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The Beyond Borders Ballet (BBB) platform arrived in Havana and revolutionized the Cuban dance community with presentation galas, competitions in various genres, master classes and meetings with international teachers and students from various nations.
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A group of 15 US teens spent 3 weeks in China thanks to the China-US Youth Theater Exchange Program, supported by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation, affiliated with China’s Ministry of Education. The program combines theater and Chinese language learning to promote language education exchanges and youth exchanges between China and the US.
Read the article here: http://en.chinaculture.org/a/202307/18/WS64b644d2a31035260b817159.html
Havana, Jan 11.- Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba (LADC) today celebrates winning several awards in the Ballet Beyond Borders competition, held in the United States.
Young dancers from Cuba, South Africa, Canada, Brazil, China, the United States, Nigeria, Italy and Great Britain, among other countries, were the winners of the contest based in the North American city of Los Angeles, but carried out this year online. due to the situation generated by Covid-19.
Read moreBallet Beyond Borders returns this year as a virtual event from Jan. 6-9. The dance and diplomacy conference guests include Ahmad Joudeh, a professional dancer and choreographer who grew up in Damascus, Syria and currently resides in the Netherlands. He created a program that teaches children and orphans in Syria how to dance, free of charge.
BEN ALLAN SMITH, Missoulian file photo
Read moreyoung Corvallis dancer performed a competition dance with her horse for the Ballet Beyond Borders in Missoula, Jan. 8–11.
The Ballet Beyond Borders event was presented by the Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre as a global cultural exchange and way to examine and encourage “The Role of Arts in Global Communication.”
According to their website, “Ballet Beyond Borders is a Festival that provides a cultural, educational and diplomatic exchange to further human understanding and spark vital communication.”
Corvallis resident Shona Jessop, age 12, began dancing with the Ballet Bitterroot Dance Academy two years ago after watching an inspiring dancer.
“I really fell in love with dance. It feels as though I have been dancing all my life,” she said. “Now I can’t imagine life without it. I love that I can express my emotions with dance. Expressing myself through my own choreography and sharing my feelings excites me because I get lost in the music and motion.”
Jessop is home schooled and balances dancing with caring for her horse.
“I had to learn to find balance with my other passion, my horse Dreamy,” she said. “I like to dance because I feel free while I’m doing it and I can let my emotions out. I love my horse because he’s my little baby. He’s actually 10-years older than me.”
She decided to combine her love of dance with her love for her horse.
“I love hanging out with him so dancing with Dreamy came naturally because of our connection and bond,” she said. “Dream Warrior is his full name and he helped me dream and fight to bring my two worlds together.”
Jessop applied for Ballet Beyond Borders with an audition tape of the dance she choreographed and performed with her horse. She was accepted into the Ballet Beyond Borders competition but initially was told she would have to dance without her horse.
PauseCurrent Time0:00/Duration Time0:00Stream TypeLIVELoaded: 0%Progress: 0%0:00Fullscreen00:00Mute“I dance half the time on my horse and half the time off,” Shona Jessop said. “I actually got him to dance with me more for the competition.”Thanks to creative thinking by Ballet Beyond Borders organizers, Shona Jessop and Dreamy danced and competed at an off-site location, a large room at Rumour Restaurant in Missoula.Rachel Jessop said the performance was judged as a final because the Ballet Beyond Borders organizers weren’t too sure about having a horse on the stage of the Dennison Theatre. Initially, she thought her daughter would be judged in a class in the open competition where lots of people have props like chairs, boxes and drums. But because the judges were so impressed with her horse dance they created a separate category for her.Shona Jessop won first place and received a medal and certificate for the “Montana Award” during the gala ceremony at the Dennison Theatre on Saturday. She also won second place for a separate competition called a “Moving Words” essay that she wrote about her shoes.“I got second place on my essay,” she said. “From my shoes’ perspective I traveled all around the world. With the silver award I received $250.”To watch the You Tube video of her audition tape made a while back, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcRhxvQrlfY.She also attended workshops all week with dancers from around the world.“I enjoyed the workshops and enjoyed watching others dance,” she said. “In Chinese Folk Dance they taught me to dance that style. I went to three more workshops including two different contemporary dance workshops. The classes had all different teachers. I made a couple friends from other countries. A lot of people are from the United States and the other half are from all over the world.”People came to the Ballet Beyond Borders event from across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Europe, Africa, South America, South Africa, Russia, Pakistan, China, Panama and Cuba.Shona Jessop recommends the experience for other dancers.“Ballet Beyond Borders was a great experience and I had a ton of fun doing it,” she said. “I met people literally from across the world.”
