We pride ourselves on our qualified teaching staff! Our teachers are experienced, educated, and dedicated to helping your dancer learn and thrive!
CAROLYN FEHER
Director and Lead Teacher
Ms. Carolyn started her training under Royal Academy of Dance certified teacher Barbara Mullen in Londonderry, NH. Ms Carolyn studied the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus for twelve years, passing her first exam at six and completing her Vocational Exams at eighteen. She performed soloist and corps de ballet roles with the New England Dance Ensemble, and twice earned a gold medal with distinction in the American Academy of Ballet Performance Awards. She attended The Yorkshire Ballet Seminar in England, Ballet Hawaii’s Summer Intensive, the American College Dance Festival in California, the Ballet and Dance Workshop Ostrava in the Czech Republic, and the National Dance Institute Teacher Training Program in New York City.
Since moving to Hawaii in 2005, Ms Carolyn has enjoyed performing professionally with Hawaii Ballet Theatre, the Onium Ballet Project, Divino Ritmo Dance, and Hawaii Opera Theatre. She taught at Punahou Dance School, Honolulu Classical Ballet, Hawaii Academy, The Dance Space, and The Movement Center before opening Kailua Dance Academy in 2017. Ms. Carolyn is also a Lecturer at the University of Hawaii Manoa, teaching the intermediate and advanced ballet classes.
Ms Carolyn graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 2010 with a BFA in Dance Theatre and a BBA in Marketing. She is a member of the Royal Academy of Dance, the National Dance Education Organization, the National Association of Schools of Dance, and is a National Dance Institute certified teacher. Her students have been accepted to prestigious dance programs, including the Joffrey Ballet School (NYC), Martha Graham Dance Company (NYC), Ballet West (UT), Marymount College (NYC), Chapman University (CA), and Columbia College (IL).
MADISON AUDETTE
Madison Audette started dancing at age 4 in her hometown in Illinois. Upon moving to O’ahu, she continued her training at James B. Castle High school’s Performing Arts Center, studying under Natalie Jolly Uehara and Kelly Wadlegger. She then went on to attend the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where she graduated in May 2022 with a double major in Dance and Anthropology.
While at UHM, Miss Madison attended the Asia Pacific Dance Festival Intensive in 2019, taught by Kumu Hula Michael Pili Pang, Ask Dance Company, and Dancers of Damelahamid. She also attended a workshop led by Yung Yung Tsuai Lerner, a former dancer and teacher for the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance. In the spring of 2022, Miss Madison’s choreography was presented at the Hawaii State Art Museum. Her performances with UHM include Integral Bodies, directed by Peiling Kao; In Sphere, by Kumu Hula Vicki Holt Takamine; and Co-Motion, a collaborative piece with Tau Dance Theatre’s director Peter Rockford Espiritu.
Miss Madison was a teaching and performance assistant at Castle High School with Kelly Wadlegger before joining KDA’s team in 2018 as a teaching and administrative assistant. She spent three years as a teacher trainee under Miss Amy before taking on her own classes in 2021. She enjoys passing on her love of dance to the next generation of dancers, and when she is not teaching, she can often be found at our front desk helping our dancers with finding their class or fitting a pair of shoes.
MADELYN BIVEN
Before joining KDA, Madelyn taught at Alive Ballet Academy (HI), Honolulu Museum of Art (HI), and Academy of Art University (CA), and had the pleasure of teaching a master class at Beijing Normal University in China. She received a BFA from Fordham University / The Ailey School in 2009 where she was the recipient of the Ully Hirsch/Robert F. Nettleton Poetry Prize for Creative Writing.
Making a transition to leave the continental U.S. and return home to Hawai’i in 2017, Madelyn has been a featured dancer in the Honolulu Biennial; Oahu Fringe (as a guest with electroViolet); Peiling Kao Dances; Maui Dance Festival; and Contact Hawaii, an annual exhibition exploring the notion of foreign contact as it relates to the Hawaiian Islands. She enjoys creating work with multidisciplinary artists on island and has shown collaborative pieces at Aupuni Space, Downtown Arts Center, Hawaii State Art Museum, and MoMA in NYC.
JENNIFER GAGE
Ms. Jennifer has 25 years’ experience teaching all levels of ballet, contemporary, pointe, and jazz. Hailing from the midwest, she spent 13 years as Artistic Director and Founder of the Alliance Dance Company, and 3 years as Owner and Founder of NorthSide Dance Theatre. From 2017-2019, she served as the Academy Director for the Todd Rosenlieb Dance Center, and served as Ballet Mistress/Rehearsal Assistant for Joel Hall and Dancers (2002-2004), Ballet Enter Nous (1996-2007), and Ballet Theatre North (1995). She trained with prestigious programs, including the Joffrey Ballet in NYC, Burklyn Ballet Theatre, Ellis-DuBoulay School of Ballet, and the Baker-VanCura Dance Conservatory. As a dancer, her career spanned 30+ years performing and guesting throughout the Chicago area.
As a teacher, Ms. Jennifer strives to give her students an age-appropriate and level-appropriate class, emphasizing the importance of placement, technique, and detail in order to prevent injury and help our dancers achieve a sustainable relationship with dance.
KRISTEN SANTHANY
Miss Kristen started her training at The Movement Center (TMC) at age 5, studying ballet, tap, jazz, tumbling, and musical theater. As a student, she trained with prestigious teachers including Daniel Nelson (Royal Winnipeg Ballet), Chansri Green (alumni of the Joffrey Ballet School and Juilliard School), and Eve Walstrum (original company member of Netherlands Dans Theatre). While in TMC’s classical ballet program, under direction of Miss Chansri and Miss Carolyn, Miss Kristen performed repertoire from La Bayadere, Swan Lake, Sylvia, and many other classical ballets. She also trained at Diamond Head Theatre, Punahou Tap Company, and the University of Hawaii at Manoa. In addition to teaching at KDA, she also teaches dance at PACKids in Kapolei.
Miss Kristen holds a degree in Information Technology and is currently attending Pennsylvania State University for a BS in Cybersecurity. When she isn’t dancing, she works as a technician with KW Systems Tech in Kailua.