Watch a video of the Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre preparing for their trip to China
On Wednesday, May 14, a delegation of 47 dancers, instructors and supporters affiliated with Missoula's Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre will load onto a chartered bus and hit the road for Vancouver, British Columbia. From there, they'll fly to Beijing, China, where they'll begin a two-week tour that includes performances with some of the major ballet companies in the Far East.
During the course of the trip, they'll visit historical sites such as the Forbidden City as well as the gleaming new Olympic venues, travel to the picturesque river city of Guilin (a city in Montana's sister province of Quangxi), and confront the cacophonous metropolis of Shanghai before coming back to Montana.
“I just can't begin to express how many people were involved in making this trip happen,” said RMBT co-director Charlene Campbell. “If I had known what I was getting into when we first talked about doing this, I don't know if I could have imagined it actually happening; but so many people have helped keep the momentum going until now - and now, we're going.”
RMBT is no stranger to international touring. Founded in 1998, the company has taken its dancers on multiple trips to Italy, as well as locales from Chicago to Austria.
But this tour of China represents new territory for the company, not only in terms of logistical complexity, but also in its diplomatic significance.
“We've done big trips before, but never with this many different cultures and factions of people involved,” said Campbell, who - in addition to bringing 15 dancers from RMBT - will shepherd along a small contingent of Native American dancers as well as a trick-roping cowboy, who will help represent some of the traditional culture of Montana. “It's a lot more complicated than anything we've done before.”
In addition to bringing its signature ballet works, RMBT will perform excerpts from several cornerstones of the Chinese ballet repertoire, which the company learned from Chinese-born dancer Ming Yan Davis. They'll also present “Rocky Mountain Serenade,” an original dance with music by San Francisco composer Barney Jones that combines performances by Native American and ballet dancers.
“With the program we developed, we're trying to work with the images that are familiar from the culture of the American West, while showing that there's a sophisticated modern artistic culture here,” explained Campbell.
Though much of the company's repertoire is playful at heart, the performances scheduled in China are far from casual affairs. The company will perform alongside the National Ballet of China in Beijing, at the Beijing Contemporary Music Academy (at the invitation of the American Embassy), and at the Shanghai Drama Academy in Shanghai, China.
The RMBT dancers will also have opportunities to study with some of the most noted dance instructors in China.
“I'm really looking forward to taking dance classes with someone who's not American, and learning those different techniques,” said Ashley Hagler, a 15-year-old sophomore at Loyola Sacred Heart in Missoula. Hagler, who aspires to become a professional ballet dancer someday, said she's not too worried about suffering from culture shock in China.
“I've heard that most of them aren't very tall compared to Americans, so I'll finally be able to fit in because I'm short,” she said with a giggle.
Other dancers echoed Hagler's excitement about meeting with Chinese dancers, sampling local food, shopping for gifts, and visiting some of the most famous landmarks in China.
“It's going to be such a unique experience, I'm just hoping I can soak it all in,” said Pablo Sanchez, a 20-year-old dancer from Illinois whom Campbell recruited to join the troupe on the tour. “Especially with the Olympics coming up, there's such a focus on China now. It'll be so interesting to see how it's shaping up and then come back home and watch the Olympics and be able to see the places I've been.”
Reporter Joe Nickell can be reached 523-5358 or at jnickell@missoulian.com.
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