“She had to think of a way to dance without a horse,” said Rachel Jessop, Shona’s mom. “She made those changes and then they decided they could make it work."
MISSOULA — An international festival hosted by Ballet Beyond Borders brought 150 dancers to Missoula this year.
Ballet dancer Sophie Rebecca said, growing up transgender, she struggled to find a creative outlet.
"I spent a long time realizing that I wasn't the only one, and it's important to put out positive messages that you can be happy, you can succeed, and my dancing makes me very very happy."
Rebecca was the first openly transgender person at the Royal Academy of Dance in London. "Ballet saved me. Ever since I was little I wanted to be a ballerina, but I was unable."
The academy changed its policy when she joined, allowing transgender people to enroll.
Rebecca will perform in the festival finale alongside many others.
Born in a Syrian refugee camp, Ahmad Joudeh said dancing is like a religion to him, "the reason why I kept dancing, I feel so free, and I feel that I exist."
Joudeh hopes to inspire people with his persistence. "I believe the artist has the same duty like the soldier- to keep his culture and art alive in the country, because a country without art and culture-what will it fight for?"
Joudeh, who currently lives in Amsterdam and trains with the Netherlands Dance Theater, will also perform in the Ballet Beyond Borders gala finale.
The main event starts at 6 p.m. on Saturday in the the George Dennison Theater at the University of Montana.
MISSOULA — Dancers from around the world have flocked to Missoula for an annual event that's more than just a dance.
Dancers rehearsed on Friday and settled into the theater where they will perform this weekend.
About 150 performers from all over the world are in town for the fifth year of the global dance festival.
Charlene Carey, who spearheaded the program, says Ballet Beyond Borders is about more than the performance.
"The relationships that have occurred across the world, not just with the dance companies but with the diplomacies and the academia has led for all these people to return to us," Carey said.
The festivities kick off on Saturday morning with a diplomacy conference. The main gala begins at 6 p.m.
This past summer, 22-year-old classically trained ballerina Marsha Kwan stopped dancing completely. She was drained from the intensity and harsh realities of auditioning for companies in the cutthroat world of professional dance.
On the verge of hanging up her ballet slippers for good, the Vancouver, British Columbia-based dancer received an invitation to attend Ballet Beyond Borders in Missoula.
“I came here and I just feel like I still want to dance. I’m not done,” Kwan said during a break from rehearsals last week at the Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre. The Missoula school puts on the four-day international dance and cultural festival, which started Wednesday and runs through Saturday, Jan. 11. It includes a competition, master classes and a diplomacy conference.
Charlene Campbell Carey, president of Ballet Beyond Borders and artistic director of the Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre, called Kwan this summer and urged her to attend the festival.
It was a welcome call for Kwan, who was fresh off a string of disappointing auditions and questioning her future as a ballerina.
“There’s always something that you need to perfect, something else you need to work on because there’s always someone better than you,” Kwan said. “Something just changed in me after auditioning. I saw everyone else out there and even though I would leave an audition feeling good about how I did, it was never enough.”
Sometimes the choices can even be based on “a certain look” they may want, she said.
“If you’re not what they’re looking for, they just can’t take you, no matter how good you are.”
Eventually she started to wonder what the point was if she wasn’t even enjoying herself anymore.
Kwan didn’t hesitate to accept Carey’s invitation, as the two have known each other since 2016 and Kwan has attended Ballet Beyond Borders before. But she hadn’t been training for a while, thinking she was calling it quits. The invitation ended up being the spark that got Kwan to put her ballerina slippers back on.
“I was like, 'OK, I've got to get training,'” she said, adding she went back to classes and guested as the Sugar Plum Fairy in a production of "The Nutcracker" in December to prepare.
“I’ve been here since the 26th of December and since then I’ve been working a lot on my contemporary and it’s kind of sparked a new inspiration for me to continue dancing.”
Kwan, who is of Chinese descent, found dance at a young age growing up in Vancouver.
“My parents signed me up for literally everything they could sign me up for because they didn’t have the opportunities to do this kind of stuff when they were younger,” she said. “So they thought I should get to do everything. I did ballet, gymnastics, swimming, skating, violin, piano — I did it all.”
