Akiko Tokuoka

Akiko Tokuoka is a choreographer, and actress, from Kyoto, Japan, and currently based in New York City.

She has more than 15 years of experience as an artist performing vogue, ballet, contemporary dance, kabuki dance, baton twirling, and, her specialty, freestyle dance. Her credits include performances at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, New Era, and commercials. She was hand-selected by Madonna for an exclusive dance show on the icon's birthday in 2011, performed for Ciara in "Level Up" at the MNF Genesis Halftime Show in Seattle, and choreographed and performed in Lovari's “Paparazzi” music video, featured on MTV in October 2018.

She fell in love with the voguing and ballroom culture in New York when she saw Willi Ninja at a nightclub in NY in 2005 and worked her way up to becoming an official member of the “Legendary House of Ninja” with the crew name “KiT Ninja” in 2009, three years after Willi passed away. The Legendary House of Ninja is a voguing collective who have worked with artists including Madonna at the 2012 Super Bowl. In 2010, Akiko coordinated their tour through major cities in Japan including her hometown of Kyoto.

This year, Akiko joined members of The House of Ninja in bringing vogue to the 113th NAACP National Convention. She completed a two-year advanced acting program with Maggie Flanigan Studio which led to her to produce the dance/theater performance “TANABATA 2021” thanks to the support of a New York City Artist Corps Grant in October 2021. Akiko’s performances embody power and beauty. She often breaks the fourth wall to more deeply connect with audience members, interacting with and sometimes bringing them onstage to participate, making each performance unique.