Our instructors

Laurie Chu grew up in Parker, Colorado and started dancing when she was 3 years old and has been tap dancing many of the years since. She also trained in ballet and jazz and danced in several musicals leading to a mostly Broadway-inspired tap style. When she wasn't tap dancing, Laurie earned her PhD from the University of Hawai'i in astronomy in the summer of 2020 and now also works at one of the telescopes in Hawaii.  

 Mana (Christopher) started dancing as a BBoy at the age of 17. Since then he has extensively studied many other styles of dance including tap, ballet, jazz, hip hop, popping, and contemporary dance. His primary place of study has been with Center Stage Dance Alliance although he has taken classes from visiting artists from all over the world, and other dance instructors in Hawaii. Mana has been teaching BBoys and BGirls at Center Stage since 2015, and now teaches Contemporary and Hip Hop classes at CSDA to students from ages 7 to adult of all skill levels.  

  Ms. James holds a BA in Drama & Theatre with a Concentration in Dance From the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She was a member of the Honolulu City Ballet and has performed with Ballet Hawaii, Honolulu Dance Theatre, Hawaii Ballet Theatre as well as Hawaii Opera Theatre. Ms. James teaching experience includes the Alliance for Drama Education, Punahou Dance School, Queen Emma Dance and Mid-Pacific Institute. After moving to the Big Island, Ms. James served as Project Coordinator for the Big Island Dance Council's Dance Education Project. Ms. James also taught PE/Heath at Kamehameha Schools Kula Ha'aha'a, Hawaii. My greatest joy is sharing my love of dance with my students!  

 Nadia Ruth Schlosser started studying ballet and tap at the age of two, and has been dancing ever since! She studied intensively for fifteen years as a dedicated student of The Performing Arts Center in Van Nuys, CA training in singing, acting and the dance styles of ballet, pointe, jazz, modern, tap, contemporary and hip hop.She attended Cal Arts as a Dance major in 1997 and obtained a three year certificate in Entertainment Studies: Film, Television and Digital Media from UCLA Extension. She has worked on various films, awards shows, and television shows including “Legally Blonde, “ “Friends,” “The Ellen Show,” “Will and Grace,” “Ally McBeal,” “That 70s Show,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “American Idol,” “The American Music Awards,” "Thalians Ball" with Debbie Reynolds & Shirley MacLaine, and “The Soul Train Music Awards.” 

 Pier Sircello founded Center Stage Dance Alliance in Hilo, Hawaii in 2006. CSDA grew to be one of the most successful dance schools in Hawaii, and has trained dancers who have gone on to study on scholarship at the Vaganova Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia, Nutmeg Conservatory, PACE University and Adelphi. Other former students have been touring the world with Lines Ballet, and Cirque productions, while others are dancing and teaching in New York, Las Vegas, Arizona, Portland, Oregon, and Hilo, Hawaii. Pier grew up studying ballet in Los Angeles, and has a degree in dance from UC Irvine in 1986. She was fortunate to have danced on some of the most well know stages in the L.A. area in various operas, and shows such asthe Ahmanson Theater, Segerstrom Hall, Royce Hall, and the Terrace Theater. She also danced in the American Folk Ballet in Utah, and the Francisco Martinez Dance Theatre in Los Angeles. Pier has produced, choreographed and directed many shows since moving to Hawaii, and hasroutinely brought well known dance companies, such as Lines, Santa Fe Aspen Ballet, and ODC San Francisco to Hawaii for concerts and residencies. Her foremost ideology as a ballet teacher is that technique must embody artistry and musicality.