Founder + Director

Rose Hutchins

Karielle Silk Photography

 

Ballet Bloom Project founder and director, Rose Hutchins (she/her), is a Maine-based dance artist, educator, and choreographer. She received her early training at Berks Ballet Theatre and spent summers at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, experiences that built a strong foundation for her professional career. Hutchins currently performs with Ballet Bloom Project and has also danced with Safe Haven Ballet and Maine State Ballet. She has taught in a variety of settings, working with students ranging from beginners to professionals.

Hutchins holds a BFA in Dance with an emphasis in Ballet from Utah Valley University and an MFA in Dance with an emphasis in Contemporary Choreography and Performance from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. During her master's studies, Hutchins developed and tested a somatic-based contemporary ballet technique curriculum aimed at enhancing dancers' proficiency in contemporary ballet. This research led to her work, Essence (2020), created in collaboration with composer Allen Russell. The piece, completed remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was featured in the mini-documentary NEW STAGE, which includes Hutchins's reflections on the unique creative process.

Hutchins's 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 the Utah Regional Ballet's Choreography Design Competition. Her achievements also include the publication of her 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.

Dance Artists 2024

Jacqui DeFrança

Bekah Robertson Photography

Jacqui DeFrança is a Maine based dance artist originally from Massachusetts.  She is a graduate from Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles where she received a B.A. in Dance. She has had the pleasure of performing at venues such as: Ailey Citigroup Theater, St. Mark's Church, Joe's Pub, Milk Studios, Dixon Place, Lightbox, Engine and SPACE Gallery. Jacqui has also danced at various showcases including: ACDF, Western Arts Alliance Annual Conference, Reverb Dance Festival, APAP, and CFDA/Vogue presentation. As well as stage, she has experience with TV and Film, dancing in Video Music Awards performance with Rihanna, Oh Land's music video Renaissance Girls and acting and dancing in the short films Out of Zinc and Big Breakin'. Learning under artistic director Mike Esperanza, Jacqui was a member of Bare Dance Company from 2008-2015. She also has worked with New York City based, Flying Under The Radar (FUTR) with artistic director Marlon Taylor-Wiles since 2014. Alongside performing, Jacqui enjoys choreographing and has had the delight in creating movement for Illesteva’s fashion week presentation 2012, KOPPS’s music video Hott in 2018, The Bones of J.R.Jones' music video Stay Wild in 2020 and continuously developing solo improvisation work. While dancing in Maine, Jacqui has had the honor of working with Subcircle, Michael Figueroa, Scott McPheeters, Liz Mulkey, Rose Hutchins, Kelsie Steil, Hannah Haines and Alison Chase. She has been performing and training with contemporary ballet company Ballet Bloom Project since 2020. Jacqui also curated and performed in En Route, a two month curbside performance series at Engine in 2021 and co-curated the series second show in 2022. She is currently involved in project based work both in film and live performance.

Rachel Epling

Michelle Merrill

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.

Laura Faherty

RAND Corporation/Diane Baldwin

​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

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. 

Joseph LaChance

Stan Olszewski

Mr. LaChance was awarded a Dowd Merit Scholarship to Ballet Chicago under directors Dan Duell and Patricia Blair. Upon graduating Indiana University, he moved to Chicago to attend Ballet Chicago’s full-year program to continue his education. Mr. LaChance began dancing professionally in 2013 and since then has performed across the country for several professional ballet companies as well as ballroom studios. Joseph’s performance highlights include: Von Rothsbart in Balanchine’s Swan Lake, the Third Regiment in Balanchine’s Stars & Stripes, Le Corsaire pas de deux, Dracula in W. Earle Smith’s Dracula and Sugar Plum Cavalier in various productions of The Nutcracker. He is currently a principal dancer with Safe Haven Ballet having starred in full length productions of Don Quixote, Cinderella, Beauty and The Beast, and How The Grinch Stole Christmas

Mr. LaChance performed with Ballet Bloom Project courtesy of Safe Haven Ballet

Matthew Sleeper

Rose Hutchins

Matthew Sleeper is a movement enthusiast living in Southern Maine. His background in
gymnastics and parkour had initially sparked his interest in dancing with Ballet Bloom Project, as well as watching his wife, Kelsie Steil’s, dedication and passion in her career as a dance artist. As a former multi-sport athlete in his youth, working in the arts has been a new
experience. Matthew has enjoyed exploring the artistry, athleticism, teamwork, and healing
nature of dance.

Kelsie Steil

Zeb Pease

Kelsie Steil graduated from Plymouth State University with a Bachelors in Adventure Education and a Minor in Dance in May, 2018. There she received the 2018 Contemporary Dance Ensemble award for her achievements in choreography. Her latest work is an ongoing duet danced between herself and dancer Max Auger called IMMORTAL!. The work had its most recent showing in FAB15 in February, 2020 and is funded in part by New England Foundation for the Arts’ New England Dance Fund, with generous support from the Aliad Fund at the Boston Foundation. In November 2019 she presented her piece Cast in Maine Moves IV. Kelsie has had the joy of living, dancing and teaching locally and internationally. One of her most major projects was a three-part film series based in Lithuania, which can be viewed on her website. In the midst of making dance works, she works as a Pilates and Dance instructor while spending as much time in nature as possible. 

 Artistic Collaborators + Guest Creators

Satomi Itohara

Sunao Noto

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.  

Evan Hart Marsh

Angie Seacliff

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

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.

Portland Bach Experience

Christina Wnek

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.

Allen Russell

Christal Wagner

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. 

Margaret Wiss

Travis Magee

Margaret Wiss holds an MFA in Dance with a concentration in choreography from NYU Tisch School for the Arts and a BA in Dance Kinesiology from Mount Holyoke College. She has presented work across the United States and been commissioned by PDX Contemporary Ballet, North Atlantic Dance Theatre, The Harvard Ballet Company, and the Five College Dance Department. Last summer she was awarded an Arts and Science Residency by the Peaked Hill Trust on Cape Cod’s National Seashore developing a new dancefilm. 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 at The Kennedy Center and has worked with Pilobolus Dance Theater, Sidra Bell, Jennifer Hart and Kinsun Chan. She values the vitality of collaboration and currently is researching the language of collaboration between choreographers and composers. Wiss is pursuing a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) from Columbia University. 

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Banner Image: Christina Wnek​