Aya Sato is a contemporary dancer from Japan. She was introduced to modern and contemporary dance in 2015 when she attended the Bates Dance Festival. After returning to Japan, she sought further contemporary dance training under Kengo Yamazaki and Yusuke Tsusumi. This led to professional performance opportunities in The Island of Loneliness by Kengo Yamazaki and Hinako Taira, and Responsibility by Yoko Unaki.

In 2019, Aya moved to the U.S. to pursue a degree in Dance and a minor in Psychology at The Ohio State University, where she was awarded a scholarship for dance for three consecutive years. During her time there, she performed works by Eddie Taketa, Momar Ndiaye, Abby Zbikowski, Susan Petry, and Nyama-McCarthy Brown. She also choreographed and performed her senior thesis work, A Whole Lot of Something. Outside of university, Aya attended the American Dance Festival with an ADF scholarship and a fellowship under the STEP program, where she performed in Shen Wei’s Summary. She also collaborated with Brianna Rhodes on the work The Mother Whose Children Are the Water and participated in the HATCH Residency with Charles O. Anderson. Following her graduation, Aya chose to continue her dance education with Modus Operandi, where she is currently a dancer.