Rosas

Dancer, choreographer and actress Fumiyo Ikeda was honoured with the Career Award at the first-ever Gala van de Aura’s, kicking off het TheaterFestival 2026 in Brussels. The Aura Awards are the new name for what were previously known as the Sector Awards, Flanders' annual awards recognising outstanding work in the performing arts. Ikeda was born in Osaka, Japan, and moved to Europe in 1979 to study at Mudra, the ballet school founded by Maurice Béjart. It was there that she met Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, and became an original member of Rosas when it was formed in 1983. They continued to collaborate for decades.

“For more than 40 years, our winner has left an unmistakable mark on the Belgian performing arts,” the jury stated. “From her defining work with Rosas to her own creations and collaborations with different generations of makers.”

The jury also praised her stage presence as “unique and immediately recognisable,” highlighting her rare ability to fully step into the world of another maker: “With generosity, a sharp dramaturgical instinct and an incredible mastery of her craft.”

Since 2007, Ikeda has developed her own choreographic practice alongside her career as a performer. She also continues to pass on Rosas’s early repertoire to a new generation of dancers.