Author: Lindsey Nelson

Coveted awards and scholarships were swept up by dancers and choreographers in the two ballet companies that consider UVU their home at the Regional Dance America National Festival in Montreal, Canada. “Art does not flourish in isolation,” claims Regional Dance America. “It grows in an atmosphere of candor and understanding.” Think about the number of ballet studios in America, forming professional and pre-professional companies, blooming with ability and sharing the blossoms with the community out of which it was born. Regional Dance America (RDA) is a national organization composed of more than 85 ballet companies in the U.S. and Canada. In its 50 years, dozens of members have been professional groups of national acclaim. The five regions of RDA are Midstates, Northeast, Pacific, Southeast and Southwest. Each spring, the foremost dance companies in each region join together in five different regional dance festivals. Every four to five years RDA holds a National Festival, bringing the finest of its 3,000 dancers together. It is a time of accelerated learning and growth when dancers, directors, choreographers, costumers, and others meet to be hosted by a certain RDA ballet company for classes and collaboration, association and application, appreciation and, of course, competition. Elizabeth Stott is the proud artist behind the only piece from the Pacific region to be accepted to perform at the national festival, according to Shayla Bott, lecturer for the...