FACULTY & STAFF

Hannah Bessette - Owner - voice-piano-ukulele INSTRUCTOR

Hannah owns Musical Arts and has experience as a Soprano soloist with various NH choirs, opening performer at local open mics, gives private solo recitals for non-profit organizations, was Music Director at Newmarket Community Church, and has sung with NH Master Chorale.  Hannah attended the Vocal Pedagogy Professional Workshop at Boston Conservatory at Berklee June 2019, participating as a soloist in Masterclasses, learning techniques and tools for vocal training from industry masters, especially in music theater and contemporary genres. She continued her teaching and singing training through study of Somatic Voicework™, the LoVetri Method, completing Level I in July 2021, and January 2022, and Levels II and III in July 2022.

Hannah received a Bachelor of Science in Music Education for K-12 at Plymouth State University in 2000. Her concentration was in Vocal and Choral training, under the instruction of the late Dr. Kathleen Arecchi and choral director Dr. Daniel Perkins. Working in a range of genres and with multiple age groups, she has been teaching voice and piano privately since 2001 at Portsmouth Christian Academy and at her studio in Durham, and is passionate about bringing more confidence and joy to your singing and playing! 

Hannah built a private music studio in Durham since 2009 teaching voice, piano, and ukulele. She purchased Musical Arts of Dover in October 2019, with a desire to expand to a larger format of collaboration in the arts through music, dance, and more with other musicians, artists, and teachers looking to help grow the arts community here in Dover and the Seacoast. 

Savannah lee - Dance instructor - Ballet, Lyrical

Savannah Lee started her training with Atlanta Ballet under the direction of John McFall. At age fourteen, she reached the top of the pre professional division and danced corps de ballet roles with the company. In Atlanta, she was in productions such as Atlanta Ballet’s Nutcracker, Micheal Pink’s Romeo and Juliet, John McFall's Swan Lake, and Bruce Well’s Pinocchio and Snow White. Her favorite role she danced with them was the Lamb (Marzipan) in Atlanta Ballet’s Nutcracker. Savannah was one of twelve Americans to attend The Royal Ballet in Covent Garden, London the summer she studied. She furthered her training spending summers with English National Ballet, American Ballet Theater in NY, Kirov Ballet Academy D.C., Washington Ballet and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet.

Savannah danced professionally with Nashville Ballet 2, Brooklyn Ballet, Nomad Contemporary Ballet, Portland Ballet, Boulder Ballet, and as a guest artist in many states. In addition, she attended Brenau University on a full Presidential Scholarship for Dance under the guidance of Diane Callahan. Some memorable roles she has danced include the Sugarplum Fairy, the Lilac Fairy, Taglioni in Grand Pas de Quatre, Queen of the Dryads, the Bride of Dracula, Juliet in the Lila Dance Festival and the Moon in celestial ballet created by ABT’s Claire Davison. She had the honor of performing many roles choreographed by George Balanchine. These include the Russian Girl in Serenade, the Butterfly soloist from Midsummer Night’s Dream, the first principal pas de deux in Western Symphony, the Pizzicato Variation in Raymonda Variations and Nutcracker’s Snow Scene.

Savannah has choreographed on both Boulder Ballet and Portland Ballet’s companies, Harvard Ballet, Brenau University and her former company, Lightning Dance Collective. Her choreography has also been performed in the Lila Dance Festival and Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre’s Dance for World Community Festival in Harvard Square.

Lee has taught for Manhattan Movement Arts Center, Boulder Ballet, Portland Ballet, Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre, Urbanity Dance and is currently a teacher at Musical Arts of Dover and Portsmouth School of Ballet. She has been a guest teacher for Erica Cornejo and Carlos Molina’s ballet school, Integrarte, along with many other dance schools. Savannah joined Musical Arts of Dover in 2021 as the dance program coordinator where she taught all ages, outreach events, directed dance performances and put together many shows including their holiday performance of The Land of Sweets. She now enjoys sharing her love for dance as a teacher with Musical Arts of Dover while continuing her passion for choreography and performing.

Alexis Brown - dance instructor - Aerial, Lyrical, ballet

Alexis has taught and performed both locally and internationally. Originally from the Greater Boston area, she received her early training at the Centre for Performing Arts in Acton, MA and the International Dance Project in Concord, MA under the tutelage of Stephania Mavrides and David Drummond studying ballet, modern, and jazz as well as benefiting from master classes taught by many internationally renowned dance educators.

At Marlboro College in Vermont she focused her education on Cultural History and Dance Education expanding her pedagogical, anatomical, historical, and philosophical training as well as technique. After college she performed for many years with the internationally diverse Bermuda Civic Ballet, BalletRox in Boston (now City Ballet of Boston), and Ballet New England (formerly of Portsmouth, NH), as well as in various community theatre and concert performances throughout the Boston area. Her teaching returned her to Bermuda where she taught at the Bermuda School of Russian Ballet, as well as at the International Dance Project, Deborah Mason School of Dance in Cambridge, Brattleboro School of Dance in Vermont, Ballet New England, Alexander Children’s Theatre in Concord, MA, and numerous independent lessons throughout New England.

She is instructs a variety of dance classes at Musical Arts of Dover, including Aerial Silks, and Lyrical/ Contemporary. She is the ballet director at MusicalArts of Exeter, NH teaching a variety of classes beyond ballet including creative dance, contemporary, jazz, dance for figure skaters, aerial silks, and conditioning for dancers. An adamant proponent of body positivity, Alexis believes that every body can and should dance.