young 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."