Summer Intensive
Ballet Hawaii’s Summer Intensive
July 5 - August 1, 2026
Join Ballet Hawaii for FOUR amazing weeks of intense ballet training and performance experience beginning July 5 – August 1, 2026. Ballet Hawaii’s annual Summer Intensive offers three levels of training – Advanced, Intermediate, and Young Dancers – and concludes in a theater performance with internationally-renowned guest dancers.
Summer Intensive Program
This program is for Intermediate and Advanced levels. Classes meet Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM with rehearsals until 6:30 PM. Rehearsals are held on Saturdays between 11:00 AM and 6:00 PM. Classes are offered in classical ballet technique and pointe with additional classes in contemporary, partnering, character, hula, dance conditioning, and more. The final week of the program includes technical and dress rehearsals in the theater for the culminating summer intensive performance. Students experience what it is like to perform alongside professional dancers from internationally renowned dance companies in a professional-quality production. Placement in the Intermediate and Advanced levels is by audition only.
Young Dancers Summer Program
This program is designed for students ages 7-10 years who are at the pre-pointe level and have been consistently training in ballet technique classes for a minimum of 2+ times per week. Classes meet Monday through Friday from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM with rehearsals until 6:30 PM most evenings. Classes are offered in ballet technique with additional classes in character, hula, modern, dance conditioning, and more. The final week of the program includes technical and dress rehearsals in the theater for the culminating summer intensive performance. Students experience what it is like to perform alongside professional dancers from internationally renowned dance companies in a professional-quality production.
Performance Opportunity
All levels may have the opportunity to participate in a performance at the completion of summer training (venue to be announced). Ballet Hawaii’s Summer Intensive draws students from throughout the state, across the mainland, and internationally. The Ballet Hawaii studios are located at 735 Iwilei Road on the 2nd floor in the former Pomaika’i Ballrooms.
- Orientation for the Summer Intensive will be held on Sunday, July 5th. A basic schedule for the first two weeks will be given on this day.
- Rehearsal schedules will be given after the first day of classes.
- If you are traveling, please schedule your departure AFTER August 1st if you wish to participate in the culminating performance.
Housing
Student housing arrangements are the responsibility of the student and their parents/guardians
APPLICATIONS
- All students must complete our online application form and submit a non-refundable application fee of $50.
- Application and required attachments (headshot, photo, and videos) are due by February 15, 2026 to avoid incurring additional tuition fees.
AUDITIONS
- For those who are not currently Ballet Hawaii students, please submit a headshot and a photo in 1st arabesque, along with a link to a video audition with your application. The video should be no longer than 10 minutes of basic barre and center work. Please include:
- Barre (side view, one side of each exercise):
- Plies in 5th position only
- Tendus in all directions from 5th
- Adagio
- Grande battements
- Barre (side view, one side of each exercise):
- Center:
- Adagio
- Pirouettes en dedans and en dehors
- Petite allegro
- Grand allegro
- Center:
- Female dancers who are already training en pointe should wear pointe shoes for the center combinations. Students may include a variation if applicable. (Current Ballet Hawaii students do not need to audition. No video is necessary)
- Visiting dancers who wish to audition in-person for the Summer Intensive may arrange an audition time with our School Administrative Coordinator, Raven Matsushita-Garcia. Please email Raven@ballethawaii.org to schedule. Live audition fees apply.
Tuition (4-week program)
2026 Summer Intensive Tuition
- Current Ballet Hawaii students must be enrolled and attending classes during the Summer Session to qualify for Summer
Intensive. - Visiting students must be actively dancing to qualify for Summer Intensive. A letter of confirmation is needed from their current ballet teacher.
- Upon acceptance, a non-refundable deposit of $500.00 is required to hold your place ($300 for the half-day Young Dancers program).
- The final non-refundable tuition payment is due on May 1, 2026.
- Deposit and tuition may be paid online once you have been accepted through our secure system.
