Mission and History
Maine State Ballet’s mission is to bring joy to the Maine community through inspiring dance education and performance.
MSB is a school and a ballet company. The dancing school was established circa 1920 by Janette Emerson in Portland, Maine, later becoming the Dorothy Mason School of Dance. In 1974, Maine native and Broadway veteran Jonathan Miele and Linda MacArthur Miele, a former New York City Ballet dancer, purchased the school. The ballet company was established in 1986. Both organizations merged in 2006 to operate as one unified 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Linda MacArthur Miele, who founded and led the company for fifty years as Artistic Director, trained under the legendary choreographer George Balanchine of the New York City Ballet and is an appointed repetiteur for the Balanchine Trust.
Longtime MSB ballerina Janet Davis took the reigns as Artistic Director in 2025 and is leading the company into a new era.
MSB has sent its students to world-renowned performance venues, including major ballet companies, Broadway, Radio City Music Hall, movies, and television. Recent Alumni Leigh-Ann and Sara Esty are featured in Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story,” and Robyn Hurder is a Tony Award nominee for her performance in “Moulin Rouge.”