But she said ballet spoke to her, so she stuck with it. She trained at the Goh Ballet Academy in Vancouver for 16 years, dancing in their productions and performances.
When Carey spent time at the Goh Ballet Academy as a guest instructor in 2016, the two bonded and discussed Kwan’s career and future as a dancer. Kwan ended up attending a dance festival in Missoula called VIBE that same year.
VIBE USA, or the Vienna International Ballet Experience USA, was held in 2016 and 2017 in Missoula and was similar to and somewhat evolved into what is now Ballet Beyond Borders.
Kwan loved that the festival wasn’t just about competing, dancing perfectly and winning, but about community and cross-cultural relationships. She came back for VIBE 2017 as well as Ballet Beyond Borders in 2018.
“I just kept coming back because Ballet Beyond Borders is where I actually really push my limits. I feel like it’s a place where I’m not judged and I’m comfortable,” she said.
Dancing at the event was the first time she didn’t feel like she had to be perfect or the best.
“I was always super-competitive and if I didn’t win, it was the end of the world. And that’s a terrible mindset,” she said. “But last year, because it was my first time being coached by someone else for a very long time, and they just kind of told me to enjoy myself on stage and just dance and show them why you love to dance.”
While everyone has technique, she said Ballet Beyond Borders puts more focus on artistry.
“How you interpret everything is how you stand out,” Kwan said, adding that after her performances last year, she received several congratulations and positive feedback from fellow competitors, instructors and dancers.
“That beats any medal, any trophy, because at the end of the day, that’s just an object that you’re going to put aside, but the words are what you keep with you forever.”
Carey seconded that point, saying the festival isn’t about who wins the competition, but about the global dance community they’ve formed.
“Some of the medalists have maybe not gone much further, and the ones that came with the bigger picture, are really flourishing,” Carey said. “It’s not just the best of the best, it’s these stories. It’s about what we have in common.”
A bonus for Kwan came at VIBE 2017, when she met her partner in dance as well as in life, Giovanni Giordano, of Naples, Italy. The two have been together ever since.
Carey calls them “the Ballet Beyond Borders couple,” and Kwan doesn’t mind.
“It is so amazing to get to dance and travel with someone who shares the same passion as you,” Kwan said. “It really helps because we both know we are working hard to achieve the same dream and to be able to work towards that together is so special.”
Both are here for Ballet Beyond Borders 2020, which Kwan said is like a little vacation for them.
Despite coming in this year with less training than she’s had in the past, Kwan is competing in four categories: classical solo, contemporary solo, contemporary duet and contemporary ensemble.
This year will be the first time she’s performing together with dancers from the Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre in Missoula.
“It’s so different dancing with other people that you haven’t danced with before because in groups we have to be so synchronized,” she said. “After a couple days we got used to it and things are going really well and I’m having a lot of fun with them because they’re all such nice people and genuine dancers.”
All of the pieces she’s performing tell a story, but one stood out to her. She and Giordano are performing a duet, in which he portrays your everyday person and Kwan portrays passion.
“Passion is a huge part of everybody’s lives and that can be either positive or negative. It is an uncontrollable emotion that you can choose to follow or leave,” she said, adding the piece asks the question of whether it is passion that dies or if it’s the person that dies.
While she’s excited to compete, Kwan said she loves Ballet Beyond Borders because she gets to work with choreographers from around the world.
“It’s nice having master classes with people you haven’t had class with because you get different information and you hear different corrections that you haven’t heard before and it just helps you grow as a dancer.”
Carey said many dancers are exposed to future opportunities while attending the event.
“This is the steppingstone for their next career move,” she said. “You come here, you’re going to be seen by literally 20 to 50 of the best in the world.”
And in addition to bolstering career prospects, Kwan said she gets to meet dancers she wouldn’t at other festivals and hear their stories, which is the best part.
“Dance is a universal language. There are so many people here and not everyone speaks the same language. Dancing is a form of communication or a way to express yourself that everyone can understand.”
More than 100 dancers from 20 countries around the world are set to bring their culture, art and stories to the Garden City for the fifth Ballet Beyond Borders festival.
The international event, hosted by the Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre, is a global dance and cultural festival held over four days in Missoula. Set for Jan. 8-11, the event includes a competition, master classes and a diplomacy conference.
“There isn’t another competition like this in the world,” said Charlene Campbell Carey, the artistic director of the Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre and president of Ballet Beyond Borders.
