Family of the Month (FOM) is awarded to parents that go the extra mile to help other families at Pas De Deux Hawaii! This family will receive a free month of tuition, compliments of owners Wendy and Jeremy Gilbert. Want to nominate a deserving family? Email us!


July 2024
The Quilinderino-Wilia Family

We've been a part of the Pas De Deux family for almost 4 years, and it is such an honor to be recognized as Family of the Month! Pas de Deux truly has become a second home for Ka'imi. Here she has built lasting friendships, found amazing mentors that she looks up to, and is taught by teachers who are passionate about dance.

Ka'imi just turned 9 years old and will be entering the 4th grade. At home she lives with Mommy (Kacy), Momma (Dee), her 3 cats and 1 dog. She is a social butterfly with a big personality. She enjoys any kind of swimming - whether it's at the beach, a pool or especially the waterpark. We just took her on her first trip to Disneyland where she finally conquered her fear of rides, and now she wants ALL the rides!

As a baby, she was constantly tumbling, twirling, spinning and dancing. My late grandma fondly nicknamed her, her Twirling Dirvish because of all the videos of her spinning and twirling in her pretty dresses. Having been enrolled in gymnastics since she was 13 months old, all that was left to nurture her passions was dance classes. It wasn't until she saw the movie Leap that she finally asked to take classes because she was now convinced she wanted to be a ballerina. Unfortunately, this was also during the beginning of Covid. The shutdown forced her out of her social settings, where she lost her love and interest in gymnastics and found it really hard to focus in classes.

But by the end of 2020, her persistent begging to become a ballerina (and get out of the distant learning trap) got the better of us and we started to look for a studio for her. We knew there was one close to her gym and called PDD to schedule her trial class. I still have the picture of that first day, where you can see her smile even behind her mask. She was sold, and so were we! Although she insisted she wanted to be a ballerina and only take ballet classes, she finally listened and trusted mommy that jazz truly was where her heart wanted to be and enrolled in both ballet and jazz.

Fast forward to 2022. She was invited to be on the Petite Prep team for the 2023 season where she first got a taste for the competition life! That season she competed in ballet and jazz. At the end of the season, she found hip hop and started taking classes. PDD has provided a home for her to explore, expand and nurture her love for dance. And because of that, we've added new genre's every year. This upcoming season will be our busiest, but we're excited for what's to come! Thank you Wendy, Jeremy, and all the amazing staff at PDD that helped get us here and provide the support system to get through these busy times. Our journey only just started!