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

    FOUNDER, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR EMERITUS

    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

    OPERATIONS & ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER

    Wendy is currently the Head of Operations for Honolulu Physician Alliance where she manages human resources, recruitment, research and development, scheduling and communications. She has been an administrative maven for programs at Punahou School and the John A. Burns School of Medicine, UH Manoa. For over ten years she volunteered as a coordinator for Hawaii Ballet Theatre, Honolulu Classical Ballet and Drill Team Hawaiʻi. She specializes in all things production-related, and taking care of our tiniest dancers.

Our Faculty

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  • Nikky trained in hip hop locally with Dance Central YMCA and 24VII, and danced professionally in Los Angeles for five years. She has a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus in Childhood Development. She taught street dance at PDS for five years, and is currently an assistant teacher at Central Union Preschool. She established HeartBeat Town at HBT, a hip hop class geared for developmentally-challenged young adults, with the blessing of 24VII’s HeartBeat founders Jonelle and Ashley Layfield.

  • An alumna of Punahou Dance School and Hawaii Ballet Theatre, Kelly is trained in tap, ballet, jazz, and hip-hop. She has taught at PDS, Diamond Head Theatre, Kapolei Performing Arts Center, and SEEQS. After graduating from Punahou, Kelly attended Scripps College (Claremont, CA) where she served as the dance captain of the Claremont Colleges’ Dance Team. Upon returning home, she attended the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa William S. Richardson School of Law and is currently practicing as an attorney in Hawaiʻi.

  • Jose was born in Guadalajara, Mexico and grew up in Orange County, CA. He has worked in film, television and on stages across the U.S. and in Japan. He was cast as lead dancer in the Broadway production of The Lion King and as lead dancer and dance captain for the touring company. Touring gave him the opportunity to teach in studios around the country and brought him to Hawaiʻi, where he teaches contemporary dance at HBT, Mid-Pacific Institute, Queen Emma Ballet and the University of Hawaiʻi.

  • 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 TapCo 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.

  • Greg has had an extensive career as a dancer, actor, director, choreographer, and teacher. His credits include productions at regional and international theatre companies, including Associate Choreographer for  multiple incarnations of the 2014 Broadway revival of The King and I. Greg's other directing and choreography credits include: Carousel, Annie, Peter Pan, Seussical, The Sound of Music, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Flower Drum Song, Singin’ In The Rain, Elf: The Musical, A Chorus Line and Miss Saigon. He has danced professionally with the Alberta Ballet, Los Angeles Chamber Ballet, and Hawaii Ballet Theatre as a principal dancer, and appeared on Broadway in the 1996 revival of The King and I. Greg has taught ballet at numerous NYC dance studios, amongst them Broadway Dance Center, Peridance, American Ballet Theatre, and as company class teacher for the Paul Taylor Dance Company.