Ballet Hawaii Alumni Make Waves Around the World

May 24, 2011 - PRLog -- HONOLULU - Ballet Hawaii is proud to share the exciting stories of its youngest group of alumni – young dancers who are taking the dance world by storm as they launch careers on the international dance scene. From medaling at the Youth America Grand Prix to achieving the highest honors at the Berlin International Tanzolymp Competition, Ballet Hawaii alumni are making waves in the ballet world.

Every dancer has their own unique story and for Constantine Allen, Michele Saruwatari, Yoshiko Kamikusa and Sabrina Ocasio, it all began at Ballet Hawaii’s former studios at the Dole Cannery building. From these beginnings sprang the dream of a professional career in dance and the opportunity to explore the beauty of their art form. Here are their stories:

Constantine (Costa) Allen recently earned a full scholarship to Stuttgart’s John Cranko School to complete his ballet education with Petr Pestov and Tadeusz Matacz in Germany. For Costa, the journey began at Ballet Hawaii in classes with teachers Pamela Taylor Tongg and Minou Lallemand. Costa moved to Hawaii at age one and attended Kahala Elementary and Mid-Pacific Institute. While a student with Ballet Hawaii, he danced in productions of Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan, Cinderella and Nutcracker.

In 2006, Costa won a full scholarship to the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, D.C. and studied at the Academy until 2010. A winner of several international competitions, Costa also won several medals at Youth America Grand Prix finals. Recently, he achieved a major milestone when he was awarded the Grand Prix and the Most Outstanding Dancer Award at the 2011 Berlin International Tanzolymp Competition. Although his dream of becoming a principal ballet dancer has taken him away from Hawaii, he will always consider Ballet Hawaii his home school and appreciates their generosity towards him throughout the years.

For Michele Saruwatari, this is a busy time indeed. Michele, who currently dances professionally as an apprentice with Orlando Ballet, is rehearsing for productions of Carmen and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This gifted young dancer was born and raised in Manoa Valley, and her family still lives on Oahu. Michele attended Hanahau`oli School until third grade when she started at Punahou. At the joyful age of three, she became a student at Ballet Hawaii and remained there until professional aspirations drew her to the North Carolina School of Arts in 2007.

According to Michele, “Ballet Hawaii gave me opportunities to perform with professional dancers during the Nutcracker and summer intensive performances (Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Peter Pan, etc.) that I would never have had otherwise. I had to leave Ballet Hawaii to realize what a huge gift sharing the stage with such amazing dancers was for a young student.”

Yoshiko Kamikusa, who moved to Hawaii from Tokyo at age six, also has exceptional memories of the performance opportunities Ballet Hawaii offers. Yoshiko attended Sacred Hearts Academy until sixth grade and is currently a full-time student at the Goh Ballet Academy in Vancouver, Canada. Today, she is preparing for their year-end performance in June, when Yoshiko will dance the principal role in Faust and Chopiniana (Les Sylphides). In recent seasons, she has danced the role of the Sugarplum Fairy for Little Ballet Theatre’s Nutcracker in Astoria, Oregon.

She also danced the role of the Snow Queen in Goh Ballet’s Nutcracker production in both Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia, under the direction of Chan Hon Goh, a former principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada. In Nutcracker, Yoshiko had the honor of sharing the stage with National Ballet of Canada’s Sonia Rodriguez and Piotr Stanczyk, plus Mara Vinson and Karel Cruz from Seattle’s Pacific Northwest Ballet, who made guest appearances.

Yoshiko has also earned top honors at numerous international competitions, including the Gold Medal in the classical category and Silver Medal in the modern category at the 2011 Berlin International Tanzolymp Competition. For Yoshiko, who currently dances six- to seven-days-a-week, looking back on her days at Ballet Hawaii always makes her smile:

“A special memory from my days at Ballet Hawaii would probably be my first Spring Showcase in 2007,” recounts Yoshiko. “We did an excerpt from Coppelia, and I did my Swanhilde variation that I performed in my first Youth America Grand Prix competition, where I placed third in the Pre-Competitive Category in the Los Angeles semi-finals of 2007. It was my first time performing a big solo in front of an audience, and I was grateful to Mrs. Pam [Pamela Taylor Tongg] for letting me have that experience. Costa (Constantine Allen) performed the role of Franz in this Coppelia excerpt, and this was our first performance together at Ballet Hawaii as well.”

Almost 5,000 miles away from her home in Honolulu, Ballet Hawaii alumna Sabrina Ocasio is making waves in New York City. Sabrina is a student at American Ballet Theatre’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (JKO) School. She was recently selected to dance in American Ballet Theatre’s Spring Season Performance of Coppelia in the “Waltz of the Hours.” In 2010, she danced the parts of Polichinelle, Soldier and Page in American Ballet Theatre’s Nutcracker Premiere. In June 2011, she will perform at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. – Truly remarkable for a seventh-grader!

Sabrina, who was born and raised in Honolulu, still has family in the islands, including a sister who is a medical student at the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii. She attended St. Clement’s and Punahou, and started dancing with Ballet Hawaii at the age of three before moving to New York. Among Sabrina’s warmest recollections of her Ballet Hawaii days include being selected for the lead role of Marie in Ballet Hawaii’s Nutcracker at Blaisdell Concert Hall.

No stranger to competitions, Sabrina won first place in the pre-competitive division at the Youth American Grand Prix 2009 semi-finals in San Francisco. Her score advanced her to the international semi-finals in New York City, where she won a scholarship to the Bolshoi Ballet School’s Summer Intensive.

At the 2010 Youth America Grand Prix in San Francisco, Sabrina placed third in the contemporary division (junior category). She was also a finalist in the preparatory category at the 2010 World Ballet Competition. Most recently, Sabrina was selected as a model for a 2011 Danskin advertising campaign.

Ballet Hawaii, which is currently celebrating 35 years in the community and its move to a new space on South Hotel Street, continues to offer opportunities for self-growth for Hawaii’s youth. Classes are focused on building self-confidence through accomplishment, while its presentations of world-class performances provide the community with the priceless gift of professional quality dance. In addition to a year-round training program offered at facilities in Honolulu, Wahiawa and Kapolei, Ballet Hawaii also offers a three-week Summer Intensive session, featuring teachers from the international dance community. Ballet Hawaii’s 2011 Summer Intensive begins August 1 and continues through August 21.

Each year, Ballet Hawaii stages a magical Nutcracker performance that shines the spotlight on a cast of more than 160 dancers from across Hawaii, as well as mainland companies such as New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Carolina Ballet, San Francisco Ballet and Pacific Northwest Ballet. Nutcracker boasts beautiful sets, lavish costumes and the captivating music of Tchaikovsky performed by an orchestra.

To learn more, visit www.ballethawaii.org.