Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre School opened in 1998. Charlene Campbell, dancer and choreographer, is director of the school and teaches intermediate and advanced level classes. She also serves as artistic director of Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre. The school’s integrated approach to dance brings students into the world of dance through a variety of explorations that actively engage them in perception, research, reflection, and discussion. Our curriculum develops and assists students in discerning and strengthening basic proficiencies that readily apply across the curriculum and throughout life, developing skills of analysis, abstract thinking, interpretation and problem-solving that are as relevant to studying dance work as to analyzing a work of literature or exploring physics. The curriculum includes ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, pre-ballet, and creative movement. In 2003, the school moved to its present location which has three large studios, sprung Marley floors, and spacious lobby and dressing areas.
Performance opportunities are offered through Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre. RMBT has dazzled audiences by blending artistry and accessibility into a uniquely entertaining dance experience. All enrolled students are invited to participate in local productions such as “A Christmas Jewel,” and our “Christmas Spectacular.” The company has toured nationally and internationally throughout Montana, Idaho, Washington, to Chicago in musical theatre productions with Light Opera Works and to Austria on the prestigious Tanzsommer Tour. In 2007 Artistic Director Charlene Campbell created the “Montana” program that included Fancy Dancer Louis Plant and Rodeo star Wade Black. This program then toured to Beijing, Guilin, and Shanghai China in 2008.
The tour was facilitated by Sen. Max Baucus and Ambassador Zhou. The Moscow Ballet’s tour to Missoula and collaboration with RMBT is the first step on a cultural exchange with Russia in 2010.
Children, the Discipline of Dance and Health Care in the US by Michael Kaiser