Carey started the festival as a way to create a global cultural exchange through dance and the arts. Whether they were traveling with former U.S. Sen. Max Baucus on trade missions or representing Montana at the Olympics, Carey said the ballet school has built international ties over the years and she wanted to bring those experiences to Missoula.
And while the festival includes a competition, the bigger goal is to connect through shared experiences and to create discussions around shared issues.
“My lowest priority is who wins the medals,” Carey said. “Almost everybody who’s come has benefited regardless of whether they’ve received a medal.”
Each year Carey said the festival brings more and more dancers and artists with humanitarian goals, something she hopes to continue expanding.
As part of that goal, the event invites “featured guest stars,” who have used dance to help others, to tell their story at the festival.
This year’s featured dancers include Lizt Alfonso, an internationally recognized dancer from Cuba; Sophie Rebecca, the first openly transgender person to train at the Royal Academy of Dance; Ahmad Joudeh, a refugee from Syria who started a program teaching dance to orphans and children in Syria free of charge, and Roman Baca.
Baca, a U.S. Marine veteran and professionally trained dancer, will share how dance saved him upon his return from war. Baca served in Iraq as a machine gunner and fire-team leader in Fallujah. A few months after his return to the United States in 2007, Baca’s wife expressed concern for his well being, noticing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder that Baca didn’t.
“My wife sat me down and said, ‘You’re not the person I knew before the war. The person I see in front of me is depressed, anxious, easy to anger and it’s not working.’" Baca said. “She challenged me and asked me if I could do anything in the world, what would I do?”
Baca replied he’d start a dance company. “And that’s when we started working towards what is now Exit 12 Dance Company.”
Baca now works with veterans and families of veterans struggling with PTSD. His choreography tells the stories of soldiers in the field and the experiences they end up carrying with them for the rest of their lives.
“I think the experiences that a person has in war are completely profound, they’re transformative, they’re impactful, and I don’t think words can truly express the depth and breadth of those experiences,” Baca said.
Creating a connection with the audience is also important and he hopes telling his story in Missoula can inspire others.
“I hope that Montana audiences can find a place where they can connect with us and be inspired to do something amazing in this world.”
Baca is set to speak at the diplomacy conference on Saturday, Jan. 11, and will also act as a judge for the competition.
Romanian dancers Alina Ciceo and Radu Domsa are returning to Ballet Beyond Borders for their fourth year and always look forward to visiting Missoula.
“We came here for the first edition and since then, we are a part of the family,” Ciceo said.
The duo said the diplomacy aspect of the festival is something they haven’t seen at other dance festivals in Europe, adding it’s exciting to see so many projects from around the world.
“We have a lot of foreign communities and it’s so interesting to see everybody’s flavor of nationality,” Ciceo said.
Coming to the festival is a learning experience for them, as we all share common issues, she said.
“Everywhere you go we have absolutely the same problems. What we learn is a different approach,” she said of the diplomacy conference. “We learn from each other how to deal with our problems and in different ways.”
Dance in particular is a tool for connecting across cultures and backgrounds because it’s a common language, Ciceo said.
“You can speak through your dance, through your art and I think it’s very important for this kind of expression to be alive and be supported.”
The pair will act as judges for the competition, which takes place on Dec. 9 and 10.
Carey said one of the highlights of the festival is the finals competition on Friday in the Dennison Theatre at the University of Montana because it features every category of dance through all age groups. She also pointed to a film screening of “Dance or Die,” the Emmy Award-winning documentary about Joudeh and his work with refugee children, which is set for Thursday evening at the University Center.
She recommended attending the diplomacy conference, adding some of the topics that will be discussed include Baca’s work with veterans and PTSD, Cuba-U.S. relations, homelessness, gender equality and immigration issues at the border, which hits home with this year’s festival, as a group of Mexican dancers set to attend the festival was recently denied entry.
“That’s deeply depressing as an arts motivator because some of those children are the best of the best and Missoula won’t get to see them,” Carey said, adding the situation will likely be brought up during the immigration discussions at the conference.
The weekend closes with a gala finale on Saturday night, the only ticketed event of the festival. All other events are free and open to the public, but donations are encouraged.
Carey hopes to be able to continue Ballet Beyond Borders in Missoula for years to come, but said in order to do that, they need the continued support of the community.
“For us to continue to bring this to Missoula, we need more support,” Carey said. She said the festival invites anyone and everyone to come, but specifically said she’s hoping some of Missoula’s refugees can attend.
