There are few better role models or exemplifications of what hard work and passion can bring into your life than Rhiannon. Born, raised, and (largely) trained in Maine, Rhiannon reached the pinnacle of a ballet career in her home state by achieving the title of Principal Ballerina with Maine State Ballet at the age of nineteen. She was also one of the youngest dancers to join the Maine State Ballet Company at age fourteen.

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Rhiannon has been classically trained in ballet, tap, jazz, modern, musical theater, and contemporary with companies such as Boston Ballet and the American Academy of Ballet, with much of her training coming directly from her director and mentor, Linda MacArthur Miele of Maine State Ballet (a former pupil of dance legend, George Balanchine). Miele describes her by saying: “She’s lovely. She’s just a hard worker. She has a natural strength and ability... She is always upping her performance” (Portland Press Herald). At Boston Ballet, she shared classes and became friends with notable artists of today such as Lex Ishimoto, Daniel R. Durrett, Misha Culver, Tanner Blee, and Maia Charanis. She trained with esteemed instructors like Lia and Jeffrey Cirio, Tai Jimenez, Tamara King, Igor Burlak, Tara Gragg, and Alla Nikitina. At age sixteen, Rhiannon was invited to Boston Ballet’s Pre-Professional Program at Walnut Hill (a feeder program to their company) with recommendations from Boston Ballet’s director, Margaret Tracy. After searching her soul, Rhiannon ultimately declined the opportunity at Boston Ballet to continue her career at Maine State Ballet and build her life in her home state.

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To this date, she has expanded her repertoire with MSB to include just about every leading role in the Maine State Ballet repertoire including: "Aurora" in Sleeping Beauty, "Swanhilda" in Coppelia, "Kitri" in Don Quixote, the title roles in The Firebird and Cinderella, a soloist in Balanchine’s Serenade, "Odette/Odile" in Swan Lake, and of course, "Sugar Plum" and "Dew Drop" in The Nutcracker, the latter of which has earned Rhiannon critical acclaim – her performance said by one reviewer to rival that of even New York City Ballet’s artists. Some of her highest praises from multiple New England publications are quoted below.

 

Throughout her career, Rhiannon has collaborated on many projects with other choreographers, photographers, and videographers across New England including “The Messenger,” a short film by Roger McCord published on The Maine Monitor  that featured her life and perseverance as an arts entrepreneur through a pandemic; the music video for “December,” by Roseview (Tragic Hero Records); projects with Maine-based contemporary ballet company, Ballet Bloom; and various modelling calls.

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With her strong technical background and expertise in the performing arts, Rhiannon naturally transitioned into the realm of choreography, receiving awards from regional and national competitions for her work. She also produced and directed her own version of The Firebird with Maine Dance Theatre’s students in 2016. Her artistic reach goes beyond that of ballet, being recognized as a student for her strong tap and musical theater abilities with the Peggy Etter Tap scholarship. Her training background in that realm includes close mentorship from icons such as Robyn Hurder (Moulin Rouge), Clyde Alves (Anything Goes), Andrei Chagas (Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story), Leigh-Ann Esty (Carousel), Sara Esty (An American in Paris), Solange Sandy (Chicago), and Roberto Forleo (Trockadero).

 

Rhiannon explores her passion for healthy living, fitness, and cross training alongside her husband who has a background in personal training. She collaborates closely with David Reese (Falmouth Physical Therapy – Reese often works with dancers at Boston Ballet and Alvin Ailey) to develop programs and therapy regimens for dancers, as athletes, to care for their bodies. This pairs beautifully with her certification as an Acrobatics Arts instructor (a curriculum utilized by Cirque De Soleil acrobats) to further her knowledge of anatomy and healthy dance practices, and to help her develop more versatile artists and athletes with tumbling and acrobatic skills.

 

If her dance accreditations weren’t enough to speak of her work ethic, Rhiannon also maintained fantastic scholastic achievements, beginning her college career at age 16 and graduating from Saint Joseph’s College of Maine with a degree in Writing, Publishing, & Business at age 20 at the top of her class. She was on the Dean’s List every semester and received multiple collegiate awards in addition to partaking in the school’s National Honors Society: Delta Epsilon Sigma. Through college, she balanced her dance involvement with business positions including an internship for Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, a job in Human Resources at Idexx Laboratories, and editorial assistant positions for various publications focusing on homesteading as well as dance. You can find her own writings published on platforms including danceadvatage.net, settingthebarre.com, and dakiki.com. She has also interviewed famous dancers including Adiarys Almeida (Boston Ballet) and Joseph Gatti (United Ballet Theatre).

 

She maintains relationships with her college professors and through their guidance, developed a passion for entrepreneurship. When the opportunity to own a dance studio fell into Rhiannon’s lap, it quickly became clear that this was the dream she never knew she had, and the perfect next step in her life. Beginning at age 15, Rhiannon has taught classes at dance schools all over Maine and cultivated a deep love of teaching dance and inspiring the next generation. By owning her own dance studio, she was able to put that passion to its best use and cultivate a staff of dance professionals that prioritize quality training, positivity, and instilling a lifelong appreciation for the arts in their classes. Students and parents seek out Rhiannon’s training not only for her professional experience and passionate demeanor with her students, but because she fills the role of a positive mentor in any student’s life. Rhiannon grows and improves Maine Dance Center’s programs every single day and tends to its rising competitive team, MDC Elite, with extreme care for each individual dancer and the group as a whole. Through the school and team, she motivates students to be the best version of themselves inside and outside of the classroom. Her students succeed on the regional and national level at various competitions including Youth American Grand Prix.

 

To Rhiannon, charity and philanthropy is an important part of being in the arts community, she has been involved in performances such as “The Autism Benefit” and “The Best of Broadway,” that raised funds for the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital. She hopes, with the pandemic behind us, to expand her charitable outreach programs with MDC. This and many other reasons is also why Rhiannon decided to seize another business opportunity alongside her sister (Adrienne Pelletier) and mother (Beth Pelletier), and take ownership of a local business called Rent-A-Princess, well-known for its philanthropy throughout Maine. This organization fit like a perfect puzzle piece into the Pelletier’s existing ventures, and adds a touch of magic to the Maine Dance Center programs.

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Rhiannon balances all of that with her favorite job of all, being a mom to her sons, Julian and Weston, and wife to husband, Travis. Her primary motive is to be a positive role model for young women, proving that you can support yourself and family within the arts (in Maine, no less), find success as a female entrepreneur, lead an active and healthy lifestyle, and to inspire the next generation to tap into a strong foundational work ethic and chase after their dreams.