Mia Asamoto is a Junior at Mililani High School. At the age of five, she began dancing at Pas De Deux Hawaii where she started with ballet, but also danced jazz, lyrical and ballroom. In 2017, she joined the ballet competition team under the direction of Annri Opitz-Kostick where she competed in various group and solo numbers. In summer of 2023, she joined Ballet Hawaii and since then participated in various Nutcracker productions as well as Ballet Hawaii’s Summer Intensive. Some of her favorite pieces she has performed are Hebe’s variation from Awakening of Flora and “Remembering” by Anna Quijano. Some of her hobbies other than dance are reading and hanging out 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.

Emma Belatti is a 2023 graduate from McKinley High School and has been dancing with Ballet Hawaii for 14 years. She has participated in Ballet Hawaii’s The Nutcracker, Ballet Chicago’s 2022 Summer Intensive, and numerous Ballet Hawaii productions, including its inaugural Performance Ensemble. Emma also shows her love of dance by competing in hip hop competitions with the GWK McKinley Dance Team, most recently competing in the 2023 Honozulu Dance Competition where they placed third in the Varsity division. In her free time, Emma enjoys surfing, skateboarding, and assembling computer keyboards.

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.

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!”

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.

Grayson Ito will be entering the 10th grade at Mid-Pacific Institute. He has performed on stage since 9 years of age, but only began dancing after enrolling in Mid-Pacific's Certificate Dance Program in the 7th grade. Grayson has been a student at Ballet Hawaii for 2 years. He has appeared in Ballet Hawaii’s The Nutcracker and seasonal showcases and Mid-Pacific Institute's Spring and Fall performances.

Aria Kaneshige found her love of dance when she enrolled in her first class at Ballet Hawaii at the age of 7. Aria has since danced in their Performing Ensemble, Summer Intensives, and annual productions of The Nutcracker. Her favorite role was Clara in Ballet Hawaii’s Nutcracker 2022 production and sharing the stage with all the amazing Guest Artists, Principal Dancers and Ballet Hawaii dancers who made it so memorable and special. Outside of dance, Aria enjoys Photography, going to the movies, and spending time with family and friends. She also enjoys teaching her Ballet Hawaii classes and helping her young dancers find joy in dancing.

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.

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.

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.

Mia Ng is a senior at James Campbell High School. She has been dancing since the age of 4 at Ballet Hawaii. Her favorite piece to dance is "Swans" from Ballet Hawaii's 2022 Summer Intensive. Mia has participated in Ballet Hawaii's Summer Intensive and Nutcracker productions. Outside of ballet, she likes to play the piano and hang out with her friends.

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.

Olivia Butterfly Rodriguez is a recent graduate from Roosevelt High School. In the following school year, Olivia Butterfly will be attending the Alvin Ailey School’s professional division Independent Study dancing ballet and modern. Olivia Butterfly enjoys focusing on improving her dancing in class and performing. She has been a part of the Ballet Hawaii family since 2019, and has performed in multiple Nutcrackers and other performances since then. Her favorite role was the Dance of the Little Swans from Swan Lake from Ballet Hawaii’s Spring Performance 2024. Out of the summer intensives that she has attended, Olivia Butterfly’s most memorable summer intensive was the Bolshoi Ballet Academy Summer Intensive in New York in 2023.

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.

Garry Umeda began studying ballet at age 9 at Hawaii State Ballet. He then switched to Ballet Hawaii West since it was closer to home. He graduated from Mid Pacific Institute's MPSA Dance program and IB program in 2025. He will be attending the University of Hawaii West Oahu this fall, majoring in Pre-Med. He loves to dance and will continue dancing with Ballet Hawaii.

Misha Duke is a 6th grader at Hawaii Technology Academy. She has been dancing ballet since the age of 3 and competing at YAGP and local competitions for the last 3 years with classical ballet variations, jazz, contemporary and even an acro piece. This year she is performing 2 classical variations (Kitri Act III and Pas de Trois from Swan Lake) and one neoclassical variation. She just received 3rd place for her neoclassical variation at the California Dance Classics in Los Angeles. Misha was previously dancing with Kroc Dance Academy where she was in every spring and winter show and has had multiple feature roles, with her favorite being Clara in Clara’s Dream in 2023. Misha also has two additional ballet coaches for extra practice at home, Courtney Combs and Misha’s mom. Misha has attended summer intensives with Joffrey Ballet, International Ballet School, Denver Ballet Theater, Kailua Dance Theater, and The Rock School of Dance in Philadelphia where she will be returning this summer. Misha is so excited to be able to dance with Ballet Hawaii’s Performance Ensemble.

Summer Heisler is an 8th Grader attending Moanalua Intermediate. She began dancing ballet at 3-yrs old with Augusta Ballet(GA) in 2014-2015. She danced with Ballet Hawaii (Honolulu) from 2016-2018. Summer was featured as a bumble bee in the 2017 Nutcracker and conducted a number of performances including the “Mexican Hat Dance”. Previous Ballet Schools where Summer has trained: Indianapolis Ballet School 2018-2019; Oklahoma City (OKC) Ballet School 2019-2021; Augusta Ballet with Ron Jones 2021-2023; Ballet Hawaii (BH) 2023-Current. Summer has had an ABT Eval and participated in several Summer Intensives with BH and OKC Ballet Schools. Her favorite performance was being featured as a Hawaiian Warrior Girl in BH’s Nutcracker 2024. Alongside dancing, Summer enjoys playing a variety of musical instruments, reading, and studying Chinese literature. She plans to attend Law School after high-school.

Teagan Jamrog is in 8th grade at Le Jardin Academy in Kailua, HI. In 2016, she began her ballet career as a Gingersnap in the Palos Verdes Performing Arts Center's Nutcracker. After moving from California to Oahu, she debuted as a Bumblebee in Ballet Hawaii's 2018 Nutcracker. She has since enjoyed other roles of Snow Angel, Soldier, Clown Fish, and most recently, Monarch Butterfly and her favorite, Chinese Umbrella Girl. Teagan participated in her first Summer Intensive with Ballet Hawaii in 2024 as well Summer Intensives with Kailua Dance Academy for the past two years - earning solo highlights in KDA's Vivaldi Four Seasons showcase at the Paliku Theater. Her most recent accomplishment is joining Ballet Hawaii's Performing Ensemble and performing at the Four Seasons Resort Oahu this past holiday season. Outside of dance, Teagan enjoys visual arts and time outdoors with friends and family. She loves animals, horseback riding, the beach, water polo, skiing and traveling.