“It’s totally inclusive, so everybody is welcome.”
A 12 year old Corvallis girl will be competing in a ballet competition on Sunday, January 5 at Rumour Restaurant in Missoula. But this won’t be just any competition. Shona Jessop will be competing with her horse, Dreamy, in the Ballet Beyond Borders competition.
“They made a special provision for the horse,” said her mother, Rachel. “They didn’t think the horse would be able to get through into the Dennison Theater at the University so they got Rumour Restaurant to be the ‘stage’ for Shona.”
Shona and her horse do everything together and so Shona wanted to do this dance with Dreamy. Although the horse will move around some, most of the dance will be Shona dancing around and on the horse.
Her parents, Rachel and Don Jessop, own Mastery Horsemanship and teach natural horsemanship and so she has always had a horse. But Shona has not always danced. She joined Ballet Bitterroot a couple of years ago and found a new passion. She says, “Expressing myself through my own choreography and sharing my feelings excites me because I get lost in the music and motion.”
Shona will compete in the young choreograph division. Her mother, who admits she is a newcomer to dance, said the competition will be judged on how well the dance fits the music, how artistic it is, and how much emotion is in the dance.
Shona will dance again next Wednesday but this time she will be by herself. If she does well in that phase of the competition, she, and Dreamy, will be slated to dance in the Dennison Theater and they will have to find a way for Dreamy to get onto the stage.
Ballet Beyond Borders is presented by the Rocky Mountain Ballet Company in Missoula. The competition is designed to not only showcase dance but also provides cultural, educational and diplomatic exchange to further human understanding and spark communication. All genres of dance are featured.
Kasper the Saint, an American artist, Dancer of Ballet Beyond Borders (BBB) on Thursday said that Pakistan trip was a life changing for him both mentally and emotionally
ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Dec, 2019 ) :Kasper the Saint, an American artist, Dancer of Ballet Beyond Borders (BBB) on Thursday said that Pakistan trip was a life changing for him both mentally and emotionally.
Kasper has recently participated and performed in 13-day long International Islamabad Art Festival 2019 (IIAF19).
Talking to APP, Kasper said that he closely experienced the life and culture of Pakistan during 13-day long tour. He said it was honor for him to have tea with The First Lady of Pakistan and The President of Pakistan and eat dinner with a family in a village full of life and work ethic.
He said that he was thankful to Chief Curator IIAF-19 Jamal Shah for creating Islamabad Arts Festival and his company Ballet Beyond Borders for creating this opportunity to perform in Pakistan.
He said that mentally, this experience has allowed him to understand that everyone is home to this earth and that we are all here to experience one another.
"As an artist, as People we are one and when we start to compare the things we share in common rather than focusing on our differences, we will naturally let the world be a better place" he said.
Born from a serendipitous encounter in China, the friendship between Charlene Campbell Carey (director of the Rocky Mountain Ballet School) and Jamal Shah (artist, film director and president of the 2019 Islamabad Art Festival) grew over the years. After Carey's Ballet Beyond Borders competition-show of last August in Los Angeles, Shah invited Carey to IAF 2019.
Carey brought five dancers, her co-director Karen Carreno, a documentarian and a cultural critic to IAF 2019. Hina, the vice president of the Pakistan Arts Council of USC Pacific Asia Museum, served as guide and Urdu interpreter.
From Nov. 14-29, 500 artists, dancers, etc., coming from Pakistan and 39 other countries shared talents, experiences and stories, engaging in comparative “show and tell,” bringing their worlds to Islamabad. Wherever the Montanans performed (on festival stages, at the international Serena Hotel or in a resort on the Margalla mountains), Jennifer (Missoulian ballet teacher, dancer/choreographer), Julia (Brazilian ballerina), Kaya (Salish-Kootenai dancer), Casper (Haitian/Californian rapper), Walter (Mex-American Salsa dancer/choreographer) aroused enthusiasm and spontaneous friendship.
Michel Valentin
ISLAMABAD, Dec 11 (APP):Kya-Rae Arthur, a native American artist of Ballet Beyond Borders (BBB has said that she is so much impressed with the beauty and people of Pakistan that she could not find words that can portray her inner feelings.
She recently participated and performed in 13-day long International Islamabad Art Festival 2019 (IIAF19), held in federal capital.
