Founder + Artistic Director
Rose Hutchins
Karielle Silk Photography
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Ballet Bloom Project founder and artistic director, Rose Hutchins (she/her), is a Maine-based dance artist, educator, and choreographer. A native of Reading, Pennsylvania, Hutchins trained at Berks Ballet Theatre and attended summer intensives at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Hutchins currently performs with Ballet Bloom Project and as a freelance artist. She has danced with Maine Dance Company, Safe Haven Ballet, and Maine State Ballet. With two decades of teaching experience, Hutchins has taught in diverse settings, inspiring students ranging from beginners to professionals.
Hutchins holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance with an emphasis in Ballet from Utah Valley University and a Master of Fine Arts in Dance with an emphasis in Contemporary Choreography and Performance from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. While an undergraduate, she published the peer-reviewed article "Sociopolitical Influences on the Creation of the Ballet Giselle" in The Journal of the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters, where it was honored as the "best paper" in the arts division. As a graduate student, Hutchins developed and tested a somatic-based contemporary ballet technique curriculum aimed at enhancing dancers' proficiency in contemporary ballet. This research culminated in her choreographic wok, Essence (2020), created in collaboration with composer Allen Russell. Completed remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, the piece was featured in the mini-documentary NEW STAGE, alongside Hutchins’s reflections on the creative process. Hutchins’s choreography is known for its emotional resonance, musicality, and dynamic imagery. Her notable works include the full-length contemporary ballet The Little Mermaid (2024), created with composer Evan Hart Marsh; The Fairy Queen (2021), developed in collaboration with the Portland Bach Experience; Embark (2016), selected for Regional Dance America/Pacific; and Degas (2015), which won 1st place in the emerging division of Utah Regional Ballet's Choreography Design Competition. Hutchins is passionate about creating engaging work and developing educational programs that expand ballet’s possibilities and relevance, while fostering inclusive, nurturing environments that support artistic growth within the dance community. |
Dance Artists
Jennifer Bourgeault
Kurt Brown
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Jennifer Bourgeault holds a B.A. in Dance from DeSales University where she studied the classical Modern techniques of Limon, Cunningham, Horton, and Taylor as well as the Cecchetti method of Ballet under Trinette Singleton. Additionally, Jennifer has trained with the Paul Taylor dance company and David Parsons dance. While in Philadelphia, Jennifer was a soloist with the Opera Company of Philadelphia’s “The Pearl Fishers” and “Aida”. Upon returning to her native state of Maine in 2006, she established Collective Motion (CM), a collaborative modern dance company. With CM she has had the opportunity to work with Maine’s best dancers and choreographers presenting work throughout Maine and New England. Most notable Maine performances include, “The Magic of Christmas” with the Portland Symphony Orchestra, the Maine Island Dance Festival, and “Been here Before” an evening work by Collective Motion. In 2013 Jennifer founded Collective Motion Arts Center. With over fourteen years of teaching experience in Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Pointe, and Modern she looks forward to sharing and exploring the craft and art of dance for many years to come.
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Audrey Bendel
Rose Hutchins
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Audrey Bendel is currently a student at Dean College pursuing a BFA in dance performance. This is her second time performing with Ballet Bloom Project and she has also previously danced with the University of Southern Maine and with several theatre companies in southern Maine. Post-grad, she hopes to pursue performing professionally and hopes to eventually become a licensed dance therapist.
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Faith Buckley
Sarah Beard Buckley
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Faith Buckley trained at Maine State Ballet from a very young age. There, she had the opportunity to perform in numerous classical ballets as a corps de ballet member. After high school, Faith continued her training at Muhlenberg College, graduating in 2021 with degrees in International Studies and French. Along with her degree studies, she was fortunate to study dance and perform within Muhlenberg’s nationally acclaimed dance program. These performances included new works by choreographers Kevin Jenkins and Karen Dearborn, along with various student and guest choreographers. After graduating, Faith took a break from dance while she focused on her love of travel and French. During her hiatus she lived in France for two years while teaching English and serving her travel bug. Now that she’s settled back in Portland, she’s thrilled to be making her return to dance with Ballet Bloom’s concert ESSENCE.
