Photo 1 — Rachel Silva

JULY 2, 2014

All is still at Joffrey Ballet School in New York City. The hallway, usually bustling with chattering students, is empty as students are away on spring break. Save for one. Satomi Itohara, 23, grips the stairs rail and points a toe into a plié, placing the other firmly on the newly mopped vinyl floor that shines against the early morning sunlight. “I love practicing alone,” she says. “It’s just me and the infinite possibility of an empty dance floor.”

A Japanese immigrant who came to New York City in 2007, Itohara was told at an early age that her body type didn't fit the bill: her height, forty-five inches, was just a fingernail's width below the desired height for a professional dancer. But that has not stopped her. Her grit and tenacity would lead her to a life of dance that is rewarding, if not easy.

When she was five years old, Satomi Itohara's mother took her to a dance studio in her hometown in Yamaguchi City, Japan, to see her sister perform. "I watched the dancers and mimicked their movements," she said. One of the dancers quit unexpectedly and she was asked to fill in. "That was my first dance class and my first performance."

"I got all A's, I was nominated for class president every year, and I was good at sports, math and music," she said. "But not dance. That's why I pursued it."

Itohara became immersed in the dance scene of New York City, where she met high-profile dancers who introduced her to workshops and performance opportunities.

Today, Itohara lives in Manhattan, where she immigrated at 18 years old to pursue dance. She wakes each morning before dawn to commute to Long Island, where she teaches beginner dancers in small leotards. After three classes, she returns to the city to rehearse the lead role in Eva Dean Dance's Peter Pan in the Park in Brooklyn. She will then attend a four-hour rehearsal at the Nomad Contemporary Ballet Company.

When asked about her life beyond dance, Itohara laughs. "There is no life beyond dance." At night, she researches further dance opportunities.

Itohara was formerly trained in classical ballet, which she calls her "first love." However, she prefers contemporary ballet, which caters better to her body type and movement style.

For Itohara, dance is visual storytelling without words. Sure, she says, a dancer must master many logistical components — choreography, form, timing —but ultimately, when she is in the spotlight before hundreds of eyes, it's her ability to connect with the audience that really makes it art.

Itohara is a member of the Church of Latter Day Saints, which she attends with sister missionaries each Sunday in Harlem.

For Itohara, dance is visual storytelling without words. Sure, she said, choreography and form require firm vigilance, but when in the spotlight before a hundred pairs of eyes, her ability to connect with the audience is what makes it art.

Itohara blends the color on her ballet shoes for consistency between all the dancers.

"I love practicing alone, before anyone else has awoken, when it's just me and the possibility of an empty dance floor," she said. "I can't imagine life without movement."