Charlie Ahlgren Folkert is a senior at Henry J. Kaiser High School. She has been dancing since the age of four with Ballet Hawaii. She has placed as an overall division winner in multiple dance competitions, including Spotlight, Jump, and YAGP. Her favorite productions that she has danced in are Ballet Hawaii’s The Nutcracker, Peter Pan, and Sleeping Beauty. Along with attending Ballet Hawaii’s Summer Intensive programs over the years, she participated in the John Cranko Schule Summer Intensive in New York City last summer. She is currently an International Baccalaureate student, and is looking forward to YAGP 2025. On her spare time, Charlie enjoys baking, reading, and spending time with her friends.

Elyana Belatti is a 9th grader enrolled at Roosevelt High School. She has been dancing since the age of 4, and has been dancing with Ballet Hawaii for 7 years. Elyana has also danced with Honolulu Dance Studio for 3 years focusing on hip hop, lyrical, and contemporary dance. She has participated in summer intensives with Ballet Hawaii and Honolulu Dance Studio. Most recently, Elyana performed in “The Moment I Said It” at Spotlight Honolulu 2024 with Ballet Hawaii’s contemporary team that took first place in their division. In addition to dancing, Elyana enjoys catching up with friends, outrigger canoe paddling, and spending quality time with her family.

Faith Button is a current senior at Pearl City High School who has been dancing for 15 years. She trained with the Fort Wayne Ballet Academy in Indiana under Karen Gibbons-Brown and completed 3 summer intensives there. The summer of 2023 she studied under Katarina Svetlova at Oregon Ballet Theater’s summer intensive. This is her third year at Ballet Hawaii. She is currently returning from a major injury and is excited to be performing as part of Ensemble again! Outside dance Faith is involved in school leadership roles and enjoys reading.

Meg Huffman is a Senior at Myron B. Thompson Academy. She has been dancing with Ballet Hawaii since she was 4 years old. She has participated in many of Ballet Hawaii’s productions, such as Ballet Hawaii’s The Nutcracker, Alice in Wonderland, Urashima Taro, and By George. Her favorite roles include Clara from The Nutcracker, the Princess in Urashima Taro, and all of her parts in By George. Outside of dance, she enjoys playing the piano and baking.

Kiyomi ‘Taylor’ Hunter is in the eighth grade at Kaimuki Middle School. She started ballet at the age of three years old with Ballet Hawaii. Her family moved to the Island of Maui, where she continued her ballet studies at MAPA (Maui Academy of Performing Arts) for a year. Then, transferred to Alexander Academy of Performing Arts for a few years. In 2020, she moved back to Oahu and rejoined Ballet Hawaii. She has attended Ballet Hawaii’s Summer Intensive program in 2022-2024. Some of her favorite pieces performed included By George set by Maiqui Manosa and Chinese Umbrella Girl in Ballet Hawaii’s The Nutcracker. She is honored to be a part of Ballet Hawaii’s Performing Ensemble as she is experiencing so many different performance opportunities. The Performing Ensemble piece, ‘Moment I Said it’, choreographed by Regina Ahlgren was competed at the 2024 Spotlight Dance Cup. They took 1st place elite teen lyrical small group, diamond, Judge’s choice award, and category. Outside of dance is more dance. As she says, ”dance is life!”

Harley Izu is a Senior at Hawaii Technology Academy, where she is a member of the National Honor Society. Harley began her ballet training at the age of 3 and has been dancing with Ballet Hawaii since the summer of 2020. Her favorite pieces have been Rhapsody in Blue and as a Crown Flower in The Nutcracker. She attended Ballet Hawaii’s 2023 summer intensive and is looking forward to attending again this summer. In her free time, Harley enjoys drawing, painting and playing guitar.

Kerys is enrolled in Liberty University Online Academy. She has been dancing with Ballet Hawaii since 2013, and is honored to have participated in several BH Nutcracker and Summer Intensive performances. Her favorite roles have been the Chinese Umbrella Girl in Ballet Hawaii's The Nutcracker and a Spring soloist in Ballet Hawaii's version of the Urashima Tarō fairy tale. Kerys also participates in the Hawaii Youth Opera Chorus, and enjoys hobbies such as poetry writing and graphic design.