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Emma Davis
Rose Hutchins
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Emma Davis is a journalist who recently found her way back to dance. In 2021, Emma graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Richmond, where she minored in dance and captained the university’s concert dance company, University Dancers. While at Richmond, she choreographed her own work as well as performed in pieces by a range of artists, including Francesca Harper, Camille A. Brown and Alexandra Damiani. A New York native, Emma spent her childhood training with American Ballet Studio, with stints at the Kirov Academy of Ballet and Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet, and previously taught youth ballet in Manhattan.
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Rachel Epling
Michelle Merrill
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Rachel Epling completed her BFA in Dance and BA in Biological Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2017— discovering an enriching, complementary interplay between the two. While attending UCSB, she had the opportunity to perform works by Anna Halprin, Yvonne Rainer, José Limón, Andrea Miller, and Jacqulyn Buglisi, along with many other wonderful choreographers. Rachel was a member of the UCSB touring dance company, and has performed in England, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, and NYC. Following graduation Rachel had the pleasure of teaching and performing professionally in the San Francisco Bay Area. She moved to Maine in the summer of 2020 and has not looked back, enjoying teaching dance, performing, and spending time outdoors. She is currently a graduate student at Lesley University working toward her Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling & Dance Movement Therapy. Rachel has had the immense pleasure of dancing with Ballet Bloom Project since 2021.
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Laura Faherty
RAND Corporation/Diane Baldwin
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Laura Faherty joined Ballet Bloom Project in January 2024. She has had the
pleasure of performing in Atlanta (with Gathering Wild), Buenos Aires (with La Companía de Danzas Karina Roldán), and as a founding member of the San Francisco-based company, RAWdance. She also was a guest artist with the José Limón Dance Company. Laura graduated from Princeton University with a degree in History and a Certificate in Theater and Dance. There, she danced in works by Jessica Lang, Rebecca Lazier, and Ze’eva Cohen, and studied choreography with David Dorfman. She received the Department of Dance’s Francis LeMoyne Page Award for distinctive achievement in dance and was a member of the student-run hip-hop and contemporary dance company, BodyHype. A public health/health policy researcher with RAND and a pediatrician at Maine Medical Center, Laura is a former competitive Scottish highland dancer who represented the United States at the World Highland Dance Championships in Scotland. She lives in the Portland area with her husband (who she met in BodyHype!) and two daughters. |
Hannah Haines
Baylee Call
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Hannah Haines is a dancer, choreographer and educator based in Southern Maine. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BA in Anthropology, and Dance with a concentration in performance and choreography from Skidmore College in May 2019. While at Skidmore Hannah had the opportunity to perform works by Skidmore faculty Denise Warner Limoli, Erika Pujic, Mary Harney, Jason Ohlberg, and works by Earl Mosley, Ohad Naharin, Paul Taylor, Danny Grossman, and Isadora Duncan. She has studied as an Apprentice with Lori Belilove and the Isadora Duncan Dance Company, and performed as a freelance dancer with Ballet Bloom Project under the direction of Rose Hutchons, and Natural Opposite Contemporary Ballet under the direction of Holly Stone. Hannah has presented her own choreography in film and live performances at Engine Gallery, The Frances Tang Teaching Museum, and the American Dance Festival's Movies by Movers film festival. She was selected to participate in the panel “How to be an Ethically Engaged Anthropologist: Activism and Advocacy through Partnership and Collaboration” at the Northeast Anthropological Association Conference 2019, and to present at NYU’s 2020 Mapping Cultures conference for her theoretical research investigating using dance film as an ethnographic method. Hannah teaches ballet, contemporary, and modern dance to students ages 8 through adults throughout Southern Maine and is a 200 hr Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT 200). She is currently the director of Biddeford Movement Map—a collection of virtual and live movement based events and offerings that explore the history and development of Biddeford, ME.
