Our Founder & Artistic Director

 Margaret Russell began her training with the Gwinnett Ballet Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia under the direction of Lisa Sheppard. She has studied with Orlando Ballet, Boston Ballet, Ballet Arizona, and Burklyn Ballet Theatre. She has worked with Fernando Bujones, John Gardner, Amanda McKerrow, Author Leeth, and Thom Clower. Russell performed in Austria at the Tanzsommer Festival with the Gwinnett Ballet Theatre and in Scotland at the Fringe Festival with the Burklyn Ballet Theatre. She received her BA from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County where she trained with Carol Hess, Doug Hamby, Erica Rebollar, and Sandra Lacy.

 Margaret Russell’s professional experience includes principal and soloist roles with Manassas Ballet Theatre and Ballet Theatre of Maryland. Her roles with MBT, under the direction of Amy Grant Wolfe, include Queen of the Dryads in Don Quixote, Katrina in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and Snow Queen and Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, in addition to soloist roles in Les Sylphides and The Sleeping Beauty. Her roles with BTM, under the direction of Dianna Cuatto, include Cinderella in Cinderella, Dawn in Coppelia, Dew Drop and Snow Queen in The Nutcracker, and Odette in Swan Lake.

 Russell has been teaching ballet in Maryland and Virginia for the past fifteen years. She has taught for The Dance Academy, Ballet Theatre of Maryland, Manassas Ballet Academy, Metropolitan Ballet Theatre, C&C Dance Company, and is currently the ballet instructor at Anne Arundel Community College. In 2010, she was appointed Ballet mistress for Ballet Theatre of Maryland and in 2017 for The Dance Academy. Russell’s students have received scholarships to train with Bolshoi Academy in Moscow, Russia, Boston Ballet, and other numerous renowned schools. Many of Russell’s students have been finalists at the Youth America Grand Prix and have danced professionally with Pacific Northwest Ballet, Nashville Ballet, Texas Ballet Theatre, and The Suzanne Farrell Ballet. She has choreographed neoclassical and contemporary pieces for Manassas Ballet Theatre, University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s Dance Department, and South River High School’s Dance Company. Her choreography received top 12 at the Youth America Grand Prix in 2019. Russell founded Greater Annapolis Ballet in 2019 and is dedicated to providing students with proper training and guidance.