Student Testimonials

Hannah Holtsclaw '16

Former BBT student and 2016 MCI graduate, Hannah Holtsclaw, recently accepted the position of principal dancer with Ballet Pensacola. Hannah first received an invitation to dance with Ballet Pensacola last spring following a special master class with the company’s Artistic Director, Richard Steinert, and officially joined the company in September as part of an experiential learning year with the University of Cincinnati – College Conservatory of Music (CCM) where she is a junior pursuing a BFA in Ballet. She will remain a full-time student with CCM while she begins her professional career as a principal dancer with Ballet Pensacola.

Hannah is grateful to Ballet Pensacola Artistic director, Richard Steinert, and ballet mistress, Christine Duhon, for giving her an opportunity to grow as a dancer and realize her potential as an artist. "Joining a professional ballet company has been my goal since I was twelve years old. When I received the offer to become a principal dancer with Ballet Pensacola, it was an unexpected and a very rewarding, validating moment in my life. It reaffirmed for me that the years of endless training were worth it and that I can be an accomplished artist in this craft. I am so fortunate to be dancing every day and making a life out of my supreme passion, while dancing alongside such talented and inspiring artists at Ballet Pensacola."

Hannah expressed her excitement for this new stage of her career and credits her training at BBT for her growth into the mature artist she’s becoming. “Bossov Ballet at MCI gave me a balance of academics with rigorous training, which is what inspired me to pursue my degree. At 16 years old, Natalya Getman taught me the most important lesson, that performing on stage is a great privilege."

According to BBT Artistic Director and teacher of Hannah, Natalya Getman, to become a dancer you  have to go through a long process of training your body and mind to work in unison, “there are no "quick fixes" in ballet”. Getman also expressed that during Hannah's time at BBT, she always showed patience and dedication through her work. “That quality has helped Hannah to continuously move forward on her life path.... "

Hannah’s first performance as a principal will take place on October 19th as the Little Witch in A Nightmare Before Christmas. In addition, Hannah will be dancing the role of Dream Clara in the company’s production of The Nutcracker in December.

Ballet Pensacola, founded in 1978, has a full training academy of more than 350 students and a professional company of dancers from all over the world.  

Led by Artistic Director Natalya Getman, Bossov Ballet Theatre at Maine Central Institute is both a performing company and New England’s premier international pre-professional ballet school.  The program offers students a unique opportunity to study and perform classical ballet as part of a rigorous, college preparatory academic curriculum, allowing them to earn full academic credit for ballet training.  Students who complete the program are uniquely positioned either to matriculate to an outstanding college, or join a professional ballet company.

José Eduardo Porras Fajardo

Three years ago when he was first introduced to musical theater in his home country of Mexico, José Eduardo Porras Fajardo discovered ballet. More importantly, Jose realized he was a gifted ballet dancer. After dancing in musical theater performances at Artestudio, including Peter Pan, Cats, and The Producers, to name a few, José turned his focus on perfecting his talents in ballet. Once he connected with BBT’s Artistic Director Natalya Getman, José decided to join the BBT as a post-graduate student at MCI.

Originally from Mexico, José joined BBT in 2017, leaving his parents and siblings in Mexico City to move to central Maine. Since he’s been with the BBT, José performed as Fritz and Spanish Chocolate in the BBT’s Nutcracker during the holiday season, and will perform the role of Pear in Cipollino. This latest role will prove no  easy task, as its will require playing the violin while dancing original, and demanding choreography created by Getman. José is excited to be performing in BBT’s full length production of Swan Lake this summer.

“I enjoy the work ethic of the Bossov,” said José recently. “For a school ballet, BBT’s performances are as good as many professional ballet companies.” José added, “BBT’s work is challenging, but I’ve learned so much since I’ve been here from Natalya and the other dancers.”

It was this desire for challenge, together with a strong work ethic, that drew Getman’s attention to José, and resulted in her inviting him to join BBT’s elite group of year round dancers. Getman explains, “The first time I saw José in his audition video, I could tell through the energy he projected that he is a hardworking and very determined person. This determination, as well as his strong but kind character,  helped him to improve as a dancer, and as a great human being. We are very fortunate at Bossov to have students like José, who give inspiration to me as a teacher, and serve as a good role model to our younger students. The best gift to a teacher is to witness his or her student’s learning growth. I can see lots of growth that has happened in José this past year, and I cannot be any prouder of him as I am right now.”

What José likes most about coming to MCI is the diversity of students from all over the world. “It’s really great for me to interact with non-Spanish-speaking people every day, learn about their cultures and languages.”

Has the transition from Mexico’s warm climate to Maine’s colder environment been a hardship? José shrugged. “I like the cold – I’m looking forward to winter,” he smiled. After José returns to Mexico he will attend college at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México where he is planning to study veterinary science, and continue sharing his performing talents onstage.

Many schools offer online school programs to pair with the endless hours of training. This may work for many, but not for BBT dancer Kyra Rosenberg. She previously attended a ballet conservatory with an online schooling program and stated, “I am definitely a visual learner, so being able to interact in a structured classroom easily trumps the independent and textbook based learning from online schooling.”  

Although BBT is a school that trains specifically in the Vaganova technique, the dancers say that they learn so much more than just that. The dancers learn different types of character dance, contemporary dance, and partnering. More importantly, the dancers learn how to be good people to one another in a world in which cruelty is a frequent occurrence.

The dancers speak of what they call “life lessons with Natalya,” in which Natalya will sit them down and speak to them about life. In the words of sophomore Eva Walden, “she talks about a lot of subjects that we don’t really want to hear, but need to.” The dancers express that because she has so much experience in the ballet world and world in general, she can offer her wisdom in ways that are beneficial to the students as they go on to new things. They think of Natalya as their second mother and their fellow dancers as their family. BBT student José Porras says that "BBT friends are like the roots of a tree. They will always support you."