2025 Asia Pacific Dance Festival Intensive
The Asia Pacific Dance Festival Intensive is a unique two-week experience that gives participants an opportunity to expand their awareness and understanding by learning about specific cultures in Hawaiʻi, Asia, and Pacific through an embodied approach directly from renowned artists and cultural practitioners.
Students will experience hula and Hawaiian culture as a way of life through place-based learning, as Na Mokupuni o Hawaiʻi Nei (the Hawaiian Islands) is the home of the Kanaka ʻŌiwi (Native Hawaiians). The 2025 APDF Intensive will also feature teachers from Fiji and India. Since the Hawaiian Islands host Fijian and Indian diasporas, participants will have the opportunity to engage with local Fijian and Indian communities through field trips and community events.
The Intensive aims to provide a comprehensive learning experience for participants that includes movement, music, history, language, and cultural elements rooted in the places and lands from which these dance forms originate.
- Learn from respected artists from Hawaiʻi, Fiji, and India
- Experience a holistic approach to cultural learning through movement, including historical and social contexts, language, films, and food
- Engage in community classes
- Go on field trips exploring cultural connections
- Join Talk Story Sessions (conversations with community members, APDF alumni, and resident artists)
- Participate in the Welcoming Ceremony
- Receive tickets to concerts: The Art of Hula, Local Motion!, ‘Ike Hana I, and ‘Ike Hana II
- Attend the Asia Pacific Dance Festival Conference on May 30, 31, and June 1
- Earn a Certificate of Completion
Where: Honolulu, Hawaii @ University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
When: May 19 to June 1, 2025
Registration Deadline: April 30, 2025, limited space available
Registration Form: APDF 2025 Intensive Registration
All registration subject to space availability.
Details of the Intensive are subject to change.
Registration
Registration includes lectures, studio technique and repertoire classes, tickets to performances,
transportation to any required field trips, guest lectures, and special meals.
- $800 for registrations received and paid by February 28, 2025
- $900 for registrations received and paid after March 1, 2025
- $500 for registrations from alumni of previous APDF Intensives received and paid
by April 1, 2025 - $942 for 2-credit course + $87 summer term fee – THEA/DNCE 499 Asia Pacific Dance Festival
The Intensive fee does not include costs for accommodations, air travel to and from Hawaiʻi or transportation to and from the airport. For recommendations on housing, please indicate on the registration form.
To Register, please fill out the form:
We will follow up with payment instructions.
NEW: Low-Cost Housing Opportunity for 2025 APDF Intensive Participants!
To make attendance more accessible, we are pleased to offer low-cost housing options in the university dorms. Housing will be available from Sunday, May 18 to Monday, June 2, covering the full two weeks of the Intensive. The total cost for the entire stay is $420 per person.
Important Note: This housing offer is for the full duration of the APDF Intensive. Partial stays or prorated costs are not available. All residents must stay and pay for the specific dates listed.
Housing Details
- All attendees will stay in double rooms, meaning each person will have a roommate.
- Shared kitchen and bathroom facilities are available, along with coin-operated laundry rooms.
- Please note that room cleaning services, bedding/linen, pillows, towels, and soap are not provided. Prospective residents should bring their own essentials.
- Towel packets can be purchased upon arrival for a nominal charge.
These accommodations provide a convenient and budget-friendly stay within close proximity to all APDF venues. Rooms are available on a first-come, first-served basis with limited availability.
How to Secure Housing
- Please complete the Housing Intent Form by Friday, April 4 at 4PM HST.
- After submitting the form, we will review your request and notify you via email whether you have secured a spot.
- Your housing is not guaranteed until you receive a confirmation/approval email from us. Only then will you be asked to pay the full amount.
- If you know of someone attending the Intensive and would like to dorm with them, you may indicate their name on the application.
The housing is offered through East-West Center’s campus halls, and all residents must adhere to East-West Center policies. To read more about their housing facilities, you may visit their site here.
If you have any questions, reach out to us at apdf@hawaii.edu. We hope this opportunity creates more accessible ways to attend APDF 2025!
Mahalo for your interest in the 2025 Festival Intensive!
