HISTORY

In June of 1966, dance teachers in Montana were asked to attend an organizational meeting at Jorgenson’s in Helena, MT. Only a few were able to attend: Blanche Judge and Trude MacDonald of Helena, Maurine and Bill Yelsa of Anaconda, and Dee Brady of Great Falls. But what came out of the meeting was big: the formation of the Montana Dance Arts Association (MDAA). Their goal was to raise teaching standards and obtain scholarships and grants for Montana dancers. The organization they founded, which was then a division of the Montana Arts Council, was officially formed on July 6, 1967, with Blanche Judge appointing Mrs. Alice Stoughton of Eastern Montana College as president; Maurine Yelsa, an Anaconda dance instructor, as vice-president; Betty Faurot of Missoula Sentinel High School as secretary; and Betty Michael of Rocky Mountain College as treasurer.

The first version of what we now know of as an MDAA workshop was the Montana Young Dancers and Artists Festival, held at the Helena Civic Center on April 6, 1968, and sponsored by MDAA and the Montana Arts Council. The one-day festival included ballet classes taught by Mr. Harold Christensen, then Director of the San Francisco School of Ballet, and folk dance classes taught by Mr. Anatole Joukowsky, then dance professor from San Francisco State College, and concluded with a performance by dancers from twenty different Montana schools, including private dance schools, high schools, and colleges. Nine scholarships were awarded to Montana dance students to attend the Banff School of Fine Arts and the San Francisco School of Ballet. Winning arts and crafts of Young Montana Artists Shows were also on display during the Festival. The second Young Dancers and Arts Festival was expanded to a two-day event that included a wider variety of classes in ballet, jazz, modern, and folk dance.

The early 1970’s brought about the birth of MDAA workshops as we now know them: the MDAA Spring Workshop and Scholarship Adjudications, and the MDAA Fall Workshops. Keeping the wide variety of dance genres, tap classes were added to the offerings. Since that bold start, growing from few to many, MDAA has been conducting these biannual workshops and bringing world-class guest faculty members from professional dance schools and dance companies to Montana.

In addition to giving Montana dance students and instructors the opportunity to work with and learn from master teachers from across the nation, MDAA’s program offerings have grown to awarding almost fifty cash and tuition scholarships for summer dance training to deserving young dancers, a student choreography prize, scholarships towards regular training throughout the year, and teacher fellowships. All of these incredible programs are offered annually. Please see the Programs webpage for more detailed descriptions of the listed programs. 

MDAA is a truly unique non-profit organization that has brought a wide range of opportunities in dance to the dance students and instructors of Montana for over 50 years. Run by our Executive Director, volunteer Board, and many wonderful workshop directors and volunteers on the ground, the organization continues to follow its mission statement and make high-quality dance more accessible to the current and future generations of dancers in Montana.

Please look through our website and reach out with any questions and ideas.