Risa Kobayashi was born and raised in Japan, and started ballet in her hometown of Tokyo. In 2009, she moved to Canada to continue her pre-professional training and graduated from the Victoria Academy of Ballet. She attended summer programs with the St. Louis Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet, Arts Umbrella and Okanagan Summer Dance Intensive. She joined Ballet Victoria as an apprentice in 2011, and moved up to the ranks to become a principal dancer with the company where she continues to dance today. She has taught and coached students at several schools in Japan, and began teaching at the Ballet Victoria Conservatory in 2016.