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Cookie Harrist
Chani Bockwinkel
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Cookie Harrist (she/they) is a dancer specializing in contemporary dance and release technique based in Denmark, Maine. They have performed with Maine Dance Company, Joe Goode Performance Group, Sara Shelton Mann, LEVY Dance, and many more. They teach kids and adults at Jeanne Limmer Dance Center (North Conway, NH), Creative Sole Studio (Conway, NH), Expansion Arts Dance Studio (S Paris, ME), The Ballroom (Harrison, ME) and Tina Titzer’s Studio of Dance (Fryeburg, ME.) She is so excited to join Ballet Bloom for ESSENCE!
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Kaylin Kerina
Rose Hutchins
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Kaylin Kerina, also known as "Kay," is a local dancer with Collective Motion Dance Company in Saco Maine. She grew up dancing in Maine and has had the opportunity in college to dance with choreographers such as Marta Renzi and various teachers at Broadway Dance Center and Steps on Broadway, and Alvin Ailey in NYC. She has previously served on the board of Portland Youth Dance, an organization dedicated to giving young people accessible dance access. Kay as well as works with Seachange Yoga as a Yoga Facilitator for young people at the local high schools. She has also been a convener of the community and advocate for young people and wishes to continue that work in everything she does.
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Elly Lovin
Allison Lamb
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Elly Lovin grew up studying classical ballet and pointe with Robert Thomas and Miyoko Kato of the Joffrey Ballet. She earned a BFA in Dance from the University of Iowa with a focus in ballet, modern dance and performance, learning from many influential instructors including Basil Thompson (Royal Ballet), Alan Sener (Louis Falco Company), George de la Peña (American Ballet Theater, “Nijinsky” film) and Armando Duarte. Elly has been a movement educator since 2008, offering yoga, barre, creative dance and ballet programs for all ages at studios and schools. She has lived, worked and danced in Taipei, Chicago, and New York City, and has called Maine home since 2015. She began dancing with Ballet Bloom Project in 2019 and is grateful for the opportunity to continue developing as an artist and performer within a wonderful and supportive community. Elly is a Registered Dance Movement Therapist and holds a Master’s degree in Dance Movement Therapy and Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Lesley University. She believes that movement is our right and inheritance; a form of love and a force for good.
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Stephanie Salmi-Pepin
Rose Hutchins
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Born in Miami, Florida, Stephanie Salmi-Pepin began her training with Ballet Master Orsino del Valle and later at the Miami City Ballet School. At fourteen, she was granted a full scholarship to continue her pre-professional training at the HARID Conservatory in Boca Raton, Florida, graduating four years later as her class Valedictorian. Summer intensives training included the National Russian Ballet Seminar, the HARID Conservatory, North Carolina School of the Arts, The Hartford Ballet, and the Milwaukee Ballet School.
