Meet Our Founder
MARIA JOSE BELTRAN- Founder
Before she founded Alive Ballet Academy in 2008, Maria Jose Beltran started teaching ballet in 1985 while she was still dancing professionally. She has danced with the National Ballet of Peru, Ballet Municipal de Chile , Statishe Buhne Hagen (Germany) and Ballet Hawaii. After retiring in 1995 she became a full time teacher and has dedicated herself to sharing her love and knowledge of ballet with the younger generations. In 2008 she officially opened Alive Ballet Academy and has been its Director until September of 2017.
Before she founded Alive Ballet Academy in 2008, Maria Jose Beltran started teaching ballet in 1985 while she was still dancing professionally. She has danced with the National Ballet of Peru, Ballet Municipal de Chile , Statishe Buhne Hagen (Germany) and Ballet Hawaii. After retiring in 1995 she became a full time teacher and has dedicated herself to sharing her love and knowledge of ballet with the younger generations. In 2008 she officially opened Alive Ballet Academy and has been its Director until September of 2017.
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Meet Our Director |
YVONNE BORREE- Director/Head Teacher
Yvonne Borree’s interest in dance developed very early, due in large part of the influence of her ballerina mother, Susan Borree, who danced with Jerome Robbins’ Ballet: U.S.A., New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theater. Mrs. Borree grew up in Norfolk, Virginia, where she began her dance training at the Tidewater Ballet Association when she was five years old. She attended summer sessions at the School of American Ballet for three years and was invited to enter SAB full-time in 1985. In 1987, she became an apprentice with the New York City Ballet and was invited to join the corps de ballet in 1988. She was promoted to the rank of soloist in 1983 and principal in 1997. She danced her farewell performance with the New York City Ballet on June 6, 2010.
Yvonne was part of the faculty at the School of American Ballet from 2008 to 2015. In June of 2014, she staged the prayer variation from Act 3 of Coppélia for the school’s 50th Workshop Performance. In the Workshop Performance of 2015, she was the recipient of the May L. Wien Faculty Award for distinguished service. Yvonne assisted the same year in staging the wedding pas de deux from Peter Martins' The Sleeping Beauty.
In 2016, Yvonne and her husband made waves by moving to their new home in Honolulu, Hawaii. Since arriving in Hawaii, she has taught at Queen Emma ballet and Ballet Hawaii. Mrs. Borree currently teaches and coaches privately with all levels aged 12 to 16. Ms. Borree was recently named the new Director to the Alive Ballet Academy starting September of 2017. She plans to be closely guiding the students with many new opportunities and knowledge from her many years with the New York City Ballet.
Meet Our Teachers
DAYNA CHUN- Teacher
Dayna Chun began dancing when she was 6 years old at Hawaii State Ballet. In 2007, she enrolled in the Mid-Pacific Institute School of the Arts and graduated in 2013 as a six-year certificate dance student. During high school she participated in numerous performances with Hawaii State Ballet and Mid-Pacific Institute as well as completing the two year International Baccalaureate Dance program. After graduation, Dayna spent one year in New York training at Purchase Conservatory of Dance. She is now at the University of Hawaii at Manoa majoring in dance and business. She is also actively involved in various performances and teaching dance at Alive Ballet Academy.
MADELYN BIVEN- Teacher
Madelyn Biven began her dance training on O'ahu with the School of Honolulu Dance Theater. She furthered her classical and contemporary vocabulary upon a move to New York in 2000 and graduated with a BFA degree from Fordham University. From there she continued to explore the teachings of modern and contemporary dance, settling in the Bay Area from 2010-2014. At the San Francisco Conservatory she performed works with resident company Project Thrust. She was a dancer in other Bay Area companies throughout the four years and taught jazz and hip hop classes at the Academy of Art University. She is now back in Hawaii feeling at home at ALIVE BALLET ACADEMY.
