PITTSFIELD – From the age of 8, Stephanie Pouzul has been dancing, looking at the rhythmic movements the way an athlete gauges her performance.

“I keep challenging myself to get better,” the Orrington teen said recently after a strenuous rehearsal at Maine Central Institute.

Now 17, Pouzul has focused on ballet and has garnered the lead role in the Bossov Ballet Theatre’s production of “The Red Shoes” at 7 p.m. Friday-Saturday, June 2-3. She will share the role with Jillian Cyr of New Hampshire.

“I love everything about dance,” Pouzol said. “Not just the movement, but the music and the story.”

The story of “The Red Shoes” is one that really resonates with this young ballerina. The Hans Christian Anderson tale unfolds as a young girl puts on her first pair of dancing shoes and a new life begins. The magic shoes, once on the dancer’s feet, leave her unable to stop dancing. Out of control, the red shoes choose the speed and direction, not the girl wearing them.

“Ballet is a passion with me,” Pouzol admitted. “This version is very cool and special.”

Bossov Ballet founder Andrei Bossov has choreographed his own version of “The Red Shoes,” according to BBT executive director Michael Wyly. Bossov, a principal dancer in Russia, came to Maine from St. Petersburg after the collapse of the Soviet Union and founded BBT in 1996.

“Hundreds of young women have been inspired to professional ballet by ‘The Red Shoes,'” Wyly said.

The debut performance of Bossov’s adaption of the story will feature dancers from Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Mississippi, Canada and Mexico. Many of the dancers are boarding students at MCI, which incorporates the BBT as a curriculum subject.

The Bossov Ballet Theatre will perform the new ballet at Hauck Auditorium on the University of Maine campus at Orono at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, June 2 and 3. Tickets may be obtained by calling BBT at 487-6360. Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for children and seniors. For more information about BBT, visit www.bossovballet.com.