Northwest Ballet School celebrates 45 years

The Northwest Ballet School is celebrating its 45th season. As the Flathead Valley's first dance studio, established in 1977, it is also the longest-running one with its main studio located in Kalispell (the Dance Art Center) and an additional branch in Whitefish (at the O'Shaughnessy Center).

The school offers classes for ages 3 1/2 to adults in ballet, pointe, tap, jazz/contemporary, cheer, and musical theatre. Other classes offered have included hip-hop, Pas de Deux, breakdancing, ballroom, and modern.

Owner and Director Marisa Roth has been at the helm for almost 16 years after taking the school over from founder Carol Jakes, but has been with the NW Ballet for almost all her life, taking classes there as a 3-year-old and growing up in the NWB Company. Marisa has her Bachelor of Arts in Dance with a Teaching/Choreography Concentration from Pennsylvania's Mercyhurst University, and is certified in the pre-primary through level 3 National Training Curriculum from the prestigious American Ballet Theatre in New York City.

As the NW Ballet School turns 45, the Northwest Ballet Company is 42, and is no stranger to the audiences of the Flathead Valley with its annual Mother's Day Productions and this season's 34th "Nutcracker" performances over Thanksgiving Weekend. The Company's repertoire includes not only the full-length Nutcracker, but Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Alice in Wonderland, and excerpts from Coppélia, Swan Lake, and Phantom of the Opera, as well as new works.

"...Northwest Ballet is where you want to enroll your kids,” said adult student Wes Hulla. “This non-competitive environment will help your student grow into an adult alongside peers who know and understand the importance of accepting others regardless of their natural abilities. They will learn the importance of constructive feedback from the caring and sensitive faculty… Not only is this the area’s longest-running dance school, it is the finest!"

For more information on classes and performances, contact the Northwest Ballet at 755-0760, or visit www.northwestballet.com.