Talking to APP, she said that in the short period of time she spent in Pakistan capital Islamabad and some of the surrounding areas, she got to experience the true beauty of Pakistan. “To me the beauty of Pakistan lives on through the people, culture, traditions, language and the landscape.” she said, adding that Pakistan was so beautiful –there are no words adequate to describe my experience.
Kya-Rae said that she had never experienced such hospitality from people. “It’s as if you can see the love and kindness radiating from within them” she added. BBB artist said she has made memories and friends that will last my lifetime.
“I now find myself correcting anyone who has anything negative to say about this amazing place” she said. She said that she cannot express all of her emotions she experienced and at times the beauty was overwhelming.
Kya-Rae Arthur who is also princess 2019 of Salish-Kootenai College, a local college in USA said that she thankful to Ballet Beyond Borders and IIAF19 for creating this very special opportunity for her to share her dance, culture and traditions with the people of Pakistan.
She said that not only did she get to experience Pakistan she got to meet so many different artists from around the world who share her passion for art. “I hope someday to return to this beautiful place because it will always have a special place in my heart.” Kya Rae remarked.
ISLAMABAD, Nov 26 (APP):Deputy Mayor Syed Zeeshan Ali Naqvi on Tuesday arranged a special reception in honor of international artists participating Islamabad Art Festival 2019 at Shah Allah Ditta Cave.
The reception was attended by President Islamabad Art Festival Syed Jamal Shah, President Ballet Beyond Borders Charlene Campbell Carey, Pakistan first Opera Star Saira Peter, USA Origin British Steven, International artists of Mexico, USA, Brazil, United Kingdom, China and Japan.
In his welcome remarks, Syed Zeeshan Ali Naqvi appreciated the management of Islamabad Art Festival for organizing the event.
He said Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation was making efforts to provide all possible support to the management of Islamabad Art Festival.
The international artists also performed on the traditional Dhol performance on the occasion.
Ballet Beyond Borders member a Brazilian artist Julia told APP that it was an amazing experience to perform in Pakistan.
She said they were enjoying everything as people were very kind and friendly here.
World first Sufi Opera star Saira Peter also thanked the deputy mayor for arranging special reception event in honor of international artists.
Jamal Shah, on the occasion, said the idea of an international festival was to bring all the artists from across the world together.
He added that more than 230 artists from different countries were participating in the festival.
“We are lucky to have them here to establish artistic and cultural links with them so that we can continue a dialogue for years to come,” he said, adding, “the dialogue will be productive and encourages us to come closer together.”
“Pakistanis are living in a great country which has a great culture,” said Prof. Dr. Michel Walentin.
Later, the artists of ‘Ballet Beyond Borders’ (BBB) also performed at local hotel and got big applause from the audience. The BBB ensemble includes artists and dancers from America, Brazil and Mexico.
ISLAMABAD, Nov 24 (APP):The international artists of Ballet Beyond Borders (BBB) of Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre USA on Sunday mesmerized audience here at on-going Pakistan first ever mega Islamabad Art Festival 2019 in federal capital Islamabad.
President Ballet Beyond Borders Charlene Campbell Carey said that BBB embraces the changing landscapes of our global dance art form, adding that she is very happy to be here and the opportunity to enjoy with these wonderful people. “It was so amazing as large number of people were came together from different countries” she said.
“While excellence is our goal, we also seek to preserve the heritage we passionately share. We strive to protect, inspire, and connect the next generation of young artists with professionals of the highest caliber and with mentors that align with these ideals” she said. She said that dance is a cultural phenomenon and dancers are natural diplomats.
Charlene Campbell Carey said that Ballet Beyond Borders is a Ballet Nation that serves as a catalyst for promoting cooperation and easing conflict by creating mutual understanding and using dance to advocate for human rights, justice, and global peace. She said that Ballet Beyond Borders is an open land, with an open heart and an open dialogue.
Charlene created the highly regarded Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre (RMBT) School and established the renowned international danced festival, Ballet Beyond Borders (BBB) that is held annually in Western Montana.
The artists of Ballet Beyond Borders performed various forms of dances from native America and modern forms and got big applause from the audience at jam packed PNCA auditorium.
Earlier, Presient Islamabad Art Festival 2019 Jamal Shah welcomed the international Ballet Beyond Borders artists. He said that that the idea of international festival was produced with aim to bring all the artists together.
He said that more than 230 artists was being participating in Islamabad Art Festival.
