Bossov Ballet Theatre (BBT) is a non-profit performing company and an international pre-professional

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

school, located in

Pittsfield, Maine Pittsfield is a town in Somerset County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,908 at the 2020 census. Pittsfield is home to the Maine Central Institute, a semi-private boarding school, and the annual Central Maine Egg Festival. History ...

. Founded in 1996, it is now affiliated with

Maine Central Institute Maine Central Institute (MCI) is an independent high school in Pittsfield, Maine, United States that was established in 1866. The school enrolls approximately 430 students and is a nonsectarian institution. The school has both boarding and da ...

, under the direction of Natalya Nikolaevna Getman.

Founding

The Theatre was founded by retired

U.S. Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Michael Wyly Michael Duncan Wyly (born c. 1939) is a retired U.S. Marine Colonel. In 1979, Colonel Wyly was head of tactics at the Amphibious Warfare School (AWS) where he, with John Boyd, introduced maneuver warfare. Military service Wyly enlisted as a Marin ...

, as an attempt to fulfill a family dream shared by him and his daughter. He recruited Andrei Petrovitch Bossov, a former ballet star at the

Mariinsky Ballet The Mariinsky Ballet (russian: Балет Мариинского театра) is the resident classical ballet company of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the Imperial Russ ...

as the artistic director. Bossov introduced the Russian imperial tradition to the Theatre, which was later named after him.

Program

BBT offers both year-long training program and a summer intensive program. The training programs is carried out in the Vaganova tradition. Students enrolled in the year-long program are required to take academic courses at MCI along with other local and international high school students, in addition to their ballet training. The Theatre has attracted students from across Maine, 16 states and 24 countries, who attend MCI and study ballet more than two hours a day, six days a week. Every year the BBT brings ballet productions such as

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaiko ...

to local theaters and opera house. The troupe also tours internationally, performing in countries like Russia.

References

{{coord, 44.77946, -69.386579, display=title, format=dms, type:edu_region:US-ME Ballet schools in the United States Pittsfield, Maine Schools in Maine Schools in Somerset County, Maine Dance in Maine