Here at West Hawaii Dance Theatre and Academy, we offer many different genres of dance for both adults and children. While many of our students are budding young dancers, instructor Juanita Finkenberg was in for a treat with the latest session of her Adult Tap Class.
Q: Did you have any expectations as to who might sign up for your class?
Juanita Finkenberg: “Word of mouth” is a powerful tool in recruiting dancers for the Adult Tap class. Al, the man who got it all started, suggested that he “had a few friends”. And sure enough, he brought them! Al had a life long dream of learning to tap dance and we are making that happen.
Q: Were you surprised to see so many kupuna students enroll?
JF: I assumed we would have three to four Kupuna students after communicating with Al a few times on the phone and settling on a time to meet. We started the first class with 5 and have continued to add ever since. The men outnumber the women. That is not the norm in any dance class for sure. We started with tennis shoes or street shoes and now almost everyone has real tap shoes.
Q: Do you handle your instruction any differently with older students?
JF: In teaching adults one must consider several factors regarding the setting, class structure and amount of exercise. Extra attention is given to warm up and stretching. Balance and posture for maintaining good balance are addressed and in some cases modifications are made regarding jumping or hopping. This group is VERY active outside of tap class and many arrive after having played a round of golf, several sets of tennis or been to the pool swimming laps. And, they still have energy to dance for an hour. Amazing!
Q: What is the most surprising thing you’ve encountered with this group?
JF: Perhaps the most surprising thing I have learned from this class is that the dedication to learning is stronger than exhibited in the younger students. These Kupuna work harder, practice more and are more focused on accuracy and perfection than the younger students. Plus, they really have fun doing it. They bring great joy and excitement to every class.
Q: How can younger dancers benefit from taking a class with first time kupuna students? Vice versa?
JF: The younger students at WHDT always demonstrate respect for the older dancers who attend classes. I do believe that they could learn much from the Kupuna. Dedication, accuracy, persistence, joy for opportunity, working towards a new goal, adapting when necessary but never giving up and humility are all evident with this Kupuna group and would be an asset to the younger dancers. The Kupuna would love to “share the floor” with the younger tap dancers who would bring excitement, skill, fresh energy and advanced talent. It is my hope that we offer a studio performance and bring these groups together for that performance. I tell the Kupuna, “I’m taking you on the road”…and I truly mean that. We are working on two tap dance numbers that will hopefully be performed at some point. The younger tap dancers are working on three numbers right now so we would have a nice short tap program once those numbers are completed. Of course, I need to get costumes too. That is part of the fun.
Q: For those with no dance experience, who may be hesitant to join a dance class, what would you recommend?
JF: It is important in life to work through any challenge. Tap dance looks very easy when performed by professionals but like many skills, it takes time and devotion. The joy comes when one is able to make progress. Challenging the mind and the body at the same time and doing so with great music and supportive friends is the best way to manage a new challenge. The Kupuna class members have surprised me in how quickly they are making progress. They are picking up the movement faster than the young students. They are focused on the moment and the skill. This class coming together is one of those serendipitous events in life. Everything lined up to make it all happen and it is bringing joy to many. How great is that!
You can read more about Instructor Juanita Finkenberg here, or come to one of her adult tap classes on Friday mornings at 8:45am.
WHDTA is also offering a special Tap Class on Saturday, February 25th with Pauline Hagino. Click here to find out more!
Called “one of San Francisco’s leading dance teachers”, Henry Berg has, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, “carved a strong artistic niche as a teacher”. With a career that spans over three decades in dance, film, television, theatre, and academia, Mr. Berg has established himself as one of the foremost dance teachers in the country. His guest teaching engagements now include annual seminars for the Boston Ballet, the Academia Anna Pavlova in Bogata, Columbia, Joffrey Ballet, Dance Educators of America, Oregon Dance Academy, and the Village Dance Arts in Los Angeles. Mr. Berg traveled to Japan where he taught seminars in Tokyo and Nagoya, staging “American Ballet Selections” in 1994 for several companies there. Mr. Berg began his dance career in Hollywood, California, appearing in such films as “State Fair”, “How The West Was Won”, and “Babes In Toyland”. In 1962, he joined the San Francisco Ballet. Subsequently, he danced for over seven years with the Joffrey Ballet and assisted choreographer Twyla Tharp in New York City. In 1975, Mr. Berg created the Pacific Ballet Company with co-founders John Pasqualetti and Sue Loyd. He also joined the faculty of the San Francisco Ballet. The list of directors, dancers, and choreographers Mr. Berg has worked with include: George Balanchine, Robert Joffrey, Gerald Arpino, Lew Christensen, Ann Sokolov, Kurt Joos, Jon Hart, and Margaret Jenkins. Additionally, he has worked with skaters John Curry and Peggy Fleming, cartoonist Charles Schultz, and has appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show.
Leo Ahonen was accepted to the Ballet Academy of the National Opera House in Helsinki Finland at the age of six. He joined the National Ballet of Finland at the age of 14, and at age 17 guest performed with the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad and the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow. At the famed Vaganova Choreographic Institute in Leningrad, Mr. Ahonen became a private student of Mr. Konstantin Shatilov and received the “Kirov Trained” Certificate at graduation. Mr. Ahonen won a Bronze Medal in the Men’s Senior category at the Second International Ballet Competition in Varna, Bulgaria. He was a principal dancer and company teacher for the National Ballet of Holland, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and the National Ballet of Finland. With his wife Soili Arvola, he danced as a principal dancer with the San Francisco Ballet and was hailed by critics as The Flying Finn, West Coast Nureyev, and the Fantastic Finn.
