Founder/Director
MARIA JOSE BELTRAN
Started her training as a Ballet student at Carmen Munoz, Escuela Nacional del Peru and Lucy Telge Ballet School. After being awarded with a Bronze Medal in the International Ballet Competition in Trujillo Peru, she traveled to the USA to continue her studies at Houston Ballet Academy. She danced professionally for thirteen years with the following companies: National Ballet of Peru, Ballet Municipal de Peru, Ballet Municipal de Chile , Statishe Buhne Hagen (Germany) and Ballet Hawai’i(USA). After retiring as a professional ballet dancer and becoming a mother of twin sons, she started a full time ballet teacher career. Ms. Maria worked at Ballet Hawai’i as a Ballet Mistress for a period of twelve years, where she coached students and prepared them for the YAGP. Those students hold today Principal Dancer positions at: Indiana Ballet (USA), Dutch Opera (Holland), Eugene Ballet (Oregon). In 2008 she founded Alive Ballet Academy in Honolulu, Hawai’i, a ballet school dedicated to the training of future ballet dancers and ballet teachers. She also founded Alive Arts Foundation, a non-profit organization whose mission is to make the classical arts more available to the underexposed segments of the Hawaiian population. She continues as the Director of both organizations.
Head Teacher
DAYNA CHUN
Dayna Chun began dancing ballet at Hawaii State Ballet when she was 6 years old and studied under Gina Surles and John Landovsky for 12 years. Dayna attended Mid-Pacific Institute School of the Arts in 2007 and began her six-year certificate student in dance as well as earning her International Baccalaureate credits in researching and choreographing. During her high school years, she has starred as a soloist and had her choreography featured in performances at Hawaii State Ballet and Mid-Pacific Institute. Dayna graduated high school with the "Outstanding Dance Award." She then went to study at the University of New York at Purchase, where she performed in the Purchase Dance Company. Dayna also had the opportunity to study in Europe at the London Contemporary Dance School. During her college years, she has done research on dance and film and her work was published within Manoa Horizons. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Hawaii at Manoa with a Bachelor's in Business and Dance.
Dayna began her teaching career in 2014 at Alive Ballet Academy and Hawaii State Ballet, where she started her own contemporary dance class. She has recently been promoted at Alive Ballet Academy as Assistant Director and is excited to nourish growth amongst the studio.
Staff Teachers
BRIDGETTE SUTTON
Bridgette began her ballet training as a young child at Mavis Tracy Ballet School in Kailua. After that she joined Impact Dance Studio in Kapolei under Marika Caron and Alecia Hardt and made her teaching debut at Impact Dance Studio where she taught for several years. She also studied ballet at Kapiolani Community College, Queen Emma Ballet and University of Hawaii Manoa under Eve Walstrum. In 2016, Bridgette received a certificate of excellence from Peridance Capezio Center in New York City for completing their Intensive studies in ballet, modern, and contemporary dance. Bridgette has performed in productions with Impact Dance Studio, University of Hawaii Manoa, Page Academy of Dance, and Tau Dance Theatre. Bridgette is looking forward to the next step in her journey by joining Alive Ballet Academy and sharing her love for ballet.
KALEIGH JONES
Kaleigh Jones is a freelance dancer, teacher and choreographer hailing from New Hampshire. She started her training at New England School of Dance where she studied Royal Academy of Dance (R.A.D), a ballet syllabus. She continued on to train at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA where she received a B.F.A., majoring in Jazz Dance and Dance Education. While in Philadelphia she also worked with local dance companies. She performed with Danco II (Philadanco’s second company), Project Moshen Dance Company (a Jazz Dance Company), performed and choreographed for PINK HAIR AFFAIR (a Modern Dance Collective) and also trained with Koresh Dance Company. Kaleigh then traveled as an entertainer with Disney Cruise Line for three years and is currently on Disney’s Northeast special events team. Her teaching and choreography has adapted a mixture of styles from traveling in places such as NYC, London, Los Angeles, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago and Toronto; ranging from contemporary, modern, hip hop, musical theater, jazz with a strong foundation of ballet.
OTOMI TOCHIKA
Otomi started dancing at Alive Ballet Academy when she was 6 years old. She is a natural leader and a charismatic teacher whom her young students love and appreciate. Otomi has also participated in numerous ballet productions on stage, dancing in corps, as a soloist or leading her young ballerina students. Her experience is crucial in helping develop the self confidence in her young students when going on stage.