Professional
Instruction
Top-level instruction from experienced professional dancers.
Founder & Artistic Director
VIRGINIA HOLTE
Virginia Holte is the Founder and Artistic Director of the West Hawaii Dance Theatre and Guest Instructor / Choreographer for The Maui Academy of Performing Arts. A Graduate of the Academy of the Washington Ballet under the late Mary Day, Ms. Holte enjoyed a long professional dance career with Indianapolis Ballet Theatre, Chicago Ballet, Washington Ballet and various guest appearances with Ballet Internationale, New Jersey Ballet, and Indiana Ballet Theatre N.W. A Third Series practitioner of Ashtanga Yoga, certified in the Pilates Method, Mat and Equipment from the Physical Mind Institute, Ms. Holte is an International Certified GYROKINESIS® and GYROTONIC® Specialized Master Trainer. She has been sharing her love of ballet and movement with the Hawaii community since 1986.
MARISA MONTANY
From the Big Island of Hawaii, Ms. Montany trained under the direction of Virginia Holte at West Hawaii Dance Theatre. As a teenager, Ms. Montany left Hawaii to study at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet under the direction of Marcia Dale Weary where she performed many classical works as well as Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, Stars and Stripes, and Walspurgisnacht.
After spending two years in Nashville Ballet’s second company, Ms. Montany joined Dance Theater of Tennessee where she was privileged to perform principal roles in contemporary works by Ron de Jesus, Darrell Grand Moultrie, and Ma Cong. Ms. Montany also appeared as a guest artist with companies throughout the southeast including Chattanooga Ballet, Roots Dance Project, and The Dancer Project.
More recently, Ms. Montany earned her BA from Middle Tennessee State University where she graduated summa cum laude with a double major in History and English. Ms. Montany has been repeatedly recognized for both her critical and creative writing, and she is honored that some of her poetry and creative nonfiction are currently pending publication with The Lavinia Project.
Ms. Montany now returns to Hawaii with her husband after spending a year abroad in Belgium. She is very excited to be returning home to Hawaii and looks forward to meeting the next generation of dancers!