Meet Mari, an OBC dancer who is also a signed model with CITY Model Management and a well-recognized YouTube personality! She has previously danced with OBC, and we are delighted that she is rejoining us this year for a wonderful season! Enjoy her interview!
What’s your hometown?
Hillsborough, California
When did you start dancing?
I started dancing straight out of the womb! My mother was a prima with the Tokyo City Ballet for years, so naturally my second home was the ballet studio. The first time I stepped out on stage was when I was 3, performing as a Bon-Bon in the The Nutcracker — we had 16 shows in one season and even tours to Nevada!
What’s been your favorite role?
Giselle is both my favorite ballet and my favorite role I have performed. I wish to continue exploring contemporary works and collaborating with up-and-coming choreographers in the future.
How do you get ready for a performance?
Visualizing, hydrating and sewing my pointe shoe ribbons so they don’t come out while I’m on stage!
What’re some items in your ballet bag?
Tiger Balm, a tennis ball to massage out muscles, North Face booties and a sewing kit.
What do you do when you’re not dancing?
I rock climb at least once a week–both indoors and outdoors (weather permitting)–I cannot express how much I love to do it!
What’re your favorite foods?
Feed me Thai curry and I’m a happy girl!
What’re your favorite movies and TV shows?
My favorite movies are Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Garden State. My favorite TV shows are The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and The Office.
Something that people usually don’t know about me…
I’m a YouTuber! I just started editing, writing and producing video in April of this year but I’m still blown away and absolutely thankful for how popular the show is! My weekly YouTube show gets 500,000+ hits per week every week and the shared channel is the 3rd most subscibed channel on YouTube with over 3 million subscribers.
What do you love about Oakland?
What I love most about the Bay Area is the diversity in culture, the wealth of technology, the appreciation for the arts …and the weather. Oh, the wonderful weather! And the food! And how we are just a few hours drive to the ocean, the mountains, the forrest and the snow. Whether you’re in Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose or in-between, you can bet there are a plethora of things to do and places to explore. I absolutely adore the Bay Area.
