vita

Hannah Bontrager is Ballet Fantastique's Founding Executive Director and Co-Choreographer Producer. Hannah graduated summa cum laude and phi beta kappa from the Robert D. Clark Honors College of the University of Oregon where, as a full scholarship student, she earned concurrent degrees in Dance and English Literature and a minor in Arts Administration, as well as the American Association of University Women Award, the Dance Achievement Award, and the Dean's Award for Service. Under Hannah’s leadership, Ballet Fantastique has earned touring invitations on behalf of Ballet Fantastique nationally and internationally; grant awards from major foundations; hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and in-kind corporate and individual support; and sustained organizational and audience growth. Hannah is listed among the international Who’s Who Among Executives and Professionals, a Comcast Newsmaker, and a 20 under 40 award recipient. Hannah also oversees Ballet Fantastique’s internship and education programs. Hannah has given presentations on behalf of Ballet Fantastique for many organizations, including DanceAbility International, the American Association of University Women, Rotary International, and the Robert D. Clark Honors College. Hannah also leads a number of educational initiatives for Ballet Fantastique, including Passport to Dance and The EXPERIENCE DANCE! Project, which have brought innovative dance experiences to thousands of schoolchildren across the Northwest.

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Also a trained professional dancer, Hannah studied the eight levels of the Vaganova Syllabus and Vaganova pedagogy with her mother, Donna Marisa Bontrager, while creating and performing works locally. She also spent two summers at the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, D.C. under Artistic Director Oleg Vinogradov (also Artistic Director of Russia's Kirov Ballet), and was one of five students invited internationally to join renowned Kirov prima ballerina Mme. Alla Sizova’s advanced class. Hannah spent one season in Denver with coach Inessa Pakri-Plekhanova, concurrently performing with Colorado Ballet Company. Hannah has performed with Ballet Fantastique since its inception, and has also appeared in soloist roles for a number of other companies across the country, including Manassas Ballet Theatre in the Washington, DC metro area (Sugar Plum Fairy, Nutcracker and the lead in Vivandière/Markitenka).

Donna and Hannah have collaborated to produce bold cross-disciplinary Ballet Fantastique collaborations, including: an electro-swing, steampunk Alice in Wonderland (with High Step Society, premiere 2018); The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (with Dreos + Gerry Rempel Ensemble, premiere 2017); Aladdin: A Rock Opera Ballet (with Satin Love Orchestra, premiere 2017); Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (with Oregon Mozart Players under Artistic Director Kelly Kuo + international cellist DaXun Zhang, premiere 2017); Scarlet Flower: Beauty & the Beast Retold (with Trio Voronezh, premiere 2016); Dragon & the Night Queen: Celtic Stories (with Gerry Rempel Ensemble and Eliot Grasso, premiere 2016); The Odyssey (with live looping electric violinist-composer Cullen Vance, premiere 2015); An American Christmas Carol (with Halie Loren, premiere 2015); Book of Esther: A Rock Gospel Ballet (with the UO Gospel Singers, premiere 2014); Tales from the Floating World (with Portland Taiko and Mitsuki Dazai, premiere 2014); the first-ever authorized ballet version of ZORRO (with the LA-based band Incendio and virtuoso violinist-composer Kim Angelis, premiere 2013); Pride & Prejudice: A Parisian Jazz Ballet (with Gerry Rempel Jazz Syndicate, premiere 2013); The Misadventures of Casanova (premiere 2013); Cirque de la Lune (with Betty & the Boy, Troupe Carnivale, and Mood Area 52, premiere 2012); Cinderella: A Rock Opera Ballet set in 1964 (with Shelley & Cal and the Agents of Unity, premiere 2012); Arabian Nights (premiere 2012); Incendio (with Incendio, premiere 2011); As You Like It: A Wild West Ballet (with composer Jeremy DeKyle Schropp, premiere 2011); bossa/brasil (with Jessi Marquez, premiere 2011); String Theory (premiere 2011); Tales of Beatrix Potter (premiere 2008); Visions dAmour: 10 Ballets in Paris (with 25-part orchestra; premiere 2009), and many others. She has also led Ballet Fantastique's creation of commissioned work for Eugene Symphony (Carnival of the Animals and Polovtsian Dances) and the Oregon Mozart Players (Glazunov's Four Novelettes).

Full list of the Bontragers' repertoire for Ballet Fantastique

"Superb."

—Gwen Curran, The Register-Guard

Quick Facts

Hometown:
Eugene, OR

Ballet Fantastique:
Since 2000

Favorite BFan Role:
Alice in Alice in Wonderland: Remix and Cindy in Cinderella: A Rock Opera Ballet and Henriette in The Misadventures of Casanova

Favorites:
Almost any candy, almost any book, and Michael Kaiser’s Huffington Post arts admin blog