Frederick Bernier
Theater Manager, Instructor, Principal Dancer Maine State Ballet
As a Principal dancer Fred combines strong acting ability with commanding technique, making him equally versatile in classical and character ballets. The ultimate Prince, Fred has danced every major role in MSB’s repertoire over the past several years, including Nutcracker Prince, Prince Florimund and Prince Charming. Before joining the MSB faculty in 2009, Fred earned his degree in Theater from USM. As a teacher, Fred inspires his students with a balance of technical knowledge and enthusiastic energy.

Kirby Ciampi
Instructor, Maine State Ballet Company Member
Kirby is a current dancer with Maine State Ballet company and has been with Maine Stat Ballet since she was four years old. During her years at Maine State Ballet she has performed many roles including Lead Marzipan Shepherdess in the Nutcracker, Silver Fairy in Sleeping Beauty, Six Friends in Coppelia just to name a few. Kirby graduated from the University of Southern Maine with a degree in communication and marketing. She worked as an event consultant for three years and she recently graduated from Cosmetology School to become a hair stylist. Kirby married her husband Anthony last fall.

Jessica Cook
Instructor, Ballet
Jessica is a former principal dancer with Maine State Ballet.  During the twenty years she spent dancing with the Company, she performed many roles including Sugar Plum Fairy and Dew Drop in the Nutcracker, Lilac Fairy in Sleeping Beauty, Fairy Godmother in Cinderella, and Mercedes in Don Quixote.  Jessica holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a Master of Science degree in education from the University of Southern Maine.  She was an elementary school teacher for twelve years, and she spent eleven of them as a fourth grade teacher in the Cumberland/North Yarmouth school district.  Jessica now enjoys being a full-time mom to her three children, Anna, Quinn, and Daniel.

Gail Csoboth
Instructor, Associate Director - Maine State Ballet
Ms. Csoboth studied classical ballet in New York City at the American Ballet Theatre with such teachers as Valentina Perejslavic, Igor Schwetzoff and Robert Joffrey. She became a member of the American Ballet Theatre Choreographer's Showcase and performed with them in New York. Gail finished her education in New York City as an art major, receiving awards and grants for her work. Gail has designed and staged full length classical ballets in Portland for the past 20 years. She has received rave reviews for her costume and scenic design for the Maine State Ballet's productions of Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Don Quixote, Coppelia, Hansel and Gretel and of course, Nutcracker. Gail has also been costume designer for the Portland Opera Repertory Theatre and designed the Opera's productions of Carmen, Madame Butterfly, Tosca, La Traviata, La Boheme, Rigoletto, Lucia de Lammermoor and Pagliacci. Gail provides classical ballet training and coaching to Maine State Ballet's upcoming company dancers.

Glenn Davis
School Director, Instructor, Principal Dancer Maine State Ballet
A Lewiston native, Glenn was an All-State athlete prior to beginning his formal ballet training in 1991. He has degrees in History and Education from the University of Maine and is a Certified K-12 educator. He has taught in public schools and has written curriculum and structured programs for the Maine State Academy for the Performing Arts. He joined Maine State Ballet in 1993. His current repertoire includes Prince Florimund in Sleeping Beauty, Basilio in Don Quixote, Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake and Prince Ivan in Firebird. His background in musical theater brings a versatility and energy to his teaching and choreography in tap, jazz and ballet. Mr. Davis also brings his students the benefit of his experience as a classroom teacher. He resides in Windham with his wife, ballerina Janet Davis, and their daughter Emma.

Janet Davis
Artistic Assistant, Instructor, Principal Dancer Maine State Ballet
Maine State Ballet’s most prolific ballerina, Janet epitomizes the dream of every aspiring young dancer. Audiences have applauded her as Sugar Plum Fairy in Nutcracker, Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, Kitri in Don Quixote, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, the Firebird in Maine State Ballet’s premiere production of Firebird and many other roles. Equally comfortable teaching tap, jazz and ballet, Janet has choreographed for musical productions and for “Best of Broadway”. She studied piano and music theory under MSB Orchestra Conductor, Karla Kelley and has conducted choirs around the State. This extensive understanding of music is passed on to her dancers through phrasing and choreography. Her philosophy of “If you can, you should” inspires confidence in her students and helps them reach their full potential. Janet is married to Principal dancer Glenn Davis and has a daughter, Emma.

Elizabeth Dragoni
Instructor, Principal Soloist Maine State Ballet
Elizabeth is a sophomore at St. Joseph's College studying Fine Art & Education. Her list of roles at Maine State Ballet in addition to five seasons as Clara in the Nutcracker have grown to include the lively Poodle in The Magic Toy Shop, Folly in Coppelia, and the elegant Driad Queen in Don Quixote. She was featured at the ballerina in the The Firebird a performance that won her critical acclaim.

Katie Farwell
Instructor, Principal Soloist Maine State Ballet
Katie was trained exclusively with Maine State Ballet and was accepted into notable summer programs such as Boston Ballet, The Rock School and Julliard. After high school Katie danced at Marymount Manhattan College in NY and at Steps. After returning to Maine she studied nursing at SMCC and now has certification as a Certified Nursing Assistant, a Pharmacy Technician and group fitness instructor. Katie’s versatile style enables her to perform diverse roles such as the beautiful Princess Elena in Firebird and the Gypsy Queen in Don Quixote.  Her additional repertoire includes the Dark Angel in George Balanchine’s Serenade, the Spanish Princess in Swan Lake, and the Fourth Movement soloist in Miele’s Bach Concerti.

