CHOREOGRAPHERS
Get to know the choreographers for
Momentum: A Mixed Bill
Lindsey Bell
Lindsey Bell is originally from Maryland and began her training at White Marsh Ballet Academy under the instruction of Sandra Harris and Shari Bickel. Upon graduating high school, Lindsey studied at the University of Oklahoma School of Dance where she was mentored by Mary Margaret Holt, Jeremy Lindberg, Clara Cravey, Steve Brule, and Ilya Kozadayev. At OU, Lindsey was able to perform classical and contemporary works as well as perform in the musical, On The Town, and the opera, Don Giovanni. She also choreographed for the Young Choreographer's Showcase on her fellow peers.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2015, Lindsey joined the Ballet Theatre of Maryland as an Apprentice. She was promoted to Soloist in 2017 and has been a Principal with the company since 2019. With BTM, she has performed many different roles including the Evil Queen Regina in Snow White, the Spanish Princess and a Big Swan in Swan Lake, the title role in Dianna Cuatto's An American Southwest Carmen, Lucy in Eddie Stewart’s Dracula, Swanhilda in Coppelia, Myrtha in Giselle, and the pas de deux female in Les Sylphides. Lindsey has had the opportunity to choreograph on the Ballet Theatre of Maryland dancers with her works Mudita premiering in 2021, Sanctuary in Chaos in 2022, and her most recent work, á¼€γάπη (agapÄ“) in 2023.
Olivia Fohsz
Olivia Fohsz is from Long Island, New York where she began her training at the Ohman School of Ballet under the instruction of Frank Ohman. To supplement her training, Olivia attended summer intensives at Adelphi University, Manhattan Youth Ballet, Boston Ballet, and The Rock School. After high school, Olivia studied at Adelphi University under the direction of Frank Augustyn and earned her BFA in Dance in 2019. Olivia performed in ballets including The Nutcracker, Napoli, The Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, Paquita, and the Harlequinade Pas de Deux restaged by Frank Augustyn and Play Ball by Christopher Fleming. While at Adelphi, Olivia was a Guest Artist in New York Dance Theatre’s annual production of The Nutcracker. Olivia joined Ballet Theatre of Maryland in 2019. With BTM she has performed in Aladdin, The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Dracula, An American Southwest Carmen, The Little Mermaid, Giselle, Coppélia, Les Sylphides, and Don Quixote. When Olivia is not dancing, she is BTM’s Company Manager and is happy to help with any donor or ticket inquiries!
Hannah Hanson
Originally from New York, Hannah began dancing at the age of 3. She started her formal ballet training at age 7 under the guidance of Darlene Myers in Saratoga Springs and Schenectady, NY. Hannah has attended summer programs at Boston Ballet, CPYB, Miami City Ballet, Ballet Academy East, and Nashville Ballet. At the age of 15, she moved to Carlisle, PA to train full-time at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet with founding artistic director Marcia Dale Weary, as well as Darla Hoover, Nicholas Ade, and Alan Hineline. During her time at CPYB, Hannah performed leading roles in “George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker,” along with featured roles in George Balanchine’s “Serenade” and “Who Cares?”
Hannah joined BTM as an apprentice in 2020 and was promoted to Demi-Soloist in 2022. Since joining BTM, Hannah has danced roles such as Dewdrop in “The Nutcracker,” as well as original works created by fellow BTM dancers Lindsey Bell and Isaac Martinez. This is her 4th season with the company.
Roman Mykyta
Roman Mykyta is a professional choreographer and dancer with deep expertise in character styling and techniques. He developed an interest in Ukrainian dancing at an early age and soon after began studying ballet both in the Cecchetti Method and in the Vaganova Ballet Technique.
In 2014, he began his professional career, joining the Ballet Theatre of Maryland under the artistic direction of Dianna Cuatto, where he danced for three seasons, performing in many ballets and soloist roles.
In 2017, Roman moved to Kyiv, Ukraine to study dance pedagogy and choreography at the National Pedagogical University Dragomanova. In Ukraine, he also had the opportunity to study as a guest at the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts, to work with the Studio Company of the Virsky National Ukrainian Folk Ensemble in Kyiv and to perform with the Horlytsya Ukrainian Dance Ensemble in Kyiv and the Yunist Honored Ukrainian Folk Ensemble in Lviv.
In 2021, Roman returned to Maryland where he continues to perform, teach and choreograph throughout the Washington DC Metro area.