Soili Arvola was accepted to the Ballet Academy of the National Opera House in Helsinki Finland at the age of eight. After graduating from the Academy at age 17, she was invited to join the National Ballet of Finland, touring with the company around the world. Among her numerous honors, Ms. Arvola won a Bronze Medal and Diploma for High Artistic Achievement in Women’s Senior (Professional) Category at the prestigious International Ballet Competition in Varna, Bulgaria. She has appeared as a guest ballerina with the Finnish National Ballet, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Chicago Ballet, Houston Ballet, London’s Royal Ballet Choreographic Group, Indianapolis Ballet Theatre, Ballet international de Ochi of Japan, and with many symphony orchestras, opera companies, and civic ballet companies throughout the U.S. and abroad. Ms. Arvola has performed as Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Princess Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, the title roles in Giselle and Cinderella, Swanhilda in Coppelia Kitri in Don Quixote and many others.
Alaine Haubert, a fourth generation Californian, has the unique distinction of having been associated with America’s three major companies. She received her training from age fifteen at the School of American Ballet in New York City where she studied with George Balanchine and his illustrious post-Diaghilev faculty. After graduation from high school, she performed with San Francisco’s Pacific Ballet and then joined the national touring company of Camelot. In 1965, after a year on the road with Camelot, Alaine joined American Ballet Theatre, where she performed corps de ballet, soloist and principal roles. She was coached, during this period by such diverse and exciting choreographers as Tudor, DeMille, Robbins, Feld, Culberg, Lander, and Tetley, and also danced the classics. 
Jamy Woodbury received his formal training with Denver-based Cleo Parker Robinson dance ensemble, where he trained extensively in such forms as Graham Norton and Dunham intermixed with a rigorous schedule of ballet. Seeking to broaden his classical understanding, Jamy did a year stint with the Boston Ballet.
Shaina Leibson has had an over fifteen-year career as a professional ballet dancer. She has been a dancer with several companies including Alberta Ballet, Ballet Austin, and Ballet San Jose where she performed for eight years. Shaina was a soloist dancer with Ballett im Revier in Germany and spent five seasons as a Principal Dancer with Bay Pointe Ballet which was based in the San Francisco area. Shaina received her ballet training from the renowned San Francisco Ballet School.
Fredrick Davis studied at the prestigious Joffrey Ballet School. He attended summer intensives at American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, and North Carolina Dance Theatre. He danced with the Roxey Ballet Company in New Jersey and eventually Dance Theatre of Harlem. While at Dance Theatre of Harlem, Davis danced in many roles including the male lead in New Bach, the Pas de Deux from Act III of Swan Lake, in Robert Garland’s Return, in George Balanchine’s Agon and Alvin Ailey’s The Lark Ascending. He performed Agon and The Lark Ascending with Dance Theatre of Harlem at Jacob’s Pillow Dance. After leaving Dance Theatre of Harlem in 2015, Davis participated in a Dance for America tour, was a featured artist with Dallas Black Dance Theatre, danced at the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C., danced in the Donald McKayle Tribute in Irvine, California, and danced for the Indiana Ballet Theatre. As a freelance artist, he has also performed with various ballet companies including Roanoke Ballet Theatre, Greensboro Ballet, San Antonio Metropolitan Ballet, and Dissonance Dance Theater. He is a principal guest artist at Ballet Tennessee and at Ballet Tucson. Davis returns to Chattanooga every summer as a guest artist in the Dance Alive program that first inspired his love of dance. He is featured in the film, From the Streets to the Stage: The Journey of Fredrick Davis. The documentary was created by Ann Cater of PBS and was filmed by the Emmy Award-winning crew from WTCI.
A Mauka Lani Graduate, Marina began training with WHDT when she was 5. Ms. Terwilliger went on to become Miss Kona Coffee 2002, attended UH Manoa as a Dance Major for 2 years, and returns to the Big Island of Hawaii after pursuing a commercial print modeling career in New York City.
Miho Morinoue is an acclaimed dancer and a visual artist. As a member of the Complexions Contemporary Ballet Company she performed extensively in the United States and Europe. As a visual artist, she collaborated on numerous projects, designing costumes and setting ballets for Complexions, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Oakland Ballet, Philadelphia Ballet and many others. She has shown her paintings in Hawaii, New York and Seattle.
Timour began his professional education with the Moldavian Opera House and the Bolshoi Ballet. Upon coming to America he danced with the Pennsylvania Ballet, New Jersey Ballet, and the New York-based Daring Project. In 1998, Mr. Bourtasenkov joined Carolina Ballet as a Principal dancer and founding member of the company. Mr. Bourtasenkov has choreographed works for Carolina Ballet, Infinity Ballet, New Jersey Ballet and most recently, the New York Choreographic Institute, using New York City Ballet members. His ballets include Light and Dark, sections of Messiah, Rag House, Elements, Memories, Visions, Intrigue, Dance of the Spirits, Fallen Dreams and Tango! Tango! Tango! Mr. Bourtasenkov won the Bronze Medal in the VII Massako Ohyo World Ballet Competition of Osaka, Japan and the V International Competition of Paris, France. He was awarded a jury prize at the 2nd Luxembourg International Ballet Competition. Mr. Bourtasenkov has appeared in two USSR movies: The Long Way and The Magic Star. In 1996, he filmed Little Red Ridinghood, directed by Davis Koplan and choreographed by Elena Tchernichova. In 1996, Mr. Bourtasenkov became the Artistic Advisor of Infinity Ballet and in 2005 he was named the Artistic Director of Carolina Performing Arts Center in Pinehurst, North Carolina.