Aoi Yamada

Aoi Yamada (山田 葵, Yamada Aoi, born June 24, 2000) is a Japanese dancer, model and actress based in Tokyo. Her dance form is inspired by expressionist and butoh movements. In 2021, Yamada performed at the closing ceremony of the 2020 Summer Olympics.

As an actress, Yamada has appeared in the television series First Love (2022) and in the drama film Perfect Days (2023).

Early life
Aoi Yamada was born on June 24, 2000 in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. She was a shy and introverted child. Yamada became interested in dance and fashion at the age of five.

Career
Yamada moved to Tokyo at age 15 to pursue a career as a dancer. She then started to model and perform in numerous music videos and stage performances, including at Baselworld in 2018 and 2019. Yamada has also performed at the Yokohama Sogo Museum of Art and for the Kanagawa Arts Theatre. During the closing ceremony of the 2020 Summer Olympics, held in Tokyo, Yamada danced a solo performance.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Yamada went viral on social media for videos of herself dancing with vegetables. The videos brought her to the attention of fashion designer Stella McCartney, with whom she will collaborate frequently in the future. Yamada also modeled for Fred Perry, Lacoste, Rabanne, and Uniqlo. She has appeared in the magazines Numéro, Bella, Madame Figaro, CYAN and Rice.

Yamada made her acting debut in 2021 in a minor role in the Wowow drama FM 999: 999 Women's Songs. She subsequently acted in the short film Somewhere in the Snow and in the romantic TV series First Love. Yamada next appeared as Aya in the 2023 film by Wim Wenders, Perfect Days, opposite Koji Yakusho.

Yamada is part of the WACK unit AiNATOAOI alongside singer and idol Aina the End. The duo previously collaborated on the music video for "Red:birthmark".