Isaac Akiba retiring after 15 years on stage with hometown Boston Ballet
BOSTON – Fifteen years after Boston native Isaac Akiba first danced with Boston Ballet, he's stepping off the stage and is retiring from the company he loves.
Akiba grew up in Jamaica Plain and has been dancing since he was in elementary school.
Citydance came to his third-grade classroom to recruit dancers, and he was hooked.
"The lifestyle of being a dancer becomes embedded inside of you," Akiba told WBZ-TV.
His junior year in high school, he took leap of faith and dropped out to focus on ballet. The decision paid off.
Akiba became the first dancer in company history to start in Citydance, work his way up through the school and join the company.
Over the years, the hometown crowd has been behind him.
"I think the Boston audience is exceptional and I have so many people here that have watched me grow from a little boy carrying out the sword in Swan Lake to principal roles here," he said. "So I've always felt so supported."
While dancing full time, Akiba was able to find the time to get his GED, then go on to college.
He graduated from Northeastern in the spring and is now headed to the Questrom School of Business at Boston University.
Akiba told us injuries and his college graduation played a role in his decision to retire now, but he says he accomplished everything he wanted to in his dancing career and is ready for a different type of challenge.