It all goes down on Aug. 25 at the Dusit Thani grand ballroom featuring SKIP alum Heather Makalani Manley, who is currently on Broadway and the Masashi Action Machine, an acrobatic dance company from Nagoya.

“I owe a lot to SKIP. I can truly honestly say that I would not be as far as I am in my career without them. It taught us how to be really great performers, it also taught us how to learn choreo really quickly, camaraderie, hard work,” said Manley.

Manley joined SKIP when she was 11-years-old and fast forward to present day, Manley is currently on Broadway in Moulin Rouge and she is back on island to help SKIP celebrate 40 years, taking part in the gala on Sunday.

“There's gonna be all kinds of styles of dance, I am also doing a number with the current SKIP kids, which is really exciting. And I’m also singing two solos. We are bringing a bit of Broadway to you,” she said.

The gala will also feature the choreography of Brian Esperon, a former SKIP kid who has been making waves on social media with his TikToks and YouTube videos. Esperon, who joined back in 2001, has played a huge role in making SKIP internationally known.

“We are using dances we did at the concert, the theme was reimagined. We wanted to celebrate 40 years, there is a lot of history. One of my biggest inspirations is Beyonce, she has been my icon for all the time. I always do a Beyonce medley and this year we are doing a renaissance piece,” said Esperon.

Dominique Felix who joined SKIP in 2001 when she was 10-years old , is also a gala committee member

“I still see myself in SKIP ....even though I'm not a company member. I really think it's the bond. You just don't leave,” said Felix.

As they prepare to ring in 40 years, they reflect on special moments

“There was a summer intensive program where a choreographer came to Guam and it was a one to two week program at a hotel. It led to a dedication to the art.... go to LA for the summer,” added Felix.

“My favorite moments are the summer competitions. Just the journey of my first competition in 2001, we placed well for such small group and from there I started choreographer when I was 15, and that was such a different experience. I always look forward to our competitions,” said Esperon.

“In line with being in SKIP, when I made my Broadway debut as Jasmin, about 10 of the company members, I hadn't seen them in a couple of years, SKIP kids I grew up dancing with, flew to New York, they came to one of my last shows as Jasmin, it was so special for all of them to be there. It shows just how special SKIP is and how strong our connections are,” said Manley.

Get your tickets for the gala today and be part of the celebration! General admission tickets are $30 for adults and $15 for kids and can be purchased on guamtime.net.