Stephanie started her professional dancing career with the Montgomery Ballet, and later returning close to her home town with Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida. Before her relocation to Greenville, Maine, she danced as a principal with Ballet Wichita in Kansas. During her time in Maine, Stephanie helped run a nonprofit organization, Greenville School for the Arts, alongside her husband, John, while she taught various dance styles to her local community including a program where she volunteered to teach ballroom dance to long-term dementia patients and residents of the C.A. Dean Nursing Home. Stephanie also toured the state of Maine with The Robinson Ballet's Nutcracker Season at the Collins Center with The Bangor Symphony Orchestra in Orono, ME. For the past three fall seasons and close to her heart, her most recent performances have been in Kittery, Maine with Dance Annex Studio's production of The Nutcracker under the Artistic Direction of Julie Hebb. This past Spring, she danced as a soloist in Angela Grassie's production of Cinderella in Durham, NH, for Corinne’s School of Dance Ballet Company of Rochester, NH. In addition to her performance experience, Stephanie has been on staff at The Dancexchange in North Miami, FL, The Montgomery Ballet School, Artistree, The Pointe School of Dance, Wichita School of Performing Arts (WSPA), Bethal College Academy of Performing Arts (BCAPA), close to her current home at the Piscataquis Regional YMCA and also the Boothbay Regional YMCA and Montessori School. She currently teaches Ballet, Pre-pointe, and choreography. This past summer of 2024, Stephanie was invited to be a guest Off- Ice ballet instructor at the Ice Vault Figure Skaters Camp in Augusta, ME, and for the Ice Dance International's Adult Figure Skaters Camp in Dover-Foxcroft, ME. She also participated in the 2024 LILA Dance Festival with choreography by Meghan McCoy. To Stephanie, family means the most to her and she tries to balance herself with taking care them. Her husband, John, and daughter Kristalyn are her encouragement and support. After a recent diagnosis of a family member, Stephanie was inspired to create a new piece on her students entitled “Memory” themed on Alzheimer's disease and dementia that was recently performed at the Waterville Opera House as part of TNT's Dance Studio's production of "Game On". |
Kelsie Steil
Zeb Pease
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Kelsie Steil is a Maine-based choreographer and dance artist. She earned a Bachelors Degree in Adventure Education with a Minor in Dance from Plymouth State University, and graduated with the 2018 Contemporary Dance Ensemble award for her achievements in Choreography. While in her college dance training program, Kelsie had the opportunity to work with renowned choreographers Helen Simoneau and Jesse Robb. Since then, she has worked with choreographers across New England including Amanda Whitworth, Hannah Haines, Kristen Stake and Rose Hutchins.
Kelsie has produced dance across New England at venues such as SPACE Gallery, Lila Dance Festival, Engine, Franco Center, Dance Annex, and City Theater. Her choreography portfolio comprises both live performance and dance film and has been described as cerebral, visceral, and theatrical. Her projects are strong in collaboration, working with artists across all mediums. Her collaborations include MR. MIND, a dance film created alongside filmmaker and photographer Maxwell Auger, and CRAVING THE MYSTIC, a stage work adapted into an award-winning film by filmmaker Jennifer Hoffer. Kelsie has worked with music composers Michael Wall and Masha Reznik in the creation of original scores to accompany her choreographies. Kelsie operates as a concept-driven dance maker, with deep research as a large part of the early development of a new work. Much of her work is rooted in mental health and trauma and typically starts from building a character profile based on those experiences. Rummage Lane, a dance-theatre duet choreographed with Hannah Haines, is centered around mental health through relationships with familial objects. Kelsie is driven by the moments where movement and message clash and is very interested in demonstrating dissonance and a sense of unreality in the choreography she creates. When working with dancers, her first aim is creating a safe, accepting and communicative environment. Channeling her background as an experiential educator, she often begins a process through deep discussion, joyful group initiatives and games linked to the concept of the work. Most recently, Kelsie produced Split My Soul, an evening-length work set to an original sound score which premiered in January 2025. Learn more about Kelsie: kelsiesteilmovement.com |
Danielle Quenneville
Rose Hutchins
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A Native of Western MA, Danielle Quenneville began her ballet training at Pioneer Valley Ballet under the direction of Ms. Maryanne Kodzis and Mr. Thomas Vacanti. It was at this facility Danielle had the opportunity to perform leading roles such as Clara in The Nutcracker and Aurora in Sleeping Beauty. Expanding her horizons, Danielle has spent summers training with various ballet schools, including The Rock School of Dance, American Ballet Theater Collegiate Summer Program, and Mercyhurst University Summer Dance Experience.
