Young Kaua‘i ballerinas travel to train

KALAHEO — Three young Kaua‘i ballerinas are traveling to summer “intensives,” but Naomi Thompson’s planned time in the Bolshoi Ballet Academy Summer Intensive from Moscow was canceled due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The program is highly sought after, being one of the top programs in the world, and Thompson auditioned for and secured a spot in the intensive prior to the cancellation.

Instead, she will be attending the Nutmeg Conservatory in Torrington, Connecticut, followed by the Royal Ballet School in London.

Eden Thompson, her sister, will be attending the Boston Ballet Summer Intensive in Boston.

Selah Johnson will be returning to St. George, Utah, to attend Ballet West’s Summer Intensive for a third year in a row.

They are all members of the Kaua‘i Ballet Academy, which offers dance classes in Kalaheo, Lihu‘e, Kapa‘a and Princeville, and persents an annual performance of “The Nutcracker,” according to a press release from the academy.

Hilary Johnson is the studio owner, and Jennifer Bell-Gray is the artistic director.