Maureen Miller, Artistic Director

Maureen Miller received her early dance training in Newcastle, Australia, successfully completing the Royal Academy examinations, including Solo Seal. Her training continued on scholarship at Rosella Hightower Centre de Dance Classique in Cannes, France.  Mrs. Miller’s professional career began at age 18 with the Slovene National Ballet Company in Yugoslavia, where she was the first foreign dancer accepted into the Company. While dancing with the Slovene National Ballet Company, she toured in France, Germany, Italy, and Austria, and performed as guest artist and soloist with the Paris Opera Ballet in Cannes, France. Upon leaving the Slovene National Ballet Company, Mrs. Miller traveled to the United States, where she joined the Maryland Ballet Company in Baltimore. There, under the direction of Petrus Bosman, she performed as soloist and served as Ballet Mistress.  Mrs. Miller is an acclaimed choreographer and has been a valued and well-respected teacher in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area for many years. Honored in Who's Who among American Teachers in 2000, 2004, 2005, and 2006, her teaching experience includes the Maryland Youth Ballet, The Washington School of Ballet, The Joy of Motion Dance Center, Capital Ballet, Arlington Center for Dance, and Catholic University, and as guest teacher at Towson University.  She has owned and directed her own school and is the former Ballet Mistress to D.C. Contemporary Dance Theater. Prior to joining The Loudoun Ballet Performing Arts Company as Artistic Director, Mrs. Miller served as the Ballet Mistress (1993 - 2004), and Artistic Director (2004 - 2017) of the Loudoun Ballet Company. Mrs. Miller is also the Director of the Ballet Department of The Loudoun School of Ballet.

Lisa Startsman, Artistic Director

Lisa Startsman is the Assistant Director of the Ballet Department at The Loudoun School of Ballet, where she leads the Early Release Program for pre-professional training. Ms. Startsman received her early training at the Canton Ballet in Canton, Ohio. She attended the University of Akron on scholarship and trained with Jerry Burr, Dr. Margaret Carlson, and Alaine Haubert. Ms. Startsman performed numerous solo works and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Ballet. She continued to train with the Ohio Ballet and at STEPS Studio in New York City with Nancy Bielski and Robert Blankshine. Ms. Startsman’s professional career includes The Experimental Dance Ensemble, The Ohio Ballet, and The Cleveland Opera, where she had the pleasure of dancing in The Merry Widow with Ms. Roberta Peters. Ms. Startsman has taught in the D.C. metropolitan area for many years. She served on the faculty for the Washington School of Ballet in Washington, D.C., and as an adjunct Assistant Professor of Dance for Shenandoah University. Ms. Startsman was recognized as an Outstanding Educator by the Governor’s School for Humanities and Visual and Performing Arts of Virginia. She received the Outstanding Teacher Award at a regional Youth America Grand Prix in 2017. She is certified with the Cecchetti Council, having successfully passed her teacher’s exams with honors. Ms. Startsman is the proud mother of two, and she relishes in the knowledge and growth she obtained from guiding her daughter to achieve a professional ballet career.

Emily Maroni, Ballet Mistress 

Emily Maroni received her B.F.A in Dance/Performing Arts from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) in Los Angeles, CA, where she also minored in acting. Emily began studying dance at the age of two at The Loudoun School of Ballet. Well versed in all dance styles, Emily has trained and performed with both professional and pre-professional ballet and contemporary companies, including LA Contemporary Company, The Loudoun Ballet Performing Arts Company, Roanoke Ballet, Nashville Ballet, Richmond Ballet, Jazz & Co. Dance, and Loudoun TAPS!. At ADMA, Emily trained with Yusuf Nasir from The Masked Singer, Nicole Berger, Tracy Silver, and Genevieve Carson. Emily has danced many principal roles, including Sugar Plum Fairy in “The Nutcracker”, Lilac Fairy in “Sleeping Beauty”, Myrtha in “Giselle”, and the Queen of Hearts in “Alice in Wonderland”. Emily has been involved in suicide prevention projects, and she is a featured dancer in “Moment of Silence” by Lucidious, a music video about the loss of a loved one to suicide. She is an award winning dancer and choreographer. Emily’s acting training includes stage & on-camera acting, combat training, stage effect, and voice acting under the tutelage of Stu Levin. Emily recently filmed a DOSS speaker commercial for Amazon. Certified in Progressive Bal- let Technique, Emily has been teaching and choreographing dance for several years. She has modeled for several costume and dance apparel companies, including Bloch, A Wish Come True, and Curtain Call Costumes and has been a dance representative for Russian Pointe International. She is currently represented by Untitled Entertainment and Go2Talent.