Since his return, his work in Ukrainian Dance, both as a performer and choreographer, has been highlighted and featured at many events and venues, including the Kennedy Center, the 2022 World Dance Showcase, and the 81st National Folk Festival. In 2023, Roman was recognized by the Maryland State Arts Council as a Master Artist in Ukrainian Folk Stage Dance for his body of work promoting Ukrainian Culture, covering the many facets of Ukrainian Choreographic Art.
In 2023, he was nominated for Best Choreography in a Musical by Broadway World Baltimore for his original choreography for Chaplin! The Musical, staged by Players on Air, Inc., placing in the top five among a field of nearly 40 nominees.
Roman maintains a regular collaboration with the Ballet Theatre of Maryland as both a choreographer and a guest artist. Original choreographic works created for the Ballet Theatre of Maryland include: one act ballets The Little Slippers, Kotyhoroshko and Cappricio Espagnol; short narrative works Carmen Paraphrase and Roksolana; and individual works Kupala Na Ivana, Hutsulka Ksenya, Sailor Dance and La Danza del Amor. In addition, Roman has performed as a guest artist in Ballet Theatre of Maryland’s recent productions of Don Quixote as Don Quixote, and The Nutcracker as Drosselmeyer.
In 2023, Roman was awarded the Mark Ryder Original Choreography Grant by the Howard County Arts Council, which supported the creation of Macbeth.
Madison Sweeney
Madison Sweeney is originally from Duluth, MN where she began her training at the Minnesota Ballet School under the direction of Robert Gardner. While dancing at the Minnesota Ballet School, Madison attended summer programs at ABT Tuscaloosa, The Washington School of Ballet, and the School of Ballet Arizona. Upon graduating high school, Madison studied at the School of Ballet Arizona under the direction of Ib Anderson and Carlos Valcarcel. Madison joined BTM as a trainee in 2017, was promoted to apprentice in 2018, and to Demi-soloist in 2021. She is excited to be in her seventh season with the company.
Ashley Taylor
Ashley Taylor, a native of northern Virginia, graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Dance from The University of Alabama, where she performed with several pre-professional dance companies and was a 2014 recipient of her department's Edith Barnes Award for Choreography. Following graduation, Ashley danced with Ballet Theatre of Maryland from 2014-2018, where she performed in multiple full-length ballets and outreach programs. Since then she has performed soloist roles with Benjamin Briones Ballet, VidaDance Company, Bowen McCauley Dance Company, and Charm City Ballet. In addition to choreographing for BTM's Conservatory of Dance and VidaDance Company, Ashley conceived and directed two independent dance concerts, Light in the Dark (2017) and Taking Wing (2019), both to enthusiastic audience reception. She is a freelance performer and choreographer and teaches ballet, modern, and pointe at Cobble Hill Ballet in New York City, where she lives with her husband and two children. She premiered her first work for BTM's professional company in 2023 and is delighted to return as a guest choreographer in 2024.
Michael West Jr.
Michael West Jr. is a native of Baltimore, Maryland where his training began in Baltimore County Public Schools. Upon graduating from George Washington Carver Center for the Arts & Technology, he was invited to join Nashville Ballet’s official second company, NB2 where he trained and performed for two seasons. Michael moved on to perform as an aerialist and dancer with Nashville-based contemporary dance company FALL, and later with Suspended Gravity Circus. While in Nashville, he had the pleasure of performing at a variety of venues including the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Marathon Music Works, Cheekwood Botanical Gardens, OZ Arts Center, and many others. West has been featured in the official music videos for OBB’s “Sweater”, Humming House’s “Takin’ Over”, Front Country’s “Broken Record”, & Lauren Balthrop’s “So We Remember”. Since returning to his home state and joining BTM, Michael has performed roles such as Hilarion in Nicole Kelsch’s 2021 staging of Giselle, Behemoth/ the Devil in the Ukrainian folktale ballet “the Little Slippers” and the titular hero in “Kotyhoroshko” created by Roman Mykyta, as well as the Lead Nomad in Don Quixote. He also had the opportunity of performing at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for the Winter Wonderland concert in 2022. Michael is a certified Yoga instructor and in his spare time enjoys teaching and choreographing. In the 2023 production of Momentum, Michael set his own choreography on the company and premiered his original ballet “Ultraviolet”, inspired by the cosmos and set to music by Timbre Cierpke.