Founder/Director:  Cathy Izumi   began her training at the University of Hawaii at Hilo with Cathy Roe.  Inspired by the professional standards of her own mentors at Danceworks — Simeon Den and Marie Takazawa, she served as director of the Danceworks childrens division from 1984 to 1991.  Cathy's joy of dance has also made valuable contributions to the dance programs at Punahou, Iolani, Kamehameha and La Pietra Schools.  In addition to her teaching schedule, Cathy has perfomed and choreographed for Hawaii's finest professional companies and beauty pageants; is a former director of the University of Hawaii Rainbow Dancers; and served as leader for the Honolulu New Hope Christian Fellowship Dance Ministry's, Contemporary Core Team.  In 1991, Cathy was able to bring together Hawaii's leading dance instructors and techniques to create the Honolulu Dance Studio (HDS). 

 

Director of Ballet Program:  Elizabeth Miller studied ballet in Hawaii under the direction of Ballet Master Nolan Dingman.  At the age of twelve, she was accepted as an apprentice with the Honolulu City Ballet.  Elizabeth furthered her study of dance in Sarasota, Florida as well as Tokyo, Japan; London, England; and Scotland, where she performed in the annual Edinburgh Festival.  Her performances have included roles in Giselle, Swan Lake, Coppelia, Nutcracker, Carousel, Lucia di Lamammor, and Aida.  Under the guidance of Nolan Dingman, Elizabeth has been able to turn her knowledge of dance into the necessary teaching skills to train young dancers from beginning to advanced professional levels, including pas de deux.  Elizabeth is currently enjoying her 17th year of teaching ballet at Honolulu Dance Studio.  In 2008, Elizabeth was honored to be one of 2 ballet teachers, selected from across the country, to teach at the prestigious Fairbanks Summer Art Festival.   

  

  
 

 

Denise Kobayashi was a member of the original Honolulu Gurlz Dance Company in 1986. With her love of working with children, at the age of 15, Cathy entrusted her as an instructor for the Pre-Jazz class.  From that point on, her passion for dance grew.  In her 19 years of teaching dance, she has worked with ages ranging from 3 to adult.  In the past she has been the director of the Teen, Junior and Keiki Companies.  Her choreography has won top awards in local, national and international competitions such as Urban Jamm, Hip Hop Expo and Dance Excellence.  Currently she is the director of the Junior Company and has been a first grade teacher for the last 9 years. 

 

 

  
 

Jared Ake has been dancing, choreographing, and teaching in Hawaii for over 16 years. Starting off with Big City Productions under Pam Sandridge, along with the street group SLAM under Mara Bacon, his love for dance and choreographing was developed and nurtured. His choreography and teaching became known as he worked with the likes of Honolulu Dance Studio, 24/7, Hypersquad and Drill Team Hawaii.  Currently working in the Performing Arts Program at Word of Life Christian Center and the Word of Life Academy, he continues to share his love and passion for dance.

 

David Kane began dancing at Mid-Pacific Institute in 1999.  He has been part of the New Hope Christian Fellowship dance ministry and Honolulu Dance Studio since 2001.  He is experienced and proficient in many styles of dance. Among them he is most seasoned in Contemporary Jazz, Ballet, and Hip Hop. Other secondary skills include Tap, Tumbling, and Broadway Jazz.  After spending an educational year in Los Angeles at the California Pacific College of the performing arts David has returned to Hawaii to further solidify his dance training. He enjoys being on staff and a part of the Honolulu Dance (Performing) Company.  Witnessing and assisting in the development in the talent of his fellow members and students is a role he maintains with great pride.  Currently David devotes his efforts to various dance groups and  programs throughout the island under Director, Cathy Izumi.  He believes that the church and studio are pivotal places to foster a positive influence in the community using the performing arts.  Above all he is thankful to his friends, family, and God. 

 

John Izumi, Jr. has been an active member of the Honolulu Dance Studio sine 1994.  He became committed to dance when he joined the HDS performing company, Honolulu Dance Company, at the age of ten.  At fourteen, he taught his first class and continued to do so until moving to California in 2008 to further his dance, performance and theatrical training.  John's perfoming experience includes music videos; international competitions; ongoing professional shows; and touring with the international performing group, Young Americans. 






Sarah Izumi has been a member of the Honolulu Dance Company (HDCo.) from 1996 to present.  In addition to performing with HDCo, Sarah has also participated in Santa’s Light Parade at Ala Moana Center; with both New Hope and Word of Life dance teams; a Jewla music video; and at the international dance convention, Dance Excellence.  Sarah has been teaching the Honolulu Dance Studio Pre-Jazz and Jazz 1 & 2 levels since 2005.  Outside of dance, her interests also include urban art, spoken word, and ukulele.  In addition, Sarah enjoys working at Sweet Nothings where she has been given the opportunity to invent new cupcakes and pursue her love for baking.
 

Sarah Monces has been been learning each day that dancing can help you with things you could not learn in a book.  Observing and recreating is a part of every movement that one can make up and call it a genre of dance.  Sarah first started in 2003, under the direction of Stacy Miyamoto and Cathy Izumi where she trained and danced her way at New Hope Christian Fellowship, Word of Life, and Honolulu Dance Studio.  Sarah has also danced in Japan, with Cirque Hawaii and at the Waikiki Shopping Plaza.  She was also very proud to have the chance to teach at Pearl Harbor Elementary and Nimitz Elementary School’s, Kama’aina Kids after school program.  Sarah would personally like to thank Cathy and Elizabeth for giving her the opportunity to show her talents, leadership, and experiences  and share the amazing gift of dance and expression.

 
Victoria Brown is new to the islands and has trained in ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, lyrical, and contemporary for the past seventeen years.  Hailing from Starstruck Academy of Dance with Lisa Holtz-Odell in Denver, Colorado, Victoria has worked with such choreographers as Brian Freidman, Mia Michaels, Mandy Moore, Dee Caspary, Justin Giles, and Nick Lopez.  In high school, Victoria traveled to multiple cities as an assistant teacher for the national competition and convention circuit, Hollywood Vibe.  After graduating from Grandview High School in Denver, Victoria was accepted into Texas Christian University where she auditioned for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and was accepted as a rookie training camp candidate for the 2007/2008 football season.  Most recently, Victoria auditioned for season four of Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance” where she made it to the top fifty dancers in Las Vegas.  Victoria’s aspirations include continued work with the dancers at Honolulu Dance Studio, where she finds herself welcomed and at home.

Luis Silos comes to Honolulu Dance Studio with a diverse background in gymnastics and various disciplines of dance.  His professional credits include, but are not limited to, work at Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy National Tour, Donald Trump, Hard Rock Live, Nickelodeon, NBC studios, Macy’s Parade, Cirque Hawaii, and Cirque Polynesia.  He has also taught acrobatics, gymnastics, and dance at the competitive and recreational levels, for all ages, at many schools across America.  He also currently holds a USAG safety certification. 

Walter Hitchcock is a nationally certified gymnastic instructor and has been the head coach for the Hawaiian Island Twisters (HITS) boy's and men's team since 2002.  He previously served as the Outreach Program Director at HITS from 1999-2002.  With his 23 years of experience in gymnastics instruction, Walter was also the head coach for the boy's/mens' gymnastics team and recreational coach at both the Hawaii Academy of Gymnastics and Kokokahi Gymnastics Teams.  He is also a USAG Safety Certified Instructor, nationally certified gymnastics judge, USAG Skill Evaluator and was the Hawaii State Director for Men's Gymnastics from 1993-2004.   In addition, Walter is a competitive runner and has completed over 23 marathons.