Faculty
Charlene Campbell Carey Artistic Director
Charlene Campbell Carey’s long and vibrant career in ballet and choreography began in 1976 and branched into entertainment and diplomacy. Born in Chicago she began her ballet studies with Walter Camryn, Bentley Stone and her mother, Elisabeth Gillette Campbell. Ms. Campbell Carey trained on scholarship throughout high school at the National Academy of Arts with Lupe Serrano and Michael Maule. This led her to American Ballet Theatre where she also became a member of the faculty and assistant to Director Patricia Wilde. Ms. Campbell danced at Radio City Music Hall following in her Mother’s footsteps, who danced at Radio City for thirteen years after World War 2. Charlene became choreographer for Chicago’s “Light Opera Works” and served on the faculty for Lou Conte and the Hubbard Street Dance Company for 7 years.
Ms. Campbell was a leading dancer or choreographer for hundreds of ballets, operas, night club acts, and industrials, including the Macy’s Parade Coleco floats, the Los Angeles Japan-America conference with Ronald Reagan, Beverly Hills events such as the Christmas Show with Whoopi Goldberg, “Murder, She Wrote” starring Angela Lansbury, “Indestructible People,” for ABC-TV; and “On My Toes,” with Katya Artyushkina from the Bolshoi Ballet. Ms. Campbell choreographed the film “Desire” which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 1988 and showcased many of the world’s top ballet dancers. She made her on screen acting debut in “Desire” co-starring with Johan Renvall, principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre. She also produced the feature film “Season of Change” starring Michael Madsen, and served on the faculty of Yvonne Mounsey’s Westside Ballet School, Stanley Holden’s Ballet School and coached celebrities in Los Angeles for ten years.
In 1998, Ms. Campbell founded Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre in Missoula, Montana. RMBT has over 100 original ballets in its repertoire and began touring internationally in 2002. RMBT dancers were cast in “The Flying Dutchman” starring Rod Steiger and Eric Roberts shot in Darby, MT and also in“Kismet” and “Candide” productions with Light Opera Works in Chicago.
In 2008, prior to the Olympic Games, Ms. Campbell led the RMBT delegation to Beijing, Guilin, Yangshou, Shanghai, and Suzhou China. The tour was a diplomatic and artistic success leading to an immediate invitation to return to China October 2008 to participate in the Beijing Dance Academy International Ballet Competition as a master teacher and coach.
RMBT began a tradition of offering command performances in Montana for former Senator Max Baucus, visiting Ambassadors and diplomats from China, Peru, Vietnam, Colombia, Morocco, Panama, Chile, South Korea, Australia, Tajikistan, the Russian Federation, Japan, New Zealand, Bahrain and many more. RMBT established an Affiliation with the University of Montana International Programs, The Mansfield Center and the Center for Southwest Asia Studies. Ms. Campbell has continued to create ballets with topics relevant to Montana, including the " Going Viral " series that included film backdrops and scientists from the Level 4 Lab in Hamilton, Montana to showcase and inform the community about the facts of Ebola, Polio, HPV, Dengue Fever , West Nile , and Influenza. The Gates Foundation utilized the Polio Ballet as an educational tool internationally.
In 2010, the Montana program returned to China, and the Guangxi Province cities of Liuzhou and Nanning to further understanding through cultural exchange and to create new relationships between Montana and China. RMBT was showcased as the headline entertainment during the Shanghai World Expo. RMBT participated in dialogues and cultural exchanges with the Suzhou Ballet, the Robert Mundell University for Entrepreneurship and again at The National Ballet of China and Beijing Dance Academy.
RMBT has toured Europe numerous times and was invited to participate in an official Trade Mission with Senator Max Baucus to both Brazil and Colombia in 2011. RMBT was thrilled to represent the USA & Montana in Gala performances and opening ceremony events for the prestigious Salzburg Music Festival & in collaboration with the Salzburg Ballet in Austria. RMBT enjoyed a three-month European tour in 2014. Major highlights included a residency in Ischia, Italy and participation in the Wien Welt Wettbewerb during the Impulstanz Festival with Gregor Hatala, Evelyn Teri and under Vladimir Malakov’s Direction in Vienna. This success led RMBT to our partnership with The Vienna International Ballet Experience (VIBE) International, and to become VIBE’s USA Director and official host.
In 2014, RMBT embarked to China on an official USA State Department tour of the Henan and Guangxi Provinces. RMBT was presented in Beijing by the National Ballet of China at the Tianquio Theater and participated in cultural exchanges throughout the three week tour including a memorable day with the Chinese Disabled Performance Troupe as facilitated by USA Ambassador to China Max Baucus and accompanied by his wife Melodee Hanes Baucus.
RMBT experienced the Russian Federation and official USA State Department tours and global cultural exchange with the Alfia Avsalova Festival in 2018 in Kazan and Moscow , Pakistan and the Islamabad Arts Festival in 2019 , Cuba and the Lixt Alfonso School in Havana in 2020 , Dubai and the World Expo in 2021, Italy and the Maria Antonietta Berlesconi Foundation collaborations in 2022 , hosted another Ballet Beyond Borders Festival in Los Angeles in August 2022 and will host the next BBB in Montana January 2023 and Havana , Cuba Winter 2024 .
RMBT has a feature film in development & many projects with dancers across Africa and initiatives for social change . RMBT will be celebrating our 25th anniversary in 2023.
Karen Carreno Musical Director/Associate Director
Ms. Carreno received a BFA from the University of Wisconsin. She worked for the Milwaukee Ballet Co. under Jean Paul Comelin and Ted Kivitt and accompanied ballet and modern classes for the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee where she taught Music for Dancers. After moving to Los Angeles in 1986 she worked at California Institute of the Arts, Stanley Holden Dance Center, and Westside Ballet. Summers she accompanied the Lewitzky Company for their workshops in Idyllwild CA. In 1990 she worked on an episode of “Murder She Wrote” with Charlene Campbell. Her collaboration with Ms. Campbell in TV and dance in Los Angeles led Ms. Carreno to move to Missoula MT. Ms. Campbell opened the Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre in 1998.
At RMBT, Ms. Carreno accompanies classes, works with guest artists, performs with the company, teaches Music for Dancers and works as the associate director of the school with Ms. Campbell. As Associate Director, Ms. Carreno is involved in all aspects of administration from planning to implementation. She writes grants, prepares budgets, and reports directly to the board of directors. Performing on programs in Missoula and throughout MT, Ms. Carreno also traveled to Austria with RMBT as a part of the International Dance Festival Tanzsommer in 2002. She recorded a group of tangos for performances in Innsbruck, St. Johann, and Vienna. The school then toured to Italy in 2005 and 2007 and Ms. Carreno played for classes at the Balletto di Roma. In May of 2008 RMBT toured to Beijing, Guilin, Suzhou, and Shanghai China. Ms. Carreno played for class at the National Ballet of China in Beijing. In 2010 she returned to China for cultural exchanges in Liuzhou and Nanning, Guangxi, to the World Expo in Shanghai where RMBT performed at the USA pavilion. In 2014 she wrote a State Deptartment grant that took RMBT to 6 cities in China. Since then, Ms. Carreno has toured with RMBT to Russia, Pakistan and Cuba and the World Expo 2020 Dubai. She is an integral part of the four day festival “Ballet Beyond Borders” produced by Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre in Missoula, MT and Los Angeles CA.
The RMBT school, Ms. Campbell and Ms. Carreno were featured in Dance Magazine’s January 2006 issue. Ms. Carreno has music for dance class available on the streaming service Idancemusic.com