He said that we are lucky to have them here to establish links with them so we can continue a dialogue for years to come. He said that dialogue will be productive which encourages us to come closer and together.
He said the festival was being organized by the consortium of public and private educational institutions, art galleries and artist associations from across the country in collaboration with foreign embassies, with generous support from the corporate sector. He thanked all the international artists on the occasion.
MISSOULA, Mont. — Missoula's Rocky Mountain Ballet Theater runs Ballet Beyond Borders.
The organization just wrapped up a successful cultural exchange in Los Angeles.
The goal of the group is to unite cultures and countries through music and dance.
“When bodies move, minds soar.”
Each year, Rocky Mountain Ballet (Charlene Campbell and her talented and dedicated small crew) brings hundreds of international dancers to Missoula via Ballet Beyond Borders.
Like a French “centre culturel,” and with the help of inspired sponsors, RMB decided to project its artistic message and dance philosophy internationally. In the countries where BBB performed, many foreigners remember Missoula as the little place where creative things happen.
After Missoulians commented that BBB was the type of event one would expect on the East or West Coasts, RMB decided to go an extra mile by bringing its exquisite and international dance show to Los Angeles.
From Aug. 7 to 11, young Missoula dancers will compete with hundreds of dancers from other countries. Since dance can open political deadlocks (Wink! Hint!), BBB will also have “art and diplomacy” seminars, and dance-affiliated films, with a final gala at Redondo Beach. BBB will bring Big Sky Country’s fresh air and the Last Best Place’s cooling serenity to steamy, fascinating L.A.
Los Angeles! The mountains are dancing down to the beach!
Michel Valentin,
Missoula
MISSOULA, Mont. — Ballet Beyond Borders brings dancers into Missoula from all around the world. For the last five years, BBB’s annual festival has been held in Missoula, but this year they’re taking it to Los Angeles.
According to their website the festival “provides a cultural, educational and diplomatic exchange to further human understanding and spark vital communication.”
The dancers, who come from more than 25 different countries, can gain scholarships, cash and job opportunities. They might even get a visa to a new country.
BBB president Charlene Campbell Carey says the dancers are diplomats and help bring social justice issues to light.
MISSOULA – All the world’s a stage in Missoula this summer as local dancers get ready for an international competition.
Ballet Beyond Borders is taking some 50 local Montana dancers to Los Angeles next week. They’re also taking along dancers from Italy and Brazil who’ve spent the summer in Montana, sharing their skills and culture.
Young dancers from Western Montana worked all spring and summer for next week’s international dance competition in LA. But rubbing elbows with international talent is nothing new for the rocky mountain ballet theater in Missoula.
“Ballet Beyond Borders is now a year-round event. We’ve done two State Department tours in the past year and our guests that used to come just in the winter are now here for summer programs,” Ballet Beyond Borders President Charlene Campbell said.
Ballet Beyond Borders is taking some 50 local dancers to LA to take part in an international competition. (MTN News photo)
This summer, dancers from across the globe have spent weeks dancing alongside the young Missoula performers — dancers like 21-year-old Corrine De Bock from Italy who has dreams of dancing professionally.
“It’s always a challenge when you go on stage in a new place, so far away from home,” De Bock said. “You grow every time you do it and you meet a lot of friends, a log of people”
One participant, 16-year-old Julia from Brazil, has been dancing her whole life, Ballet Beyond Borders secured a scholarship for her to dance in Italy.
But for her, it doesn’t matter where she dances. “It’s just magical, I mean, it’s something that is always there for you. It doesn’t matter if you have a big studio or you just in your house in your bedroom. Dance is always there; you know to let your emotions flow.”
They’re part of a group to perform dances for the weeklong festival and competition in California that include classical numbers to those that depict current social issues like homelessness to immigration.
Dancers from across the globe have spent weeks dancing alongside the young Missoula performers (MTN News photo)
Cambell Carey told MTN News that dance brings everyone together and can shine a light on conflict.
“We share our culture and not just our dances. I think a lot of our misunderstandings are not actually political, they’re cultural misunderstandings.”
On the dance floor, they all share a passion as the art of dance builds bridges and highlights shared values.
“You know, even if we don’t understand each other perfectly because of the language, we can always find a connection when we’re dancing together,” said Julia Lauany Duarte.
The team leaves next week and will spend Aug. 7 entertaining travelers at the Los Angeles International Airport before their performances and competition later that week.
