When a young Sayaka Ohtaki posed with her parents for a snapshot in front of the Utah State Capitol building over two decades ago, the family may have been surprised to learn that the little girl would one day call Salt Lake City home. On vacation from Tokyo, Japan, she and her parents had disembarked from their bus to see the Utah landmark among others on their tour of the American West and its red-rock wonders.
Now Ohtaki, a prominent soloist with Ballet West, is preparing to welcome her mother once again to Utah from Tokyo. She arrives next week to share in her daughter’s triumph for having landed what Ohtaki considers the role of a lifetime as Cio-Cio San in the company’s production of “Madame Butterfly,” Nov. 4-13.
“This role is a dream come true for me,” said Ohtaki, who has previously danced well-known roles from Giselle (“Giselle”) and Juliet (“Romeo and Juliet”) to the Sugar Plum Fairy (“The Nutcracker”).
Yet there is something special for Ohtaki in dancing this particular role.
“I am a Japanese woman dancing a story about a heroic Japanese woman,” she said. “It’s wonderful for me to remind people who I am and where I come from in this way.”
The ballet, which uses orchestrations from Italian composer Giacomo Puccini’s celebrated opera, portrays the sumptuous and tragic story of the delicate geisha Cio-Cio San. Set in the late 19th century, the story shows the young woman renouncing her faith and family to wed Lt. Pinkerton, an American naval officer who is actually betrothed to another.
When he abandons her soon after their wedding, Cio-Cio San begins her patient vigil searching the horizon for his return, even when others try to dissuade her and a prince desires her hand in marriage. When Pinkerton and his American wife finally do return to Japan, heartbreak and tragedy swell in a searing and startling climax.
While opera has been the most widely used vehicle for this dramatic tale thanks to Puccini’s talents, choreographer Stanton Welch's "Madame Butterfly," which premiered in 1995 by the Australian Ballet, has been praised for the dynamic physicality that ballet brings to such a drama.
“I love the emotion of dance. Our bodies can be such remarkable storytellers,” Ballet West artistic director Adam Sklute said. “It can be engaging in a much more visceral way and, actually, being an operaphile myself, it connects me even more to the story and the opera.”
Sklute pointed out, for instance, that a soprano with the vocal heft to pull off Puccini’s arias is not likely to look like the fragile, 15-year-old girl that embodies the character of Cio-Cio San.
Ohtaki's nimble, small-boned frame may well encompass the youthful delicacy Sklute is aiming to portray. The artistic director hopes to "bring a new perspective" to the century-old story by casting Ohtaki, as well as principal artists Arolyn Williams and Beckanne Sisk, who will share the lead role in their respective casts.
“I have loved watching Sayaka become a theatrical creature,” Sklute said, reminiscing on her performance in the “mad scene” of the ballet “Giselle” that helped Ohtaki become a star. “During last year’s ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ I knew she’d be a fantastic Juliet and now I know she’ll make a fantastic Cio-Cio San. She’s an amazing dancer, and her being Japanese is a plus that will absolutely illuminate the role.”
Ohtaki said her past combined with her personal life has allowed her an emotional connection from the onset.
“It was easy for me to get into character because I can identify with some of the loss and heartbreak she is dealing with,” Ohtaki said, referring to her own heartbreak with the recent ending of her marriage. Many Ballet West patrons felt a bond to the couple after Ohtaki was proposed to onstage after a performance in the spring of 2015.
“I am so right there with her right now. I have always tried to keep my personal life totally separate from work, but right now, my personal life is actually helping me portray this role,” Ohtaki said.
She said dancing has been a cathartic experience, adding that going through difficult situations in real life is what makes “an emotional dancer.” She also acknowledged she’s learned new things about the country and culture of her childhood by taking on the role of Cio-Cio San.
“Many of the Japanese customs we’re portraying are old-fashioned. I grew up in modern-day Japan, of course. We didn’t really wear kimonos much or hide our teeth or hide our face with fans like we do in the ballet,” Ohtaki said.
But Ohtaki also observed there are some Japanese traditions that remain deep-rooted within her.
“My parents are older and sort of old-fashioned,” she said, describing a fairly rigid upbringing and culture that is male-centric — though, at home, her mom was “the boss of the house, even though it was presented to others as the opposite,” she said with a laugh.
“I sometimes still find myself doing little things like walking a few steps behind a man when we walk together. I’ll notice I’m doing it and tell myself to stop it. Now I have to let myself think that way for this role,” she said.
Sklute said one of the primary challenges presented by this ballet is the need to “move in and out of classical ballet vocabulary.”
“This ballet meshes the outward qualities of ballet with traditional Japanese movement,” said Sklute. “From postures to how one holds her hands to the size of her steps to the tilt of her head, many of these are in direct conflict with ballet movement.”
The challenge is one Ohtaki said she welcomes.
“I’ve loved this process and the way it has stretched me not only as a dancer but as an actor,” she said of the drama-heavy ballet. “I hope that I can put all my emotion into it and grab their hearts.”
When the company staged "Madame Butterfly" in 2009, every performance was sold out, according to a press release. This time around, Ballet West has scheduled eight performances of “Madame Butterfly,” and Ohtaki will dance the lead role on Nov. 5, 9 and 12 with Chase O’Connell as Pinkerton.
Content advisory: The ballet contains an implied sexual encounter and suicide, neither of which is graphically portrayed.
If you go …
What: Ballet West’s “Madame Butterfly”
When: Nov. 4-5 and 9-12, 7:30 p.m., with matinee performances Nov. 12 and 13, 2 p.m.
Where: Capitol Theatre, 50 W. 200 South, Salt Lake City
How much: $20-$87
Phone: 801-869-6900
Web: balletwest.org