At the age of 10, Jennifer Bell-Grey auditioned for The Royal Ballet School in London and was accepted. But her passion for the genre began when she was only 3 years old, studying at Becky’s Ballet while living in Hong
At the age of 10, Jennifer Bell-Grey auditioned for The Royal Ballet School in London and was accepted. But her passion for the genre began when she was only 3 years old, studying at Becky’s Ballet while living in Hong Kong.
Today, she is at the helm of Kauai Dance Studio and has been teaching dance to others in Hawaii for more than 16 years. It is her pleasure to pass along the charm, elegance and technique of not only classical ballet, but contemporary, modern and hip hop styles as well.
“There are probably only seven Americans with my credentials,” Bell-Grey said. “My classes are of the European method. Some of my students start and stay for 16 years. I had one that started at the age of 4 as a Lilac Fairy. She had stage fright. Now she is 14 years old and doing pirouettes on pointe.”
Tonight, 75 of Bell-Grey’s students will take to the stage at the Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall to show off their dance prowess and poise in a live multimedia dance show. Titled “World Inner Motion,” the show will incorporate original music composed by Bell-Grey’s husband, Mel.
The talented artistic couple opened a studio in a new space for Kauai Dance Studio in February. The more than 2,000-square-foot multimedia complex serves the needs of those with a penchant to dance or to create music and films.
Mel created the special film components of tonight show.
“It deserves to be somewhere big, like in New York,” Bell-Grey said.
Thirteen-year-old Shaylyn Silva is excited to step into her spectacular costumes.
“It’s fun,” said Silva. “I like doing ballet. I got inspired by the older kids cause I saw them doing pointe and wanted to do it and now I am. My younger sister does hip hop.”
The convention hall is at 4191 Hardy St. in Lihue. It starts at 5:30 p.m. and is expected to run two hours. Doors will open at 4:30 p.m. Food and refreshments will be available. The cost of tickets is $15.
For further information and to purchase tickets online visit www.kauaidancecenter.com or call 823-9588. To purchase tickets in person, visit one of the ticket outlets, listed online.
