Faculty Spotlight: Kaori Ogasawara

As we continue to celebrate BBT's 40th Anniversary, we are delighted to share thoughts and memories from the generations of BBT faculty members, current and past.

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I moved from Memphis, Tennessee, in 2013. We came to the Bay Area, and I interviewed with a couple of ballet studios, and BBT offered me to sub. Actually, I think I subbed for a while for Robert Dekkers, who was out ill. I subbed the upper levels, and fortunately, the students really liked my class, and I stayed subbing for two years. I subbed 3–4 times a month, and then I began teaching adult classes twice a week. And then that turned into variations for the Youth Division. And over one summer, I got the call from Susan Weber, who was Artistic Director, and she wanted me to set and rehearse Sally’s “Nutcracker.” And that was how I got involved in the whole thing and began to spend many hours at BBT.

The students were always very positive with me. Everyone on the staff was so welcoming to me and supportive and helpful. So I never felt like a stranger.

I have been a sub and a teacher, and I did the 10-week-long performance workshop. I was the ballet mistress, so whenever a choreographer comes and sets a piece, I learn it and clean and prepare it for performance.

And now I’m Rehearsal Director, so whenever performances come back for BBT, I will be there all day long, which is actually my favorite thing in the world because I am not a choreographer. I like to make a piece, but I do not consider myself a choreographer. I consider myself a ballet mistress because I learn very quickly. That is one thing, I was a very quick student, and I can understand what the choreographer wants. Even when I was dancing, I always wanted to be a ballet mistress. So Rehearsal Director is my dream job. I learn it and make sure the dancers learn the choreography perfectly and are clean technically. I can’t wait to be back in performances.

While I am in the studio, I want the dancer to have fun. Dancers have various reasons to take class. But the main thing is that everyone loves to dance. This, I believe. And, I think that everyone wants to be better. So while I want the class to be fun and enjoyable, I really want them to learn five things each class. If you learn five things each time, then you will get better. I want them to have fun, but I want them to feel stronger and feel that they learned something.

Every year, I’m amazed because the performance is made possible by the parents volunteering to load in and run the performance. I had never had that experience because other places always hire people. That always amazed me. How much the parents learn and how professionally they run the performances.

The other thing too is how much access the dancers have to support. Dancers have access to Ms. Liz all the time if they have questions. And we do conferences each year, but on top of that, we always say if you need to talk more, we are available, and we mean it. Because my daughter is in the school, as a parent, it is nice to have access to connect with her. I love that part. This is only the second school that I’ve taught at. I teach everywhere for the adult classes, but I’ve only taught kids at BBT and in Memphis.

Ms. Sally, who is really famous, has done amazing work in the past, and as we keep moving on, I think it is wonderful to have the legacy. I’m very hopeful that we can keep doing this.

And the outside rehearsals have been amazing for the kids. They are so much happier and so much more engaged. It is amazing how much of a difference that has made in the students. I’m really glad we can offer that, and I am so grateful that we are a part of that.

I was teaching class, actually in the middle of class, and Susan pulled me out to the hallway and told me that Ali was coming back to the organization. That was a very exciting and silly moment!

I started leading the Nutcracker rehearsals. That week is a lot of work, it is hard and stressful, but the excitement each year is incredible. It is my biggest week of the year. After that last performance, the breathing, the exhale of being done–I can’t really describe it, but it really means so much. It is one of the biggest things, and I love it.

Being in the studio and just having BBT be a part of life, those everyday moments, now we have lost that because of COVID, I realized how special that was. BBT has been a huge part of my life. I know everyone and am friends with everyone. I don’t know how many other places would be like that. But here, I have a place to be. I get very emotional. But I feel very strongly that I always had someone to support me at BBT.

I think Robert Dekkers is the best for the community. He has a lot of ideas for everyone to feel good about themselves. Nobody is perfect, but he is always saying, “What about this? What about this?” Because of all of the things which are happening, I hope that the students and adult students feel good in coming to BBT to express themselves. I am very excited for how the school will keep being a place where every body can dance but also a school that is technically more. I think the community will get stronger because of the pandemic because BBT listens to them and sees what needs to be done.

It’s impossible for every single person to be happy. But, at the same time, I think we are moving forward really nicely. The organization is getting stronger. I worry about the studio, though! It’s a huge rent payment. Somebody has to give us a million dollars! But I just can’t wait to be back.

I just taught a BBT Adult Open Division class, and they are amazing! The BBT adults are really wow! And I get to talk more now on Zoom than I usually do in the studio. So it will be amazing to be in the studio because now I know them! We’ve talked, and I’ve seen their houses. I feel the community getting more support from BBT. We appreciate the dancers so much. And the connection with the dancers is stronger.