Meet Our Team

  • Kristin Ing Aune

    DIRECTOR

    Kristin has been on the administrative, artistic and teaching staff for Harvard University, American Repertory Theater, Boston Ballet, Trey McIntyre Project and the Community School of Music and Arts. She was on faculty at Punahou Dance School for over 20 years, and served as director from 2017-2022. She began her training with Hawaiʻi Ballet Theatre and PDS, and continued in New Haven, New York and Boston, dancing professionally in productions around the country. Locally she has worked with Diamond Head Theatre, Honolulu Theatre for Youth, Hawaiʻi Opera Theatre, 24VII-Danceforce and St. Louis School. Kristin has a B.A. from Yale and an Ed.M. from Harvard.

  • Charlys Ing

    ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

    Charlys co-founded Hawaiʻi Ballet Theatre for Youth, later known as HBT, with fellow dancer WillieDean Ige. A former principal dancer with Honolulu City Ballet and HBT for many years, she has been an artistic force for the company since its founding. Charlys was director and senior ballet instructor for Punahou Dance School from 1990-2017, during which she trained generations of dancers, directed dozens of productions, and built PDS into one of the state’s most robust dance programs. Many of her students have gone onto professional careers in dance, theatre and education, including her daughter Kristin. Charlys graduated from Wellesley College and has an M.Ed. from University of Hawaiʻi Manoa.

  • Ahnya Chang

    ARTISTIC ASSOCIATE

    Ahnya is a longtime teacher, director, choreographer and performer in the Honolulu dance and theatre communities. She began dancing with Hawaiʻi Ballet Theatre in 1986, and went on to establish a career with Diamond Head Theatre, Manoa Valley Theatre, Legends in Concert Hawaiʻi and the Hawaiʻi Professional Journalists’ Gridiron Show. For over 20 years, she has trained students from over a dozen local schools and studios in musical theatre, jazz, tap, ballet and acting. In New York, she was a teaching artist and assistant to Jacques D’Amboise at the National Dance Institute. Ahnya trained at Punahou Dance School and continued her production work in Pittsburgh, New York and New Delhi, where she studied Kathak dance under disciples of Pandit Birju Maharaj.

  • Wendy Shimamoto

    ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR

    Wendy has been an administrative maven for programs at the John A. Burns School of Medicine, UH Manoa and Punahou School. For over ten years she volunteered as a coordinator for Hawaiʻi Ballet Theatre, Honolulu Classical Ballet and Drill Team Hawaiʻi. She specializes in scheduling, registration, planning, all things production-related, and taking care of our littlest dancers.

Our Faculty

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  • Dani is a Manhattan native who worked with Disney Theatricals for over 10 years as a performer, choreographer and teaching artist. Dani is the choreographer for Ohana Arts' Peace On Your Wings, which has been produced in NYC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento and Honolulu, with upcoming tours to Los Angeles, Denver, and Hiroshima, Japan. Dani has taught master classes and choreographed for studios and conservatories across the country with Liberate Artists. In addition, she has choreographed/staged musicals and concert pieces for The New York Musical Theater Festival, Stagedoor Manor, Ohana Arts and York College. She has trained at Joffrey Ballet School, Alvin Ailey, New Jersey Ballet, Professional Performing Arts School and The Neighborhood Playhouse, and was a 2010 Princess Grace Award nominee. She most recently served as dance faculty at Poly Prep Country Day School and Rye Country Day School in New York, and is delighted to call Honolulu, Hawaii her new home.

  • Nikky trained in hip hop locally with Dance Central YMCA and 24VII, and danced professionally in Los Angeles for five years. She is currently pursuing a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus in Childhood Development. She taught street dance at PDS for five years, and is currently a substitute teacher in the Jr. School.

  • Jenny began her ballet training at the age of 10 at her hometown theatre in Nordhausen, Germany. She appeared in a number of professional productions including Coppelia, Scheherazade and Esmeralda. Having lived in Germany, California and Hawaii, Jenny has continuously developed her skills and repertoire as a teacher, ballet master and director. She has built successful programs wherever life has taken her, including her own Grace Studio in Kaiserslautern, which she directed for eight years. In 2015 and 2016, Grace Studio was awarded "Best Dance Studio" in the area, and grew to a student body of 500. Jenny's own ballet students were accepted into the prestigious pre-professional Akademie des Tanzes, Mannheim.

    Since moving to Hawaii with her family in 2018, Jenny has taught and helped grow programs at Hickam Air Force Base, the Kroc Center, Ballet Hawaii and Na Maka O Pu'uwai Aloha. As of Summer 2023 she is grateful to collaborate with the excellent schools at Hawaii Ballet Theatre, Queen Emma Ballet and Page Academy. In addition to her training in Vaganova, Cecchetti, RAD and French methods, Jenny is certified in Runquiao Du ballet coaching, as well as Vinyasa Yoga, Prenatal Yoga, Nutrition Fundamentals, Bosu, Pilates with props, and PiYo. She has a Bachelor's degree in business from the University of Kaiserslauten and teaches German to all ages and levels since her college years. She looks back fondly at more than 25 years of teaching, having trained more than 8,000 students, and looks forward to making an impact on this dance community for another 25 years.

  • Christine appeared on Broadway in the original casts of The Lion King and The King and I, danced at Radio City Music Hall, and worked in commercial and concert dance venues around the world. She taught Advanced Jazz at Punahou for 18 years, and has worked with Iolani, Diamond Head Theatre, Manoa Valley Theatre, Pas De Deux Hawaii, and many other local arts organizations. She has won multiple Po’okela awards for her choreography, and teaches pilates at her own studio, Pilates Hawaii. She is an alumna of Iolani and UCLA.

  • Caryn has been the director of Tap Company since 2011. She is a regular choreographer for Diamond Head Theatre, and has won Po’okela awards for multiple productions including 42nd Street, Anything Goes, Crazy For You, and Nice Work If You Can Get It. Caryn has taught at Punahou Dance School, Diamond Head Theatre, Kapolei Performing Arts Center, and Dupree and Edge Studios in Los Angeles. She studied at PDS under former director Marian Jay. By day, Caryn is the director of procurement for a local food service distribution company.