Meet the Instructors
Kristen A. Samson
Artistic Director, Ballet Technique, Pointe, Variations, Pas de deux, Boys Ballet, Lyrical, Modern, Jazz, Hip-hop, Tap, Pilates, Yogilates
Ms. Samson founded the Portsmouth School of Ballet in 1993. Over the past 17 years the school has grown into a large facility offering classes in Ballet, Pointe, Variations, Boys & Mens Ballet, Pas de deux, Modern, Streetfunk, Hip-Hop, Jazz, Lyrical, Tap, Pilates, and Yogilates ® to over 500 students weekly.
Ms. Samson and the Portsmouth School of Ballet are dedicated to producing the highest standard in professional dance performance and education for all dancers. The program reflects the standards of the dance world today by offering a state of the art facility with professional instruction in all dance disciplines. The program is for the recreational dancer as well as the pre-professional dancer. The school hosts a Student Company that performs and competes all around New England.
The school every year performs an annual production of the Nutcracker and end of the year spring performance in June. Each summer the school performs for the Prescott Park Arts Festival.
Ms. Samson is dedicated to the on-going growth and continued success of the students of the Portsmouth School of Ballet. Every student at the school receives one on one attention in and out of the classroom. The schools policy is that your dance education should be a rewarding growth experience. Kristen Samson and the faculty of the Portsmouth School of Ballet are always on site and available.
Kristen Samson has trained under the direction of professionals such as Suzanne Taylor, Truman Finney, Mihalo Dujuric and Jose Mateo. She has a Vaganova based teaching degree from the Hartford Ballet. A BA degree in English Language and Literature from Southern New Hampshire University. She is a certified Pilates instructor through the Physical Mind Institute and most recently she has earned her Yogilates certification through Jonathan Urla in NYC. She has danced and studied professionally for many choreographers and companies. Performing soloist roles in Ballets such as Swan Lake, Giselle, Paquita, La Bayadere, Les Sylphides, Pas de Quatre and The Nutcracker. She has attended schools such as the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Hartford Ballet, Boston Ballet and Walnut Hill.
Megan Edmonds
Ballet Technique, Pointe, Variations, Pas de deux, Modern, Contemporary, Tap, Jazz, Hip-hop, Lyrical
Megan Edmonds comes to us from Colorado and Oklahoma where she trained and taught dance. She also has won many top vocalist and choreography awards across the nation. Megans versatile dance background and passion for the arts enables her to instruct and choreograph in all the areas she was formally trained in. She has choreographed and performed in professional musicals all over Colorado, coached cheerleading dance squads and danced with the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City, Richmond Ballet in Virginia, San Diego Ballets Nutcracker and Ballet Emmanuel Ballet Company of Colorado Springs. Megan attended the University of Oklahoma for Musical Theatre. Her students have received top honors at competitions and received numerous scholarships to colleges and dance programs. Mrs. Edmonds has been with the Portsmouth School of Ballet as a faculty member since the fall of 2009.
Susan Endrizzi
Ballet Technique, Pointe, Variations, Pas de deux
Susan Endrizzi is a graduate of Butler University Dance Program. She has danced professionally with the Ballet Theater of Pennsylvania, and Jose Mateos Ballet Theater. In 1996 Mrs. Endrizzi joined the Faculty of Jose Mateos Ballet Theater teaching children ages 8 to adults in Ballet Technique and Pointe. Mrs. Endrizzi has been teaching on the Faculty of the Portsmouth School of Ballet for the past five years. We are pleased to have such a strong beautiful ballet dancer/teacher working with the students.
Robyn Nast
Ballet, Hip-hop, Street Funk, Jazz, Tap
Robyn began her dance training at the age of four at York Dance Academy. When she was eleven, and decided to pursue dance as a career. After graduating high school, Robyn moved to New York and attended the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre. She remained in New York upon completion of her education, and trained for two years, at various dance schools including Steps on Broadway and Broadway Dance Center. She was given the role of Roxie in the off-off Broadway version of Chicago, and in addition, served as the production's Director of Choreography. She has since performed in several Boston productions including The Swan Day Festival and Wake up Call, and continues to attend dance classes regularly in Boston, Portsmouth, and Portland. We are pleased to have Robyn Nast on our faculty here at the Portsmouth School of Ballet.
Andrea Sharron
Street Funk, Hip-hop, Jazz, Lyrical, Modern
Andrea Pike has been performing and teaching jazz, hip-hop, street funk, lyrical and modern for over ten years. She has trained and performed with the Casco Bay Movers, Jeannette Neils Dance Company, and many other dance professionals and companies. Andrea teaches at numerous studios in maine and has been on the faculty of the Portsmouth School of Ballet for the past five years.
Mary Beth Marino
Tap, Jazz, Lyrical
Mary Beth has been dancing since the age of 7 and studied at various studios throughout Manchester, New York, and Boston. She completed her studies at The New Hampshire School of Ballet from 1991-1995. After graduating from the NHSB, She went to the University of New Hampshire, where she was a member of the UNH dance company. She received her BFA in Dance, with a minor in business, in 1999. While there, she received four scholarships for dance and was awarded the prestigious Jean Mattox Scholarship for excellence in dance her final year. Mary Beth joined the faculty of the Portsmouth School of Ballet in the fall of 2006.
Bruce Tracy
Break Dancing, Pop & Lock, Street Funk
Major element in Hip Hop culture, Urban Dance forms (Breakin', Poppin', Lockin', Step, House & those incredible routines on MTV) are surfacing everywhere. Bruce has immersed himself in the "streets" self taught atmosphere and has been teaching them to others for over 15 years. He helped the introduction of hip hop into new England's dance studio world, having Maine's 1st weekly, structured hip hop classes. His choreography has won awards in New Jersey, Boston and New York City. He has trained with some amazing people including Wade Robson, Luam Keflezgy, Bev Brown, Leslie Feliciano, Brian Green, Jazzy Jay, Quickstep, Rocafella, Doug Elkins, Sasha Soreff and Michelle Asaf to name a few.
Bruce's motto for class: "If you can't find your right foot, feel free to bring both of your lefts."
Bruce's moto for life; "whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right."