International Ballet School at a new location in 2011.
She is not only vice director, but also one of the motivated teachers of BIB's artistic team, regularly
coaching students for ballet competitions and is currently the main rehearsal mistress of the
Professional Training Program.
Since the creation of the professional section, she has been creating and staging ballets by
collaborating with Anderson Santana. Together, they have notably presented the following
productions: Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Don Quixote, Giselle, in iconic venues in Belgium such as
the Royal Circus Brussels , the Royal Theatre of Namur, the “Sucrerie” in Wavre, and the Kursaal in
Ostend