We were lucky to catch up with Sara Horiuchi recently and have shared our conversation below.
Sara, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
Because I want to keep a piece of my mind in the future. I believe the people who had to keep trying hard, have tough times, busy times and hungry times, those people are able to find happiness in life, and learn maturity and kindness through their experiences. As I grow older, I would like to share my experiences and kindness as others have done for me. So what I focus on right now is taking advantage of all the opportunities I can, even when they are challenging.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan. I started to go to a small ballet studio when I was three years old because I liked to dance. When I was fifteen, I auditioned for a local community theatre for the first time. I had never done any jazz dance in my life, but I realized that I really enjoyed it and I wasn’t so bad at it! I stopped taking just ballet, and started taking all kinds of dance classes. I had planned on going to a music college in Japan, but my father encouraged me to take my chance to go study abroad. I was in my senior year in high school and had no English skills, but thanks to my optimistic mindset and determination, I was accepted to study at Western Wyoming Community College. There, I took many interesting classes such as Stage Management and Acting. I loved Wyoming and the people there but I decided the next step for me was New York City, because I wanted to dance more and take advantage of my time in America. I’m currently a student of Ballet Arts NYC. I love the abundance of opportunity that I have here. I can take as many ballet, tap, hip hop, and theatre classes as I want, and I have come across so many wonderful opportunities. After I was booked for “A Christmas Carol: The Musical” in 2023, I got many opportunities to perform at The Players Theatre, including “Cinderella” and “A Man Among Ye”. Additionally, Spit & Vigor productions gave me the opportunity to perform at The Players Social Club to perform“Brutes”. It was the first time I have ever got to say lines in English for a professional play in the US. I’ve also been lucky to stage manage the Ballet Arts Showcases this last year, and learn more about the other moving parts in theatre. After four years of living my life in America, I truly discovered how much I love creating stories for the stage.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I think it’s a nice skill to be able to network easily. When I came to New York City, I made so many friends through my school and most of my friends know my other friends. So I feel like I have built a large family and it makes me feel less lonely. People think networking can be scary, but I don’t consider it to be business, I consider it to he making friends.
Since I have interests in so many things, it helped me to diversify my conversations. When I do crochet, people ask me what am I making. When I watch a rock band’s video, friends invite me to a concert. It has been important to me not only in my career as a theatre artist, but as a human being making a new start in this big city.
I’m also glad that I kept continued to practice ballet even though I was very busy with school and work. Now, the ballet studio is my safe space. I feel at home when I’m taking ballet class. So its important to always learn, and have rituals for yourself.
I believe it’s important to have weaknesses. The world is balanced by cooperation, especially so in an art form like theatre where everyone plays a part that essential to making a show happen. I have learned so much from each cast and crew I worked with because they used their strengths to support me where I was weak. So try to focus on doing what you can and be aware of what you can’t do, because it will present an opportunity to learn something new.
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
My partner. After I met him, I believe my English skills got so much better and I learned a lot about American culture. He also does musical theatre, and I learned more of the basics about it and made more friends in the theatre world. One of my biggest challenges was playing “The Brutes” at Spit & Vigor productions because I had lines with VERY difficult words. I couldn’t have done it without his support, for sure. Additionally, he keeps reminding me how hard I work. Sometimes I lose my motivation and confidence, but because he doesn’t give up on encouraging me, I can work harder.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: sarita___3104
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-horiuchi-293abb25a?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@sarita___3104?si=-iNcDFXAVSA1Wuga
Image Credits
Miyu Sakurai, Leonardo Patrizi
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
