Richard Bowman

02/27/2025

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01/18/2025

On January 7, 2025, Carolyn Brown, a founding member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, died at the age of 97. One of the great American dancers of her generation, she was an exquisite mover who commanded the stage with her powerful presence.

Learn about Brown’s life and legacy at the link in our bio.

📸: Brown in Merce Cunningham’s “Walkaround Time.” Photo by James Klosty, courtesy and the Jerome Robbins Dance Division, NYPL for the Performing Arts.
📝: .j



Description: A black-and-white photo of Brown, wearing a long-sleeved unitard, on a stage hung with multiple pieces of abstract artwork. She stands in fourth position relevé, her left hand by her shoulder, her right arm hanging by her side. Text: Remembering Carolyn Brown, 1927–2025

01/18/2025

MBC Announces
New Artistic Director
& Executive Leadership Team

We are thrilled to announce Melissa Bowman as our new Artistic Director! Joining Ms. Bowman on the Executive Leadership Team are Leigh Ripley, Administrative Director, and Karen Smith, Operations Director. These strategic appointments mark an exciting chapter for MBC as we continue to grow, innovate, and uphold our commitment to artistic excellence.

This leadership transition follows the departure of our beloved Artistic and Executive Director, Elizabeth DeFanti. We look forward to celebrating her incredible legacy at MBC’s CONNECTIONS 2025 Gala on June 12, 2025.

For over 41 years, Montana Ballet Company has captivated audiences with exceptional productions—from timeless classics to contemporary works. We invite you to experience the magic of dance:

✨ Swan Lake – March 1 & 2, 2025, at the Willson Auditorium in Bozeman
✨ CONNECTIONS 2025 – Featuring Stars of American Ballet, June 13, 2025

https://montanaballet.org/the-company/ for team biographies and https://montanaballet.easy-ware-ticketing.com/events for tickets to Swan Lake and CONNECTIONS 2025.

Thank you for supporting MBC as we embark on this exciting new journey!

01/16/2025

😢

On Sunday, January 12, musical theater choreographer and director Lynne Taylor-Corbett died at the age of 78. Known widely for her choreography in the 1984 musical film “Footloose,” Taylor-Corbett’s work on Broadway includes “Swing!”—for which she received two Tony nominations—“Shakespeare’s Cabaret,” “Chess,” “Titanic,” and “Jackie.”

Born in Denver, Colorado, Taylor-Corbett moved to New York City at age 17 to pursue professional dance. She worked as an usher at the New York State Theater (now the David H. Koch Theater) prior to joining Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, where she took part in the company’s Women’s Choreography Initiative and began developing her choreographic career. She went on to receive commissions from Ailey, New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Carolina Ballet, and more.

Taylor-Corbett also choreographed for television and the films “My Blue Heaven,” “Vanilla Sky,” and “Bewitched.” In 2008, the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society awarded her with the Joseph A. Callaway Award for excellence in stage directing and choreography.

Most recently, Taylor-Corbett collaborated with her son, Shaun, on writing the off-Broadway musical “Distant Thunder,” which tells the story of a man taken from his Blackfeet tribe as a child.

As we prepare a longer tribute celebrating Taylor-Corbett’s life and legacy, here are a few of her own words, from an essay she wrote for “Dance Magazine” in 1991:

“People often ask me, ‘What is the most exciting thing about being a freelance choreographer?’ I have to confess that my own personal high is working with wildly diverse performers who fill me with inspiration.…My greatest satisfaction will be watching their dreams come true.”

📸: (rehearsing Broadway’s “Titanic”) in the May 1997 issue of “Dance Magazine.” Photo by Caitlin Sims, from the “DM” Archives.

Description: Lynne Taylor-Corbett leads rehearsal in a dance studio. She and several dancers, all dressed in black, cross one foot over the other as they dance together in a circle, holding hands with arms lifted. Text: Lynne Taylor-Corbett, 1946–2025

09/14/2024

Our hearts ache with this sad news💔sending much love and healing thoughts to her family and friends

03/09/2024

12/10/2022

We’re taking our 39th annual Nutcracker on the road to Butte tomorrow, but those of you in Bozeman please support our friends over at the this weekend! You won’t want to miss their second annual Holiday Spectacular, a Christmas treat for the whole family celebrating the spirit and joy of the season!

12/10/2022

MBC Nutcracker 2022

11/18/2022

Performance season means extra hours in the studio rehearsing; we’re so grateful that we can count on our friends at to keep our dancers strong and injury-free as we prepare for our upcoming 39th Annual Nutcracker performances. Thank you Kelsey Wadsworth, PT, DPT, OPT and Nichole Andriolo, PT, DPT for spending your Saturday at the studio with us!