Classical Ballet in Southwest Montana

Classical Ballet

in Southwest Montana

WRITTEN BY KAREN SMITH

Great Ballet Classics 2016 | Photo: Inspire Photo Art

Ballet is a time-honored art form. It’s creative, beautiful, emotional. From its origins in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century to well-known classics like The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty to the Neoclassicism of George Balanchine, ballet has long been used as a vehicle of expression – an expression of celebration, a story, a mood or emotion. Once reserved just for nobility, today people of all ages all over the world can learn the art of ballet.

What first comes to mind when you think of a ballet dancer? Is it a delicate woman in a pink tutu? Or a princely man effortlessly spinning his beautiful partner? Whatever it is, it’s probably not a sweat-drenched student contorting their body at a barre, endlessly jumping and turning in a studio or launching themselves through the air on stage. And yet all of these are accurate. Dancers are both artists and athletes.

Ballet requires years of study: Some students may have their first experience with a preballet class at age 3, others may start later at 7 or 8, and many will train multiple days of the week by the age of 10. Upper-level students can expect to find themselves at the studio up to six days a week, while professional dancers will spend six to seven hours training during the day, and then turn around and perform in the evening.

Recent statistics from the Occupational Information Network, a U.S. Department of Labor database, named dance as the most physically demanding career, followed by oil and gas derrick operators, and athletes and sports competitors third. The database used a combination of values to get to a final four dimensions of physical demand: strength, stamina, flexibility and coordination. The scores in each of these four dimensions were averaged to arrive at a Physical Demand Index. Dancers scored 87.8% for strength, and 100% in the stamina, flexibility and coordination categories, for a final Physical Demand Index of 97%. Professional athletes, by comparison, had a Physical Demand Index of 90.4%.

So, what is it about dance that leads to its number one spot? There are the physical factors naturally, the unique combination of different kinds of strength (static, explosive, dynamic), the coordination and equilibrium, the flexibility and, indeed, the stamina needed for performances. But it is the artistic element that gives dancers the edge over other athletes. Dancers must marry their movement to musicality. All of the tremendously challenging things they do must at the same time look effortless and organic, encompassing both the physicality of the choreography, and the emotion.

Southwest Montana is fortunate enough to be home to a number of dance studios, which is a credit to the community. One of these studios – Montana Ballet Company’s Academy – is dedicated solely to classical ballet training. MBC’s academy is one branch of a much larger nonprofit organization that includes a performing company and a host of educational and community engagement programs.

The performing company was founded in 1984 by the late Ann Bates. Ann served as Artistic Director until 1997 and believed that, “Nowhere else in the rural west is there a small dance company with our big company goals.” MBC has achieved many of these “big goals” in its vibrant history by showcasing both original productions and international guest companies.

Today, under the direction of Elizabeth DeFanti, MBC has a robust academy and both junior and senior company dancers who continue this tradition of big company goals and performances. A typical year usually includes performances of The Nutcracker at the Willson Auditorium with the Bozeman Symphony, as well as mixed repertory programs, original productions and full-length classical works, most with live orchestra.

MBC’s academy trains dancers of all ages in the art and discipline of classical ballet with a humanistic and holistic approach that focuses on the “whole dancer” – mind, body and spirit. As athletic artists, dancers are reliant on the health of their instruments, their bodies, and so MBC incorporates important concepts of health and wellness into its curriculum, regularly engaging nutritionists, physical therapists and Pilates experts, among others, to work with its dancers.

MBC is focused not just on training wonderful dancers, but forming wonderful people, ready to go out into the world with integrity and grace. Dancers are encouraged to engage with programs such as MBC’s Teacher Assistant Mentoring program, Discover Dance performances for school children and the new Share the Dance & Dinner, which supports those in our community experiencing food insecurity.

Nutcracker 2019 | Photo: Lauren Brown

While ballet is a physically demanding art form, MBC believes it shouldn’t be an exclusive one and has a wide range of classes for all ages and levels. Classes are offered year-round and registration is always open. Dancers as young as 3 are welcome to begin their ballet training in Pre-Ballet classes, where beginning instruction is combined with an introduction to pliés, tendus and sautés and almost always ends with a free dance to Frozen’s “Let it Go.”

Beginning Ballet and subsequent levels lead to Elementary, Pre-pointe, Pointe and the upper levels of instruction, and if desired, an opportunity to audition for the Company. MBC welcomes all dancers, those who simply enjoy dance and those who may wish to pursue dance as a career. Adults are welcome as well: those who have never danced but have always wanted to, those who danced as a child and stepped away from it, those who never stopped dancing and everyone in between.

MBC also has an Adaptive Dance Program that offers children with Down syndrome introductory ballet instruction, creative movement and performance opportunities. ADP students learn motor coordination, balance, posture, cooperation with others, music appreciation and they gain confidence and develop a love of dance.

Dance is a sport. Dance is an art. And dance is for everyone.

Please visit montanaballet.org for information on open classes, the Sleeping Beauty Summer program for ages 4-8 and the two-week summer dance intensive, Dancing Under the Big Sky.

Karen Smith is the Academy and Educational Engagement Coordinator at Montana Ballet Company.

Youth Dance Studios

in Southwest Montana

ÇAllegro School of Dance / www.allegrodance.net Ç Bozeman Dance Academy / www.bozemandanceacademy.com Ç Bridger View Ballet / www.rplaceyourspace.com/ bridger_view_ballet Ç Cohesion Dance Project / www.cohesiondance.org Ç Creative Arts Center / www.dancehelena.com Ç Dance Big Sky / dancebigsky@gmail.com Ç Montana Ballet Company / www.montanaballet.org Ç Mountain Air Dance / www.mountainairdance.com Ç Queen City Ballet / www.queencityballet.com Ç Tanya’s Dance Co. / www.tanyasdanceco.com Ç The Dance Center / www.dancebozeman.com Ç Yellowstone Ballet Company / www.yellowstoneballet.info

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