Audition for The Nutcracker 2024!
Registration has opened for West Hawaii Dance Theatre’s 2024 production of The Nutcracker—the most celebrated holiday classic ballet. We hope you’ll join us to share this heartwarming and magical production with the community! This ballet is fun for all ages and abilities.
Date:
Saturday, August 24, 2024
Time:
Between 2:30-5 p.m.
Your specific audition time will be emailed after you register.
Location:
West Hawaii Dance Theatre
74-5626 Alapa Street, Unit 15, Kailua-Kona
Registration fee:
$10
No preparation is required to audition. We hope this will be a fun educational experience. Auditioning is a standard occurrence in the performing arts world and we want our students to learn to feel comfortable with the process. We have structured our auditions by age level, so dancers can feel confident and empowered!
We will be evaluating whether a student is able to listen, follow basic directions, and coordinate age-appropriate movements. Everyone who can demonstrate these skills during the audition will be invited to join our cast!
Frequently Asked Questions
The audition process may seem intimidating, but we will make easy and fun! Auditioning is a regular part of the performing arts industry, as well as summer intensive programs and college dance/theatre programs. Participating in the audition process provides practice of a beneficial skill, in addition to building self-esteem and confidence.
When is The Nutcracker?
Several performance opportunities are available. Performance dates:
Theatre Performances:
Saturday, December 21, at Kahilu Theatre (matinee & early evening performances)
Also required: Friday, December 20, at Kahilu Theatre for dress rehearsal
Community Outreach Performances:
Saturday, November 23, at Hawaii Keiki Museum, Waikoloa
Saturday, November 30, at Regency at Hualalai
Saturday, December 7, at Life Care Center of Kona
Note: Other community outreach performances may be added!
Is attending the audition required?
Yes, anyone wanting to perform in The Nutcracker must attend the audition. If you have a schedule conflict, please contact us by email at nutcracker@whdt.org NO LATER THAN AUGUST 23 and we will work with you to make other arrangements.
How do I register for the audition?
Register for the audition using WHDT’s online portal at https://dancestudio-pro.com/online/whdt.
If you don’t already have an account, please create one. After logging in:
-
- Navigate to class registration (look for Register in the menu/quick links).
- Select the session called Audition – The Nutcracker 2024 (should be displayed just above your student’s name).
- Select the Class called Audition – The Nutcracker 2024.
- Complete the checkout process by acknowledging the waivers and paying the fee.
Once registered, the email addresses for the account (including additional family contacts) will receive a registration confirmation email.
Is there a cost to audition?
The registration fee is $10 registration. If this fee presents a hardship for your family, please contact us a nutcracker@whdt.org. We do our best to work with families to make dance available to everyone.
Where is the audition being held?
The audition is being held at West Hawaii Dance Theatre. We’re located at 74-5626 Alapa Street, Unit 15 in Kailua Kona.
What do I wear to the audition?
Regular class attire. Please refer to our dress code.
What time is the audition?
After completing the registration, a WHDT staff member will review your information and will send a confirmation email (within 1-3 days) with your specific audition time.
What should I expect at the audition?
When you arrive, please check in to receive a name tag and number. If needed, measurements will be taken to assist with the costume sizing process. (If you’re able to take measurements at home, please complete our online form.)
At the scheduled audition time, students will be taken as a group into the studio. We will be evaluating whether a student is able to listen, follow basic directions, and coordinate age-appropriate movements. Everyone who can demonstrate these skills during the audition will be invited to join our cast!
Dancers ages 12 and older may stretch/warm up in Studio 2 prior to their audition time. Please arrive early enough to check in and warm up. Our goal is to start each audition group promptly at their designated time.
Are parents (or other caregivers) allowed to watch the audition?
Observation of the audition will not be permitted. This can be distracting for both students and teachers. If your child is having anxiety or separation issues on audition day, you are welcome to stay nearby, in case they need you. Please know that if your child is melting down that day, IT’S OKAY! We have lots of experience with this and will do our best to help them through.
When will roles be announced?
Roles will be announced on Tuesday, September 3 by email and on our website. The rehearsal schedule and performance times will be included. Please note that roles and schedules may be modified as we move through the rehearsal process.
How will I accept my role(s)?
Each performer will receive a performance contract that explains your commitment to the production and the performance fees. The contract asks you to confirm that you are able to meet the time and financial commitments.
We have only twelve weeks to prepare before our first scheduled performance. Our goal is that everyone is confident in their role before they go on stage.
We understand that illnesses can occur unexpectedly and you may already have scheduled important family or school events. Please list any known conflicts on the performance agreement so that we can plan for the absence and arrange make up choreography lessons, if necessary. Performance contracts must be returned by Friday, September 6.
How much is the performance fee?
Performance fees will be comparable to past performances of The Nutcracker and will range from $100-300 depending on the number of roles/costumes and performance participation (community outreach vs. theatre).
More information will be provided in the performance contract. Payment plans will be available upon request.
Will I need to enroll in a class at WHDT to be in The Nutcracker?
A minimum of one weekly dance technique class is required for all cast members from September 9 through December 14. Students may attend a technique class at another studio, but will need to provide confirmation of enrollment. Rehearsals for The Nutcracker will generally be held at times outside of normally scheduled WHDT classes.
How can I support my student / this production / the studio?
West Hawaii Dance Theatre is a nonprofit educational arts organization. We heavily rely on fundraising and volunteer support to make our productions a success.
We have numerous opportunities for you to help, including encouraging businesses or individuals to donate silent auction items, sponsor a guest artist, or advertise in the show program. We also need assistance with costume alterations, keeping things running smoothly backstage, costume distribution and returns, spreading the word about ticket sales, and much more!
Let us know that you’d like to help by emailing nutcracker@whdt.org.
Have a question that wasn’t covered?
Reach out by email to nutcracker@whdt.org.
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.