Maximus Latu is a junior and passionate dance certificate student at Mid-Pacific Institute's School of the Arts. His dance journey began at Ballet Hawaii at the age of 4, and since then, he has graced the stages of Ballet Hawaii's Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty. Maximus has further honed his skills through prestigious programs including Ballet Hawaii's Summer Intensive, Royal Danish Ballet Summer Intensive in Copenhagen, and Royal Ballet School Summer Intensive in London. Beyond dance, Maximus is a budding talent in digital design. In his free time, he enjoys the camaraderie of friends, whether it's exploring the mall or soaking up the sun at the beach, adding a vibrant dimension to his diverse interests.

Sherbie Lam is a Senior at ‘Iolani School. She has been dancing for 14 years and has been dancing with Ballet Hawaii for about 11 years. She has participated in a few of Ballet Hawaii’s productions, such as Ballet Hawaii’s The Nutcracker and Alice in Wonderland. However, she doesn’t have a favorite role she has played. Outside of dance, she enjoys photography and hanging out with her dogs.

Emmaleigh Martin is 15 years old and a sophomore at Radford High School. She began her passion for dance at the age of 2 under Ballet Virginia. When she was 6 years old, her family moved to Hawai’i, where she studied under Ballet Hawaii from 2015-2021. Additionally, she trained with California Dance Theatre and Pacific Festival Ballet from 2021-2024. Emmaleigh recently moved back to Hawai’i this summer, where she is extremely excited to continue dancing with Ballet Hawaii. Emmaleigh is very grateful to have had the opportunity to attend Summer Ballet Intensives, such as Ballet Hawaii’s Summer Intensives 2016-2020, Carolina Ballet in 2022, San Francisco Ballet in 2023, Pacific Northwest Ballet in 2023, Indiana University Ballet Theater in 2024, and the School of American Ballet in 2024. Some of Emmaleigh’s favorite roles include the Little Fishtail Girl, Party Girl, and Ballerina Doll in The Nutcracker and she is very honored to dance the role of Clara in Ballet Hawaii’s Nutcracker 2024. Emmaleigh is greatly appreciative of her Ballet Hawaii ohana and teachers and is looking forward to growing her passion for dance at Ballet Hawaii.

Sarah Montoni is a Senior at Hawaii Technology Academy. She started dancing at the age of 3 in New York and took a break a few years later after moving to Hawaii. She found her passion for dance again at the age of 9 when she joined Punahou Dance School. Over the years she also danced with the Royal Academy of Ballet, and Prisma Dance, where she was one of the choreographers and dancers in the student lead show Seasons- Change in Motion. She joined Ballet Hawaii in the summer of 2020. She also danced in three Nutcrackers with Hawaii Ballet Theater, performing in various roles. In her spare time, she likes to read, play violin and sail.

Janie Okamoto is a recent high school graduate and had been homeschooled her entire life. She began her dance training with Ballet Hawaii when she was five years old. Since then, she has participated in many of their Spring Showcases and has been a member of Ballet Hawaii’s Performing Ensemble for multiple seasons. One of her favorite pieces that she has danced has been the Kitri Act 3 variation from Don Quixote. Outside of dance, she often enjoys expressing herself with drawing traditional and digital art.

Lauren Rayburg is a freshman with Hawaii Technology Academy. She has been dancing since the age of 4 with various studios. One of her favorite pieces to perform was Gamzatti’s friends in Ballet Hawaii’s Spring Ensemble. She has loved going to summer intensives including The Dallas Conservatory, Dance Center of San Antonio, and Ballet Hawaii. Outside of dance Lauren loves baking, reading, and spending time with friends.

Gabriel Salonga is a junior at Mid-Pacific Institute. He has been dancing with Ballet Hawaii for 12 years, but he has been dancing for 14 years. This year, Gabriel attended the New York University’s Tisch Summer High School Program for Dance in New York. Gabriel also studies dance at Mid-Pacific. His favorite performances have been in Ballet Hawaii’s The Nutcracker and a variation from Le Corsaire. When he’s not dancing, Gabriel enjoys messing around with computers, gaming, and photography.

