Kaufman alums Juliette Ochoa '21 and William Okajima '24, honorees of Dance Magazine's 2026 "25 to Watch" | Headshots by Cathryn Farnsworth

Juliette Ochoa ’21 and William Okajima ’24 recognized among emerging artists for 2026.

Dance Magazine has announced its annual “25 to Watch” list for 2026, with two USC Kaufman alums among this year’s artists to know.

Juliette Ochoa ’21, a company member with Oregon Ballet Theatre, and William Okajima ’24, a 2025 Princess Grace Award recipient and a member of A.I.M by Kyle Abraham, join a prestigious group of dancers and artists making an impression onstage and off. “These dancers, choreographers, directors and companies are already doing exceptional work,” the editors of Dance Magazine write, “but we’re betting on them to break through in a major way in the year to come.”

Ochoa joined Oregon Ballet Theatre shortly after graduating from USC Kaufman in 2021. At OBT, she has taken on several prominent roles showcasing her technical and theatrical strengths in works by George Balanchine, Loughlan Prior and Dani Rowe. Her performance as the Queen of the Dew Fairies in Prior’s full-length story ballet adaptation of Hansel and Gretel was a highlight. Pointe Magazine named the role one of the 12 Standout Performances of 2024.

Okajima joined A.I.M by Kyle Abraham after graduating from USC Kaufman as a dance major with a minor in entrepreneurship. Within months, he established himself as an artist to watch, particularly in Abraham’s 2024 premiere of Dear Lord, Make Me Beautiful, which Jennifer Homans of The New Yorker called “extraordinary.” He went on to win the 2025 Princess Grace Award for performance and continues to advocate for working artists through DanceNav, an app he is developing to centralize dance-related information such as classes, auditions and performances.

“Juliette and William are incredible dancers, but, even more so, exceptionally wonderful people,” said USC Kaufman Dean Julia M. Ritter. “We are thrilled for their success across all their professional endeavors and their inclusion in the latest ‘25 to Watch.’ They represent the values we seek to instill in our student-artists: curiosity, dedication, artistry, and humanity.”