- An additional Production Fee will be charged according to your role if cast in the Summer Intensive production.
| Tuition for 4-Weeks | Commit by Feb 15, 2026 | Commit by Mar 15, 2026 | Commit after Mar 15, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-day (Currently Enrolled Ballet Hawaii Students) | $3,120 | $3,330 | $3,540 |
| Full-day (Non Ballet Hawaii Students) | $3,330 | $3,540 | $3,745 |
| Half-day (Currently Enrolled Ballet Hawaii Students) | $1,665 | $1,875 | $2,080 |
| Half-day (Non Ballet Hawaii Students) | $1,875 | $2,080 | $2,290 |
2026 Guest Faculty & Répétiteurs
Lucien Postlewaite
Pacific Northwest Ballet
Lucien Postlewaite (he/him) is from Santa Cruz, California. He trained on scholarship at the School of American Ballet and Pacific Northwest Ballet School. While a Professional Division student at PNB School, he received a Level II Award for ballet in the National Foundation for the Advancement in the Arts’ 2003 Arts Recognition and Talent Search. Mr. Postlewaite joined Pacific Northwest Ballet as an apprentice in 2003, was promoted to corps de ballet in 2004, soloist in 2007, and principal in 2008. He was a 2008 recipient of a Princess Grace Award. In 2012, Mr. Postlewaite joined Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, and in 2017, he re-joined PNB as a principal dancer.
While at Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, Mr. Postlewaite performed leading roles in Forsythe’s New Sleep; Kylian’s Bella Figura and Gods and Dogs; and Maillot’s Altro Canto, La Belle, Cendrillon, Faust, LAC, Scheherazade, and Vers un Pays Sage. He originated leading roles in Pontus Lidberg’s Summer’s Winter Shadow and Maillot’s Casse-Noisette Compagnie, Choré, and Entrelacs.
Mr. Postlewaite has performed as a guest artist with New York City Ballet in the seventy-fifth anniversary gala for the School of American Ballet. He is featured in the film Casse-Noisette Compagnie by Jean-Christophe Maillot. In 2019, Mr. Postlewaite was invited by the Fire Island Dance Festival to organize a commission for its annual gala (Garrett Smith’s Continuum). In addition to performing at galas worldwide, Mr. Postlewaite has performed Petipa’s Paquita and Wevers’ A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Reiko Yamamoto Ballet Company in Japan, and Balanchine’s Tarantella with Los Angeles Ballet. He is an original member of Olivier Wevers’ Whim W’Him.
Courtney Schenberger
Carolina Ballet
Ms. Schenberger began her formal training at age 8, at The Ayako School of Ballet in Okinawa, Japan. At age 10, she continued her
training at Ballet Hawaii. While attending she competed at Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) San Francisco and won 3rd place bronze in the Junior Women Classical category. She also competed at the World Ballet Competition where she achieved the 3rd highest score in the Pre-Professional category as well as receiving the Jury’s Award. At age 15, she attended the Washington School of Ballet’s professional training program and then the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA). Ms. Schenberger has also attended summer programs at The Washington School of Ballet, Ballet West, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and Boston Ballet. Ms. Schenberger’s featured roles with Carolina Ballet include Lead Couple in George Balanchine’s Valse Fantasie, Cinderella
in Robert Weiss’ Cinderella, and August Bournonville’s Flower Festival.
Wyatt McConville-McCoy
Sacramento Ballet
Born in Portland, OR, Wyatt McConville-McCoy began his ballet training at Oregon Ballet Theatre. In 2017, he joined Boston Ballet II, under the tutelage of Peter Stark, where he performed Harlequinade in Boston Ballet’s At Home Series and alongside the main company in Jerome Robbin’s West Side Story. Two years later he joined Atlanta Ballet II where he had the privilege of performing in ballets such as La Bayadere and in featured roles of The Nutcracker while on tour to the Kennedy Center. Wyatt joined Sacramento Ballet in 2021, where he has graced the stage in roles such Gnome in The Nutcracker, the Men’s Trio in Val Caniparoli’s Tutto Eccetto il Lavandino, and the featured pas de deux in Isaac Bates-Vineza’s Rumor as well as in Jennifer Archibald’s Soar.
