07/04/2026
A huge thanks to Ayako, my Ballet and Life Teacher
Ayako was so much more than a ballet teacher for me. There are no words to describe how important she was (and still is) for me to find my way back to life.
Back in 2023 we first met in a small Ballet Studio in Pratteln. I was a sad grey shadow of myself at the time, desperately trying to recover from that stroke and fighting very difficult life conditions at the same time. I knew Ayako from her time as a soloist dancer at Theater Basel and was full of admiration for her way she used to dance. It was more than performance. She lived dance, such as I lived games. I knew when I first met her that I have found a soulmate.
My struggle with life seemed endless. I stayed in a clinic for months, Ayako did not give up on me and teached me privates at the weekend. She collected all the broken parts of my soul and helped me to set them back together. It took a lot of attempts. I went through the darkest time of my life, and for months, it seemed that I wouldn’t ever progress at all. Ayako did not give up. She stayed by my side and kept me working, day by day. „Don’t think too much“, she used to say. „Just go to class. Do the work. One day everything will fall in the right place“.
Each time I broke down, I remembered her words. I kept showing up for class. I noted her feedbacks. Practiced the small things, each day. Managed after a long time to shift my life focus a little bit. To not only chase the future, but live the moment. That was the moment I started to dance again. And to live again.
Thank you Ayako for being my friend and my teacher. I am so happy we can share a good time now and look into a bright future. Still chasing perfection each of us, but also enjoying the moment and being happy for everything we achieved. Let’s just move on and bring our visions to life.
Big hug and Love, Muriel
._nakano