Gabby Sandbo is a 9th grader at Kamehameha Schools. She has been dancing with Ballet Hawaii since the age of 4. She has been in multiple productions of Ballet Hawaii’s The Nutcracker and attended many Summer Intensives at Ballet Hawaii. Some of her favorite roles she has done are excerpts of the Swan Lake corps de ballet and Big Butterfly in The Nutcracker 2023. Outside of dance, she enjoys reading and creating digital art.

Danny Button is a sophomore in high school at Hawaii Technology Academy. Danny has been dancing since 6, his first 8 years were at Fort Wayne Ballet. He has been dancing at Ballet Hawaii for 3 years. Some other programs that he has gone to are Carolina Ballet’s Summer Intensive and Fort Wayne Ballet’s Summer Intensive. His favorite role in any performance has been a Pi-rat in Ballet Hawaii’s Nutcracker. Danny's favorite things to do outside of ballet are to go mountain biking, surfing, or playing the cello.

Kyndal Canianes is a 8th grader attending Mid Pacific Institute. She is currently in Mid Pacific's Certificate of Dance Program. She has been dancing since the age of 6 and joined Ballet Hawaii at the age of 7 years old. She has been in numerous Nutcrackers with Ballet Hawaii. Some of her favorite dances has been dancing in The Secret Garden with Hawaii Opera Theater and dancing The Black Swan in Swan Lake with Na Maka Studio. Outside of ballet Kyndal enjoys reading, traveling, snowboarding, surfing, skateboarding, playing the piano and viola and creating various types of art.

Salome Heiderscheidt is in the 12th grade attending St. Michael’s School in Waialua. She began dancing with Ballet Hawai’i at 14 years old. She has performed in the past 3 Ballet Hawaii Summer Intensives as well as every Spring Showcase since she joined. Her favorite role was a swan from Ballet Hawaii’s Swan Lake. Outside of ballet, Salome enjoys playing piano and being with friends.

Summer Larsen is an 11th grade student enrolled at HTA (Hawaii Technology Academy). Summer has been dancing for about 6 years and with Ballet Hawaii for 3 years. Summer was introduced to Ballet with Impact Dance at age 8. Then with Northstate Ballet in Chico CA where she performed in Coppelia. Finally, after a break Summer joined Ballet Hawaii in 2022 and has loved ballet ever since. Summer performed two years in The Nutcracker, and in Urashima Taro. Summer also enjoyed two years in Ballet Hawaii Summer Intensive. Outside of Ballet, Summer enjoys playing tennis, painting, and traveling.

Andrea Santiago is currently an 8th grader at Moanalua Middle School. She began her dance journey at the age of 3 in Florida, and later moved to Ballet Dimension in Germany, where she performed in The Nutcracker. After her time in Germany, she continued her dance training with Ballet Yuma in Arizona, performing in The Nutcracker three times. This summer, she joined Ballet Hawaii and will be participating in their 2024 Nutcracker production. Some of her favorite performances include "Groove is in the Heart" by Laine Sakakura and "Beatles" by Kathleen Sinclair. Apart from dancing, Andrea enjoys baking, shopping, and spending time at the beach with her family and friends.

Sena Sin is an 8th grader at Punahou School. She began dancing at the age of 5 with the Royal Academy of Ballet and joined Ballet Hawaii in 2018 at the age of 7. Additionally, she has participated in the Mid-Pacific School of the Arts Dance Certificate Program for one year. Sena has been involved in several Ballet Hawaii productions, with one of her favorite roles being a jellyfish in “Urashima Taro”, choreographed by Christine Kaminski in 2023. Another dance that she particularly enjoyed was “Lift Me Up” choreographed by Regina Ahlgren for Ballet Hawaii's Spring Showcase 2024. Apart from dance, Sena loves swimming, spending time with friends, and listening to music.