MMA student starts ballet studio in spare time, with overwhelming response
Makeshift studio in Emerson Hall becomes a hit, with two dozen students coming from as far away as Brewer for dance lessons
Rosa McDonald, an MMA sophomore, leads a line of participants in her “Mommy and Me” ballet class in Castine. Photo by Emily Baer.
Feb. 18, 2026
By Emily Baer
CASTINE—Rosa McDonald has been a dancer as long as she can remember. A ballerina by training, she has also loves modern dance and has taught both for many years.
But as a sophomore studying marine transportation operations at Maine Maritime Academy, McDonald found it hard to find a local dance community. Now, thanks to a partnership with the Castine Arts Association (CAA), McDonald is teaching aspiring young ballerinas at Emerson Hall on Sunday afternoons.
Verity Starbird, 4, receives pointers from McDonald. Photo by Emily Baer.
“I searched for teaching opportunities in surrounding communities but I really quickly found out how hard it is. The options are incredibly limited,” McDonald said. “So I was really excited to work with CAA. They loved the idea and it’s all gone really well.”
The association helped secure a dance space and covered the insurance necessary to host classes. During this initial winter session McDonald is teaching a “Mommy and Me” class for students under five, plus a regular class for students six to 10 years old.
The response has been overwhelmingly positive, McDonald said, with 23 students coming from Castine, Orland, Bucksport, Brewer, Deer Isle.
“I am so grateful to be able to do this here,” McDonald said. “The younger class is so fun. They’re all so excited. And it’s been really nice to see the older kids develop over the weeks. They’re all improving tremendously.”
On a recent Sunday afternoon the youngest ballerinas practiced pliés and tendus in rainbow tutus, colorful dresses and mismatched socks. By the time the second class arrived, the makeshift ballet studio in the upstairs auditorium of Emerson Hall sparkled with glittery costumes and enthusiastic students.
In the center of the room two students chased each other, twirling. As they ran down the stairs to leave one yelled back to the other, ‘I want to be a ballerina here forever!’
Kate Kana, a local parent and assistant professor in international business and logistics at MMA, helped connect McDonald and the CCA after learning that McDonald was a dancer through a class assignment.
“I knew Rosa through a class that I was teaching,” Kana said. At the end of the semester, she approached McDonald about the possibility of teaching. “She’s very deliberate and I knew she would put together a really thoughtful program.”
“It’s been wonderful,” Kana said. “For a young kid, dance is just this magical form of movement. So to be able to offer that to our community is pretty remarkable.”
Ballet students warm up with stretches. Photo by Emily Baer.
McDonald said she is working on creating a program that can sustain itself after she graduates.
“I hope to do this until I leave. But I don’t want to build up a program just to drop it when I’m done at MMA,” said McDonald, who is working with other students to create a plan to pass off the program when the time comes.
In the meantime, the classes at Emerson Hall are keeping her busy. McDonald plans to host a recital at the end of April, an event she will soon begin choreographing with her students.
“We’ll start working on the moves in the next couple of weeks,” she said. “I’m really excited to see it all come together.”
For more information about the ballet classes, or future Castine Arts Association programming, please visit the organization’s website.
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