Isabella Velasquez
Sacramento Ballet
Isabella Velasquez began her training in Orange County, California, at the Maple Conservatory of Dance. At 17, she joined The Washington Ballet in Washington, D.C., as a trainee, and later continued her studies in the graduate program at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre for two years.
Isabella joined Sacramento Ballet in 2014 and has since performed numerous leading roles, including Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Cinderella in Paul Vasterling’s Cinderella, Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Mina in Michael Pink’s Dracula, Ophelia in Stephen Mills’ Hamlet, and principal roles in George Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante, Donizetti Variations, Tarantella, and Apollo. She has also been featured in neoclassical and contemporary works by renowned choreographers including Alejandro Cerrudo, Ma Cong, Septime Webre, Adam Hougland, Ron Cunningham, Amy Seiwert, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Val Caniparoli, Twyla Tharp, Ihsan Rustem, and Amy Hall Garner.
Outside of Sacramento, Isabella has performed with the National Choreographers Initiative in Irvine, Amy Seiwert’s Imagery in San Francisco, and has guested multiple times with Nevada Dance Company. She has also danced and choreographed for Capital Dance Project and Ballet Project OC. In 2024, Isabella was selected for an artist residency at Moulin/Belle in Mareuil, France, where she focused on choreography and collaborative creation in an international setting.
Outside of the studio, Isabella enjoys exploring Midtown Sacramento with her two beloved wiener dogs, Leonardo and Luigi.
Aya Duong
Director of Dance, Sacred Hearts Academy
David Weaver
Ballet Hawaii Faculty
David Weaver began his ballet training at The School of American Ballet in 1985, where he studied until 1991. David apprenticed with American Ballet Theatre and Houston Ballet before becoming a principal dancer with Midwest Regional Ballet and Ballet Wichita, and a soloist with Ballet West.
He has also performed with the companies of Doug Varone and David Parsons and appeared as a guest artist with numerous companies across the United States and abroad. His career has taken him around the world, including the Broadway National Tours of A Chorus Line and Jesus Christ Superstar, as well as productions throughout Europe, Asia, and the U.S.
Among his favorite roles are Apollo in George Balanchine’s Apollo and Phlegmatic in The Four Temperaments. He has danced works by Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Twyla Tharp, and many others. Most recently, David directed and co-choreographed Priscilla Queen of the Desert at Manoa Valley Theatre.
Matthew Ohta-Heber
Ballet Hawaii Faculty
Jenny Riley-Doyle
Ballet Hawaii Faculty
Jenny Riley-Doyle is an accomplished ballet, yoga, pilates and German language teacher who has guided over 9000 students across Germany, California, and Hawaii for almost three decades. Her early training was rooted in the Vaganova method at the Theater Nordhausen in former East Germany, where she performed in professional ballet productions, including Coppélia, Scheherazade and Esmeralda choreographed by Monika Honti. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in Germany before moving to California where she additionally got certified as a Ballet Master by Dance Masters of America, Inc. She started fully focusing on teaching and serving as the Artistic Director at the Travis Air Force Base Youth Center in California. In 2010, Ms. Jenny founded and directed the award-winning Grace Studio in Kaiserslautern, Germany. The school grew to 500 students and won the Stars and Stripes Readers’ Award for “Best Dance Studio” in the area. Her students’ successes include five placements at the prestigious Akademie des Tanzes in Mannheim. She holds certifications in Vaganova-based coaching from Runqiao Du, Vinyasa Yoga, and Pilates. Since relocating to Hawaii in 2018, Ms. Jenny has directed ballet programs at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam and Na Maka O Pu’uwai Aloha and has been a dedicated faculty member of Ballet Hawaii since 2019. She is grateful to continue sharing her expertise while collaborating with esteemed schools across the island, including Queen Emma Ballet, Pas de Deux, Kailua Dance Academy and Page Academy of Dance.
Her biggest reward is being part of her student’s growth, witnessing the magic of ballet not only transform them into magnificent dancers but also brilliant human beings.
