What It Means to Be a Homegrown Dance Company in Montana
In the dance world, and particularly in graduate school, I was always looking toward what was next — how to bolster my CV in order to look flashy for academic faculty positions or fancy, big-city company gigs. What was a “successful dance career,” and how could I get one of those?
I’ll give you a hint: moving to a small town in an underpopulated state was not advised for procuring one of those sparkling dance careers.
The cultural hubs with long-standing, established dance companies are still considered better… or at least more generally worthy of funding and higher ticket prices. Anyone aware of large-scale touring productions or tickets to the ballet in a nearby metropolis, with their accompanying budgets and unionized performers, will agree with me on that.
Yet, proudly!, here we are/I am…
Regional dance companies are now getting a little more recognition. I was excited to see an article in Dance Magazine about “homegrown companies” and their creation of healthy local dance ecosystems. As one of those homegrown companies, we are proud to be interwoven into the dance ecosystem of Western Montana, where we continue to strive to support its evolution and support its growth.
In the article, Gavin Larsen notes, “Dance leaders with strong personal ties to their locations are building organizations that, rather than aspiring to national fame, are proudly identifying with and reflecting their communities; providing consistent, fulfilling work to local artists; and building dance infrastructure beyond established hubs.”
If I lived elsewhere, my artistic choices surely would have evolved differently. Artists from smaller, rural communities make dance that reflects their surroundings, and I’m no exception. As if by osmosis, living in Missoula, MT, has shaped me, and I can’t help but let its culture show up in my artistic choices.
Our love of the outdoors and its beauty are cornerstones of our lifestyles. This town is an interweaving quilt of non-profits that shows how we truly care about one another. We honor space, land, individualism, and listening to our neighbors. This care for the people and place is embedded in all of our art forms.
Bare Bait Dance is proud to be a regional dance company that reflects these values.
We are proud to be paying dance artists and valuing their artistry in hopes that they will stay in Montana and continue to share their talents in our state.
We are proud to serve our community by enriching the daily lives of Montanans by offering dance classes and movement workshops, and producing professional dance productions, film screenings, local and touring concerts, and other festivals throughout the year.
We are proud to be in Montana for Montanans.
We firmly believe that even residents of a rural state like Montana should have the chance to witness and engage with transformative and enriching art.
And we are excited to build what’s next.
As we wrap up our 14th season and head into our 15th, we want to give you more opportunities to experience dance in our community, and we hope you’ll join us.
UPCOMING: Joy French’s newest choreographic work, IS THIS IT?, premieres April 17-27, 2025 at the Westside Theater.
IS THIS IT? features the full 2024|2025 company and apprentices plus guest performers and includes original scoring and live performance by Travis Yost and videography|projection design by Mike Steinberg