Madoka Kariya is a Japanese dancer, model and collaborator. Born in Sendai, she began classical ballet at age 5 and later earned a silver medal and scholarships at the 2009 YAGP New York final. At 16, she moved to Germany to study at the Palucca University of Dance, where she received the DAAD Prize for outstanding achievement before graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 2012. She then joined Ballet Zürich Junior under Christian Spuck, receiving the “Dance Prize of Friends of the Zurich Ballet” in 2013. In 2014, Madoka moved to the Netherlands to dance with Nederlands Dans Theater, first with NDT2 and later NDT1 from 2017 to 2024. During her tenure, she performed works by leading choreographers including Jiří Kylián, Crystal Pite, Ohad Naharin, Hofesh Shechter, Sharon Eyal and William Forsythe. Awarded the 2021 Miyagi Prefecture New Selected Artist Award, Madoka has been a freelance artist since 2025, dedicated to creating platforms that connect people through dance.