Ruiko Jacobs, an Eastern North Carolina native, received her early classical ballet training at the Greenville Civic Ballet under the direction of Kim Saad. She also trained privately with the late Kennet Oberly in the Bournonville school. She left home her senior year to attend the high school program at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA). Upon graduation, she continued on to their college program, where she pursued her B.F.A. in Ballet on the Susan Jaffe Endowed Scholarship and graduated in three years in May 2023. Ruiko’s performance highlights at UNCSA included the Dark Angel in George Balanchine’s Serenade, Swan Lake Pas de Trois, a soloist in Napoli Act III, and Kitri in Don Quixote Act I. She also originated the role of Dewdrop in Ilya Kozadayev’s new production of The Nutcracker. In 2021, Ruiko represented UNCSA in the YAGP competition, where she placed Top 12 in the Senior Division and advanced to the Finals held in Tampa, FL.

Following graduation from UNCSA, Ruiko danced with Ballet Tucson as an Apprentice for one season. In Tucson, she performed in Eternal Love, a world premiere by Chieko Imada, and made her professional choreographic debut with Chamber Concerto in the Footprints at the Fox Choreographic Concert. She is excited to dance with Avant Chamber Ballet as an Apprentice this season.