Faculty

Charlene Campbell Carey  Artistic Director

Charlene Campbell Carey’s career in ballet, choreography, entertainment, and cultural diplomacy began in 1976 and continues to evolve across artistic and international platforms. Born in Chicago, she received early ballet training from renowned instructors Walter Camryn, Bentley Stone, Larry Long, and her mother, Elisabeth Gillette Campbell. She went on to study on full scholarship at the National Academy of Arts under the tutelage of Lupe Serrano and Michael Maule, a path that led her to American Ballet Theatre (ABT). At ABT, she completed her training, created choreography for the school, joined the faculty, and served as assistant to Director Patricia Wilde.

Continuing her family’s legacy, Ms. Carey danced at Radio City Music Hall, following in the footsteps of her mother, who performed there for thirteen years after World War II. Her choreography career expanded in Chicago, where she served as resident choreographer for Light Opera Works and spent eight years on the faculty at the Lou Conte Dance Studio, home of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.

Throughout her career, Ms. Carey has served as a leading dancer and choreographer for hundreds of ballets, operas, industrials, nightclub acts, and television specials. Her credits include shows at Chicago’s McCormick Place, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade floats (Coleco and Hallmark), the Los Angeles Japan-America Conference with President Ronald Reagan, the Beverly Hills Christmas Show with Whoopi Goldberg, and choreographer on “Murder, She Wrote” starring Angela Lansbury. She choreographed the ABC television special Indestructible People and On My Toes featuring Katya Artyushkina.

Ms. Carey choreographed the feature film Desire, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 1988 and featured many of the world’s top ballet dancers. She co-starred in the film alongside Johan Renvall, principal dancer of ABT, and later produced Season of Change starring Michael Madsen, and The Flying Dutchman featuring Rod Steiger and Eric Roberts. She also coached numerous Hollywood actors and served on the faculty of prominent Los Angeles studios including Yvonne Mounsey’s Westside Ballet and Stanley Holden’s Ballet School.

In 1998, Ms. Carey founded Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre (RMBT) in Missoula, Montana. Since then, she has created over 75 original ballets for the company and led international tours beginning in 2002. RMBT dancers have appeared in major stage and film productions, including The Flying Dutchman, Kismet, and Candide. Ms. Carey continues to teach and direct commissions throughout the United States, Europe, Russia, Brazil, Colombia, Pakistan, the UAE, Mexico, Panama, Cuba, and China.

In 2008, prior to the Beijing Olympics, Ms. Carey led RMBT on a successful cultural diplomacy tour through Beijing, Guilin, Yangshuo, Shanghai, and Suzhou, China. This led to her invitation to return as a master teacher and coach at the prestigious Beijing Dance Academy International Ballet Competition. RMBT established a tradition of presenting command performances in Montana for former Senator Max Baucus and visiting dignitaries from China, Peru, Vietnam, Colombia, Morocco, Panama, Chile, South Korea, Australia, Tajikistan, Russia, Japan, New Zealand, Bahrain, and many others.

RMBT partnered with the University of Montana’s International Programs, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center, and the Center for Southwest Asia Studies to deepen its cultural outreach. Ms. Carey choreographed the Going Viral series—ballets integrating multimedia and scientific research from the Level 4 Lab in Hamilton, Montana. These works addressed global health issues such as Ebola, Polio, HPV, Dengue Fever, West Nile, and Influenza. Notably, the Gates Foundation used RMBT’s Polio Ballet as an educational tool worldwide.

In 2010, RMBT returned to China, performing in Liuzhou and Nanning in Guangxi Province and headlining U.S. cultural programming at the Shanghai World Expo. The company participated in cross-cultural dialogues with institutions including the Suzhou Ballet, Robert Mundell University for Entrepreneurship, the National Ballet of China, and the Beijing Dance Academy.

In 2011, RMBT joined Senator Baucus on an official U.S. Trade Mission to Brazil and Colombia. The company was then invited to perform gala events at the Salzburg Music Festival in Austria, in collaboration with Salzburg Ballet. In 2014, RMBT embarked on a three-month European tour with highlights including a residency in Ischia, Italy with Master Violinist Henry Gronnier, and performances at the Wien Welt Wettbewerb during the Impulstanz Festival under the direction of Vladimir Malakhov. RMBT’s success led to its role as U.S. Director and host for the Vienna International Ballet Experience (VIBE).

Also in 2014, RMBT toured China under the auspices of the U.S. State Department. The company performed at the Tianqiao Theater in Beijing, presented by the National Ballet of China, and participated in an exchange with the Chinese Disabled Performance Troupe facilitated by U.S. Ambassador Max Baucus and Melodee Hanes Baucus.

In 2015, Ms. Carey was invited to serve as Guest Ballet Mistress at the GOH Ballet Academy in Vancouver, Canada, under the direction of Prima Ballerina Chan Hon Goh. She has also served on international juries for ballet competitions including VIBE (Vienna), OPUS Ballet (Florence), and several ballet “examen” panels worldwide.

