Welcome to the online archive of Montana’s professional ballet company.
When the founding director of Ballet Montana returned to Helena from New York after a 20-year immersion in ballet culture, it was never her intention to re-create in her home state the world she left behind. She was injured and tired; she sought recovery and rest. But while Sallyann Mulcahy was recovering and resting, the world she left behind followed her to Montana.
After a guest-teaching stint at Milwaukee Ballet, she received a call from one of the dancers: “If we come to Montana, will you teach us?” She said yes, and soon found herself fielding similar requests from professionals across the continent.
From 1995 through 2012, Sallyann rehabilitated injured dancers, refined the technique of those whose training had been left in abeyance when their employment began, and inspired performers to rediscover their love of the art. She choreographed and staged 54 ballet works -- over 300 roles -- for 62 career dancers; she created and built more than 250 costumes and 50 tutus; she propelled one in four of her pre-professional students into professional careers. Now, nearly two decades after responding to the needs of hungry dancers by creating for them a training and performance haven in the most unlikely of places, Sallyann is returning to the ballet world.
Stephanie Wolf, Editor and Co-Founder of DIY Dancer, contributor to the online magazine Dance Informa, and former Ballet Montana company member, does a fine job of telling the story here:
Correspondence sent to balletmontana@gmail.com will be forwarded to Sallyann.
Thank you for visiting.
Michael Russell
Photos © 2010 - 2013 Allen S. Lefohn & Phyllis Lefohn