Kumu Kaliko
Claudia Kalikolehuaiukaomānoa Pizzino
Elisha Roman
Ballet Hawaii Faculty
Elisha began dancing at the age of 3. She joined ‘Iwalani School of Dance at the age of five where she trained in hula, Tahitian, and Māori styles of dance. During this time, she danced for four years and performed for many different events around the island. When she was 13, she joined Hula Halau ‘O Kamuela to broaden her hula technique and learn a more traditional standard of hula. In college, Elisha joined the hula club and performed for two semesters under Kumu Lilinoe Lindsey. She also landed her first professional hula job in college with Malu Productions. She was able to perform for the Diamond Head Luau as well as in the terminals at the Pride of America Cruise Ship for the Norwegian Cruise Line in Waikiki. Now, she enjoys sharing her love of hula with others through teaching.
Regina Ahlgren
Ballet Hawaii Faculty
Regina Ahlgren is a native New Yorker. Her dance training includes Phil Black, Feld Ballet, David Howard, and the Joffrey Ballet. Her career began at 18 with a national tour of Sugar Babies starring Pinky Lee. Ms. Ahlgren continued to tour first nationals and Broadway productions of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoats, Ragtime, and Saturday Night Fever. She has been seen nationally and internationally in musicals such as A Chorus Line directed by Baayork Lee, Babes in Arms starring Kristin Chenoweth, Oklahoma and Phantom. She was “dance captain” of the European tour of 42nd Street. Ms. Ahlgren has also directed and choreographed professional productions of West Side Story, Annie, Cabaret, Sound of Music, Kiss Me Kate, and Pippin. In 2016, Regina directed and choreographed a CJ Entertainment production of 42nd Street in Seoul Korea.
2026 PERFORMANCE
August 1st, 2026
More Information TBA!
2025 Performance – Reflections in Motion
2024 Performance – Balanchine To Broadway
2023 Performance – Urashima Taro & By George
2022 Performance – Dancing Among the Stars
- Ballet Hawaii’s Summer Intensive program offers students a pre-professional experience with outstanding faculty. Students have the opportunity to work with exceptional guest artists who come to participate as teachers and performers in Ballet Hawaii’s summer production. Auditions for the performances are held during the first week of the Summer Intensive.
- Very few summer intensive programs provide students the opportunity to perform on stage with professional dancers. Ballet Hawaii’s Summer Intensive program draws dancers from around the state, the mainland, and other countries. The summer production is a chance for students to showcase their hard work. In Summer 2018, Ballet Hawaii presented Kansas City Ballet’s The Sleeping Beauty with choreography by Artistic Director, Devon Carney. Dancers from Kansas City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Eugene Ballet shared the stage with students of the Summer Intensive program.
- In 2015 and 2012, Ballet Hawaii presented Alice (in Wonderland), which showcased innovative choreography by Septime Webre, Artistic Director of Hong Kong Ballet, with music by Matthew Pierce. Design included spectacular costumes by Liz Vandal, amazing sets by James Kronzer, and puppet work by Eric Van Wyk and Flying by Foy.
- In August 2014, Ballet Hawaii was delighted to share Septime Webre’s Peter Pan with a musical score by Carmen DeLeone and guest artists from Washington Ballet, Carolina Ballet, and Eugene Ballet
- In August 2013, Ballet Hawaii concluded the Summer Intensive program with Cinderella, choreographed by Septime Webre. Guest artists from Washington Ballet, Carolina Ballet, Eugene Ballet, and American Ballet Theatre graced the stage in principal roles alongside students of Ballet Hawaii’s Summer Intensive.
- Past productions have also included Cinderella with Cincinnati Ballet staged by Victoria Morgan, Romeo and Juliet with Carolina Ballet, Giselle with New York City Ballet, and Serenade staged by Robert Barnett, Artistic Director emeritus of Atlanta Ballet.
Ballet Hawaii is proud to recognize Mami Ballet Land, under the direction of Mana Iwai, as an official affiliate school of Ballet Hawaii.
This partnership reflects a shared commitment to high-quality classical ballet training, artistic development, and fostering meaningful cultural connections between Hawaiʻi and Japan. Through this affiliation, Ballet Hawaii continues to expand its global relationships while supporting excellence in dance education.
We are proud to welcome Mana Iwai and her students to our Summer Intensive 2026!
Learn more about Mami Ballet Land: