by Deb Seminary

Northern Plains Dance has come full circle. Formed as a dance school in 1998, Northern Plains Dance took a leap in 2001 and became a professional company. “In the summer of 2007, the board decided to turn the focus back to the school,” said Hollis Mackintosh, Director. “We have increased the professionalism, and our main focus now is the training, outreach and major stage productions.”

Mackintosh came to Bismarck in 2006 as a part of the professional company. “I really liked it here, so I stayed when they made the switch,” she said.

One of the ways Northern Plains Dance carries out its professional philosophy is in the way it approaches productions. “We don’t do any rehearsing for our productions in class time,” said Mackintosh. “That time is to learn the technique of the style of dance students are studying.”

The students try out for the productions by auditioning and students can choose to be in a production, or not. “Some students may have stage frightnot be feel that they are ready or be in a sport and can’t make the time commitment,” said Mackintosh. “It is also fun to see how the dancers, who may not be in the same classes, or even know each other, work together, too.!”

The Northern Plains Dance season productions areis a mix of full-length andor repertoire shows. They hire professional dancers as guest artists for two of the three performances at the Belle. “The guest artists become almost like faculty members,” said Mackintosh. “Our students will contact them for advice and that is really what I want when I am looking for guest artists.”

The students range in age from three to twenty-something. Northern Plains Dance offers the “standard” classes, such as Tap, Hip Hop, Jazz, Ballet and Modern. “We also offer a large range of ‘social’ dance classes,” explained Mackintosh. “We did a wedding dance workshop in May that was so much fun. We also held a Salsa workshop and hold a lot of adult classes through BSC.”

All of the instructors, with the exception of one who teaches three-year-olds, are adults who have a lot of experience and professional dance experience. Some Mackintosh and Carly Schaub, the Education Coordinator both even havehold dance degrees and oversee the syllabus for all of the classes. There is a very high standard of teaching, adding to their professionalism.

Northern Plains Dance also accommodates all levels of dancers. If a twelve-year-old comes in and wants to learn Hip Hop, they will not be placed in a beginner class with three-year-olds. “We started a new class this year and it has been very successful – Teen Beginning Ballet,” explained Mackintosh. “We had a whole crop of young teens that have taken other classes and wanted to learn ballet. We don’t want to put older kids in with the younger ones. Their bodies are different and we want them to feel comfortable.”

Mackintosh feels very strongly about the importance of art in the community. “I feel pretty lucky that I get to see that at all levels,” she said. “I get to see it at the performance level – seeing the audience coming in all excited, seeing the little girls wearing their crowns to the Nutcracker. Then I get to introduce young kids to the art of dance.”

Northern Plains Dance is a 501c3 funded by tuition, ticket sales, donations and grants. To learn more, visit their website at northernplainsdance.org.