Charlene in Bogota

Click here to see Charlene Campbell Carey introducing Montana to contemporary dancers in Bogota

Artistic Director Charlene Campbell Carey with Montana Senator Max Baucus during a Montana Trade mission in Cartagena, Colombia

Editorial in the Missoulian regarding RMBT's dancers in the Moscow Ballet's Productions of "The Great Russian Nutcracker" and "Romeo & Juliet"

RMBT European Tour 2011

Rocky Mountain Ballet performs at home, then heads to Europe

By JOE NICKELL of the Missoulian | Posted: Friday, June 3, 2011 7:45 am

The Montana turkeys are flying the coop once again.

Next week, a group of 50 student and professional dancers, instructors, musicians and organizers from Missoula's Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre will embark on yet another international journey, this time traveling to Austria, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria.

The monthlong tour will be just the latest adventure for the local troupe, which has previously taken its dancers to Italy, China and other far-flung reaches of the world.

Before the dancers leave town, though, they'll be sharing a little bit of what the trip is all about, with a performance next Tuesday, June 7, at the company's headquarters off Brooks Street. The performance in the small southside studio will highlight several of the works that will later be seen by audiences of as many as 8,000 during the company's whirwind 10-city, four-country tour.

Those familiar with the work of RMBT will probably recognize the "Montana Wild Turkey Dance," a contemporary ballet piece set to upbeat dance music, which has become something of a signature for the local dancers. Other, newer works on tap include "Flathead Lake Frogs," "Zing Went the Strings of My Big Sky Heart," "SOULdier" and "Women," with choreography by Vittorio Luciano and RMBT artistic director Charlene Campbell Carey.

After the local performance, RMBT's delegation will fly to Austria, where they will join four other top U.S. dance schools on a tour to Innsbruck, St. Johann, Salzburg and Leinz, as part of the "Young Tanzsommer" festival. Along the way, the dancers will perform at a fundraiser for the children of the Elisabethinum School for disabled children. The tour marks the second time RMBT has participated in "Young Tanzsommer."

After that, RMBT will travel eastward for a performance and cultural exchange at the American Embassy in Budapest, where American Ambassador Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis and her husband Markos Kounalakis will be in attendance.

The tour then continues to Debrecen and through Romania, eventually winding up in Varna, Bulgaria, for a series of master classes, workshops, cultural exchanges and festival performances from July 3-11.