Rebecca Galli
Instructor
Rebecca is a full time Kindergarten teacher for the Cumberland School Department. She has a B.S. in Nursing from the University of Southern Maine, a Master of Science Degree in Education from the University of New England and her Teacher Certification from the University of New England. Mrs. Galli joined the staff of Maine State Ballet in 2010 with a focus on our younger students. She has been a dedicated dance student for many years and performed in several recitals. Her wealth of experience as a dancer and a classroom teacher make her a valuable addition to the faculty.

Kate Hamilton
Instructor, Principal Dancer Maine State Ballet
Kate graduated from the University of Southern Maine with a Bachelor's in Psychology. She was elevated to principal dancer of the Maine State Ballet in 2008 when she took on the demanding role of Kitri in Don Quixote. Audiences have enjoyed her in roles that include Sugar Plum Fairy in the Nutcracker, Ballerina in Paquita, the Russian Girl in George Balanchine's Serenade, the Shy Violet in Alice in Wonderland, and the featured soloist in Miele's acclaimed Souvenir.

Lori Johnson
Instructor, Jazz
Lori is no stranger to MSB; this is her second year as an instructor at the Maine State Ballet School for the Performing Arts.  Pursuing her passion for ice skating, Lori spent 10 years with the Ice Capades touring all over the US and Canada performing in the Corps de ballet as a line skater, the flying ballet, and a tap dancer along with other types of specialty acts.  Both daughter’s, Kirby Johnson and Julia Lopez started dancing at age 3 at MSB so many hours have been spent with the Company behind the scenes and substituting dance classes.  She settled in Maine in 1986 and since has performed at community theaters around the state; she is also currently a coach for the Adult Synchronized Skating Team at the Family Ice Center.

Juliette Lauzier
Instructor, Maine State Ballet Company Member
Juliette is a founding member of Maine State Ballet. Known to her young dance students as "Miss Juliette," her style is elegant and graceful. She is sought after all over Maine as a dancer, choreographer and teacher, most recently guest teaching at the Maine Dance Teacher's Workshop. She won critical acclaim for her choreography and performance of Broken Trust, an original modern piece.

Christine Marshall Dow
Instructor, Maine State Ballet Company Member
Christine graduated from Skidmore College with a Bachelor’s in theater and English. Along with the many character roles she has perfected for Maine State Ballet, Christine is a Narrator for The New Yorker Online and the Artistic Director of Mad Horse Theater Company. She developed the theater curriculum for the Maine State Academy for the Performing Arts and been teaching ballet, tap and jazz for several years at Maine State Ballet. Her creative style gives unique perspective to her students.  She and her husband Mike reside in South Portland.

Jonathan Miele
Director, Instructor
Mr. Miele started dancing at the Dorothy Mason School of Dance here in Maine, which is now the Maine State Ballet School for the Performing Arts. After brief training at Boston Ballet School, Jonathan went to New York City where he had a successful career on Broadway dancing with such notable stars as Carol Channing, Jane Powell, Bernadette Peters, Gower Champion and Robert Preston. Mr. Miele personally trained most of our current tap and jazz teachers. Mr. Miele has directed and choreographed shows for Lyric Theater, Portland Players and many area high schools. His exuberant style of dance has made him a great favorite among students who want to experience the excitement of big, Broadway-style choreography.

Linda Miele
Instructor, Artistic Director - Maine State Ballet
Ms. Miele started to dance at age 3 in Boston. At age 11 she moved to New York to further her studies where she was accepted into George Balanchine's School of American Ballet. At age 14, she was the youngest member accepted into the New York City Ballet Company. She has toured the world, dancing in such places as Paris, Rome, Athens, Venice, Jerusalem, London, Dubrovnik, Tel-Aviv, Florence, Salzburg, and Montreal. Most of her performances however, were at Lincoln Center at the New York State Theater. Having worked closely with George Balanchine, she moves into the area of choreography naturally and maintains the legendary versatile Balanchine Style. Adding to her long-standing rights to Balanchine's Nutcracker choreography, Miele was granted permission to stage Serenade from The George Balanchine Trust. In 2006 Linda Miele choreographed Maine State Ballet's production of Swan Lake and new neoclassical ballet, Souvenir, making her Maine's premiere choreographer. Mrs. Miele is a notable college lecturer, Church Choir Director and the past President of the Women’s Relief Society, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Courtney True
Instructor, Maine State Ballet Company Member

Christina Williams
Instructor, Principal Soloist Maine State Ballet
Christina is a senior at the University of Southern Maine studying for her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art Education and is a principal soloist of Maine State Ballet. Her solo credits include The Lilac Fairy of Sleeping Beauty, Lead Marzipan Shepherdess in Nutcracker, Six Friends in Coppelia, the Persian Princess in Cinderella and Princess Eleana in Firebird.