Danielle graduated with her BFA from Mercyhurst University under the direction of Ms. Tauna Hunter and Ms. C.Noelle Partusch. Danielle has performed many roles with The Mercyhurst Dancers, most notably including Peasant Pas in Giselle. During her senior year, Danielle had the opportunity to perform with SoMar Dance Works under the direction of Mark and Solvieg Santillano. After College, she ended up moving to Richmond, VA to dance with The Stavna Ballet. Here she performed roles such as Tinkerbell from Peter Pan and the Dew Drop Fairy from The Nutcracker. She also started her teaching career and taught extensively throughout the greater Richmond area. She is excited to be dancing with Safe Haven Ballet and continue sharing her love of dance throughout New England. |
Margaret Wiss
Frederick Wiss
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Margaret Wiss (she/her) holds a Doctor of Physical Therapy from Columbia University, Master of Fine Arts in Dance with a concentration in choreography from NYU Tisch School for the Arts and a Bachelor of Arts in Dance Kinesiology from Mount Holyoke College. Her choreographic and screendance work has been presented across the United States and she has been commissioned by PDX Contemporary Ballet, North Atlantic Dance Theatre, The Harvard Ballet Company, and the Five College Dance Department. She has taught for Mount Holyoke College and Tisch School for the Arts Dance Department Future Dance Makers and Dancers Program. Wiss has performed professionally in Boston and has worked with Pilobolus Dance Theater, Sidra Bell, Jennifer Hart, and Kinsun Chan. She values the vitality of collaboration and is currently researching and writing a book on the subject.
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Collaborators + Guest Creators
Satomi Itohara
Sunao Noto
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Satomi Itohara began her ballet training in her home town of Yamaguchi, Japan. Following a move to the United States, she continued her education at Utah Valley University, where she graduated with a BFA in Dance. Satomi moved to New York to train and was invited to join the Joffrey Concert Group under the direction of Davis Robertson. In high demand as a freelance dancer, she has worked with independent choreographers and companies in NYC, and toured around the nation. She enjoys choreographing and has presented her works in major dance festivals and showcases in NYC such as The Dance Gallery Festival, Dumbo Dance Festival, The Identically Dance Festival, and many others. Currently, she teaches a wide range of students from infants to adults at studios in Tokyo and its suburbs. She has kept choreographing contemporary ballet works for recitals, competitions, and festivals in Japan and abroad in addition to working as a dancer. Her works have been shown in countries such as India, Mexico, Singapore, and Japan. Young dancers she choreographed on and coached have won prizes in competitions in Japan.
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Cristian Laverde König
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Originally from Cali, Colombia, Cristian Laverde König began his formal ballet training at Incolballet, graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Classical Ballet. He continued his studies at the National School of Ballet in Havana, Cuba, on a full scholarship, immersing himself in the Cuban Ballet School Syllabus and refining his technique under esteemed Cuban ballet masters such as Adria Velazquez and Ramona de Saa.
A finalist in international ballet competitions in Havana and Jackson, MS, Laverde König’s professional career began with the National Ballet of Cuba under Alicia Alonso, performing a vast repertoire on national and international tours. He went on to dance as a soloist with Ballet de Cali, Hartford Ballet, and Ballet Internationale, working with renowned ballet masters such as Josefina Mendez, Alla Osipenko, Flemming Flindt, and Irina Kolpakova. He then joined Maximum Dance Company and later Milwaukee Ballet as a principal dancer, expanding his repertoire with works by Ivonice Satie, Jean-Christophe Blavier, Lila York, and Christopher Gable among others. As a freelance artist, Laverde König has performed worldwide, collaborating with companies such as Dominic Walsh Dance Theater, Oakland Ballet, and the National Ballet of Slovakia, as well as participating in the inception of dance projects such as Infinite Movement Ever Evolving (iMEE). His repertoire spans classical and contemporary works, ranging from Petipa’s classics to the likes of Balanchine, Tudor, Tharp, Duato, and Graham, as well as world premieres by Maurice Causey and Karole Armitage. In addition to performing, he has taken on leadership roles, serving as Rehearsal Director for Armitage Gone! Dance and Tabula Rasa Dance Theater, contributing to the development of new productions. A dedicated mentor and teacher, Laverde König is a sought-after master instructor, leading company classes for Gibney Company, Armitage Gone! Dance, and Tabula Rasa Dance Theater. Additionally, he teaches open classes at popular dance studios in New York City, including Steps on Broadway, Peridance, and Broadway Dance Center, and enjoys sharing his expertise with the next generation of dancers. |
Evan Hart Marsh
Angie Seacliff
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Evan Hart Marsh is a composer, dance artist, and educator currently based in California. His exploration in music evolved alongside his career in dance where he has collaborated with choreographers, filmmakers, and performance artists creating original scores and songs.
