Cirque du Soleil's KÀ is celebrating 20 years at the MGM Grand this year. It's one of the longest-running Cirque shows, and Noriko Takahashi has been there from day one.
She's a baton twirling prodigy who moved here from Japan two decades ago for the role and has since made Las Vegas her home.
"For me, it's very special to be in the show as a baton twirler," Takahashi said.
Anjali Patel spoke to her about what it's been like to be part of such a long-running show.
Night after night, she executes a key role in the show as Chief Archer's Daughter.
"Personally, what is it that you love about this show, and you think makes it interesting?" I asked Takahashi.
"KÀ has a story," she replied.
The role in that story requires her to fuse the art of acting with baton twirling. The latter is a bit more comfortable for her — after all, she's been twirling batons since she was a child.
"I don't say 'easy,' but more confident to do that. But being actress is very, very hard because I'm shy, very shy," she said, laughing.
Her baton twirling journey began in Japan when she was a child. She said her grandmother saw someone doing it and thought she'd like it. So, she said her mother took her to a trial class.
Takahashi describes herself as very shy, but nevertheless, she tried her hand at baton twirling and ended up sticking with it. As humble as she is nimble, she was quickly deemed a baton-twirling prodigy, winning championships at a young age.
She said she never imagined she'd grow up to do this for a living, though, or that the skill would bring her to Las Vegas — and keep her here.
She's made the valley her home since moving here for KÀ, even getting involved in the local AAPI community, and helping with an annual event celebrating her homeland — the Aki Matsuri Japanese Festival.
It happens every year around October, and Takahashi has been a member of the festival's committee team since the very beginning. She's been primarily responsible for managing the Kids' Corner, according to festival organizers.
This year's festival will be held on Saturday, Oct. 11 at Water Street Plaza in Henderson.
She tells me she's found a place here, and a family in her cast and crew.
KÀ has embraced her talent as a baton twirler while testing her in new ways, stepping into the role of actress and performer. She hopes her part in the show gets the audience thinking, too, challenging people to see baton twirling for the graceful and powerful art form it truly is.
"Many people think baton twirling is part of marching band. It's like cheerleader, right? But there's another side," she said.
If you'd like to see Noriko Takahashi in action, KÀ recently expanded its schedule to include earlier weekend performances at 4:30 and 7:30 on Saturdays and Sundays, with Monday through Wednesday shows continuing nightly at 7:00 and 9:30.