In 2016, Ms. Carey launched Ballet Beyond Borders (BBB), a global festival of dance and diplomacy. Held annually in Montana and internationally in Los Angeles (2019, 2022, 2024) and Havana, Cuba (2024, 2025), BBB includes an elite multi-genre dance competition, a young choreographers’ platform, film screenings, essay contests, diplomacy forums, and a Gala Finale. The festival celebrates dance as a universal language of peace and cultural connection.

Currently, RMBT maintains an unprecedented and dynamic partnership with Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba, bringing together artists from the U.S. and Cuba for collaborative performances and people-to-people cultural exchange initiatives.

Looking ahead, RMBT is developing a new project, set to begin production in February 2026. This emotionally resonant work—featuring BBB dancers, alumni, and creatives—will tell the story of a mother’s love and her child’s journey through cancer and chemotherapy. It will be a powerful testament to resilience, compassion, and the unifying strength of the arts.

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, Los Angeles CA and Havana Cuba.

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

Julia Lauany Duarte Jackson/Faculty

Julia Lauany Duarte Jackson is an internationally acclaimed dancer and choreographer from São Paulo, Brazil. Starting in ballet, she expanded into contemporary, lyrical, and Afro-Brazilian dance, gaining recognition at Ballet Beyond Borders (BBB), where her solo works like "Dandelion" and "Baianá" earned Gold and Silver Medals. Her performances, including tributes like “Still I Rise,” highlight her ability to blend cultural identity with powerful social themes.

Julia has performed worldwide, including at the Islamabad Art Festival and Havana’s BBB Gala. Her dance short films, co-directed with her brother, have also won awards. She holds a BA in Dance with an emphasis on choreography from the University of Montana, and certifications in Dance Wellness and yoga. Julia has taught at Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre since 2021, where she mentors young dancers and leads master classes in Afro-Brazilian dance, fostering global cultural exchange through her artistry.

Walter Barrera/Faculty

Walter Barrera is a dancer and choreographer born in Los Angeles, California and raised in Morelos, México. He began his training as a Salsa and Latin dancer under La Academia de la danza Mexicana dirigida por Antonio Silva. In 2005, Walter traveled back to Los Angeles, California to finish his studies and pursued his dreams of being a professional dancer. In 2012, He joined the Dance department at Los Angeles City College where he obtained an AA in Psychology and a Performing Arts Certificate in the specialities of Dance, Choreography and Theater. In 2013, He started his connection as a dancer with Rocky Mountain Ballet Theater under the Direction of Charlene Carey. In 2014, He traveled to Salzburg, Austria with Rocky Mountain Ballet theater to an Intensive Dance Training under the Direction of Peter Breur, Artistic Director of the Salzburg Ballet.Where they trained in technical classes such as Ballet, Jazz, Hip Hop, Contemporary, Gaga, Nacho. In 2015, Walter began his professional Career as a Commercial Dancer and an Actor with Representation of Talent agencies such as S Dance Agency and 1826 Commercial Agency. In 2016, he began as faculty, Choreographer and Assistant to Director Charlene Carey. He began teaching and traveling with Rocky Mountain Ballet to different places such as Italy where he worked as a Performer, choreographer, instructor at a Summer Dance training of La Compagnia della Danza under the Direction of ballet Master Guy de Bock and Barbara Castagliuolo. In 2017, Walter’s group choreography competed at the Vienna International Ballet Experience USA where it won 1st place at the Essumble Group Category. Walter also worked at the 2017 Cecchetti International Summer Dance Competition Florence, Italy, as Artistic Director’s assistantand Dance Couch under the direction of Charlene Carey. Walter also worked the summer of 2017 as Choreographer and instructor at the Compagnia della Danza in Ischia, Italy and La Danza va in Vacanza in Calabria, Italy. Walter has trained in Salsa, Latin Dances, Hip hop, and Contemporary.

Kathy Wildberger/Faculty

Kathy Wildberger has been teaching, performing, and choreographing nationally and internationally for dance and theatre since the early 1970’s. In New York her choreography has been produced by Dance Theatre Workshop, DIA Foundation, The Museum Of Modern Art, The Danspace Project at St. Mark’s Church, Movement Research, Joyce Soho, White Wave, and the 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Center. Kathy has been reconstructing the repertoire of Jeff Duncan since his death in 1989. It is through this connection Kathy developed storytelling through dance. Her professional credits include: founding and directing the PATH Dance Company in Baltimore for 12 years, touring internationally as a founding member of the Toronto Dance Theatre, and choreographing and performing with Sean Curran in NYC. She has been awarded several choreography fellowships as well as a First Light Grant from the Jerome Foundation. Kathy is a Master Teacher of the Jose Limon Technique and improvisation. Recently retired from 20 years as Senior Lecturer at Vassar College and Assistant Director of Vassar Repertory Dance Theatre, she now joyfully is a contributing choreographer and instructor for Rocky Mountain Dance Theatre.