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Linh and Onizuka Shine in Ballet San Jose’s ‘Nutcracker’

By Gerrye Wong | Special to AsianWeek

Audiences of Ballet San Jose’s production of The Nutcracker are enthralled with the dancing of principal dancers Le Mai Linh and Rika Onizuka, in the production, which runs through Dec. 23.

In front of sell-out audiences, Linh — who goes by Elton — plays the major role of the Czar, with Onizuka soloing as Maria. Their pairing in the Nutcracker’s “Spanish Chocolate” scene also won them much favor from the local audiences at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts earlier this year. That show had upwards of 30,000 attendees this year.

Linh was living in Hanoi and entered a theater arts school at the age of seven. He continued at this school through high school. After graduation, he studied at the Vietnam School of Dance and performed with the Hong Kong Ballet.

Le Mai Linh.

Linh, now a full company member, first joined the San Jose company as an apprentice for the 1993-94 season. Linh met director Nahat when dancing with the Hong Kong Ballet. When Linh entered the Ballet International Competition in Jackson, Miss., he once again met the San Jose director and was offered his chance to join the company. He spent the first six years working in Cleveland before settling in San Jose, when the two-city collaboration was dissolved.

When dancing for Ballet San Jose, he has performed the role of Prince Alexi in The Nutcracker, and also danced in Carmen, Red Shoes, Eclipses, Quicksilver and Romeo and Juliet.

Looking back on over 13 years of professional dancing, he says that ballet is a very fulfilling career, if not as lucrative as other professions.

“When people dance,” he says, “they do it as their lifelong desire of the love for performing. On the downside, this cannot be a long career because so much depends on the condition of the body and there are many demands on the body.”

Rika Onizuka, on the other hand, is a native of the Bay Area. She got her training locally with instructors Richard Gibson and Zory Karah, studied at the San Francisco Ballet School and was a scholarship student at the Joffrey Ballet School and the David Howard Dance Center.

As a founding member of Smuin Ballet San Francisco, Onizuka danced many of her favorite roles such as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Miranda in The Tempest there. “The Unchained Melody” pas de deux was created for her by Michael Smuin while she worked in that company. Prior to that she danced for the Ohio Ballet, Joffrey II and with the San Francisco Opera, where she performed works by choreographers such as Alonzo King, Donald Byrd and Laura Dean.

Onizuka recalls that when she was about 7 or 8, she was taking piano, ice skating and dance lessons all at the same time, but then dedicated her life to ballet. Although Onizuka plans to continue dancing for many more years, she recognizes the danger of constant injury, although until now she has been lucky.

“Tendonitis is very common among the ballerinas,” she acknowledges.

Both Linh and Onizuka love to teach dance and do so along with performing, despite this season being the biggest ever in terms of their performances.

Tickets are still available to see this fine duet of dancers. For information contact the Ballet San Jose box office at 408-288-2800 or Ticketmaster at 408-998-TIXS. Reservations are also available online at www.balletsanjosesiliconvalley.org.