He studied composition and film scoring at the New England Conservatory of Music and participates in ongoing education in mixing and sound design. Evan's creations have been featured in live performances, films, media, podcasts, and more. For him music is a way of sonic storytelling. His soundscapes experiment with elements of electronic, global, jazz, and new age. His work aims to evoke worlds and environments that transcend our current experience. To listen to Evan's music vist evanhartmarsh.com |
Colin Minigan
Magaret Wiss
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Colin Minigan is a Massachusetts-born composer whose recent music is concerned with natural phenomena, and the relationship between static and fluid elements of musical composition and performance. In addition to concert music, he has frequently collaborated on dance projects with performances throughout the Northeast as well as in Minnesota and Oregon. Colin is also an active songwriter. Colin obtained his B.A. in Music Composition and minor in Asian Studies from Skidmore College in 2016, M.M. in Music Composition from Boston Conservatory at Berklee in 2020, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Music Theory and Composition at the University of California, Davis.
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Portland Bach Experience
Christina Wnek
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Portland Bach Experience tears down barriers and challenges preconceived notions about classical music by offering immersive events, interactive educational programs, and intimate concerts at our annual June festival. Committed to creating programs that are distinct, deep, and connective experiences, we bring award-winning artists to Maine to share musical productions that cultivate resilience, nurture individual growth, and feed our collective hunger for connection.
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Allen Russell
Christal Wagner
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Allen Russell is a violinist, composer and instructor based in Milwaukee, WI. He began his musical studies on the violin at age 5, and studied at the String Academy of Wisconsin with Mimi Zweig and David Becker before later going on to study with Jerome Franke and Dr. Bernard Zinck. Allen has performed with his Hot Swing quartet Swing Chevron at festivals such as the Midwest Gypsy Swingfest, as well as historic venues such as the Green Mill. With the string quartet Tontine Ensemble, Allen has participated in premiering the new works of modern composers and has had his own compositions performed in collaboration with Milwaukee Ballet, UWM Dance, Danceworks Inc., Water St. Dance, Danceteria, and Hyperlocal. Allen is a registered Suzuki Violin instructor and holds a Master of Fine Arts in String Performance and Pedagogy from UW Milwaukee.
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Margaret Wiss
Frederick Wiss
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Margaret Wiss (she/her) holds a Doctor of Physical Therapy from Columbia University, Master of Fine Arts in Dance with a concentration in choreography from NYU Tisch School for the Arts and a Bachelor of Arts in Dance Kinesiology from Mount Holyoke College. Her choreographic and screendance work has been presented across the United States and she has been commissioned by PDX Contemporary Ballet, North Atlantic Dance Theatre, The Harvard Ballet Company, and the Five College Dance Department. She has taught for Mount Holyoke College and Tisch School for the Arts Dance Department Future Dance Makers and Dancers Program. Wiss has performed professionally in Boston and has worked with Pilobolus Dance Theater, Sidra Bell, Jennifer Hart, and Kinsun Chan. She values the vitality of collaboration and is currently researching and writing a book on the subject.
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