Mary Kate Shearer’s vision for her future leaped nearly as high as the dancers did that summer afternoon she saw her first ballet onstage. She was only 3 years old, knocking on 4, at the time, and maybe mature enough for a USA International Ballet Competition matinee in her mom’s view. “I bought tickets way at the back, in case we needed to sneak out,” her mother Janet Shearer recalled. No need, as it turned out. “She was rapt … just so attentive through the whole thing. “When we walked out of Thalia Mara Hall that afternoon, she looked up and said, ‘Mommy, I want to do that.’” “Since then, I have not stopped,” Mary Kate Shearer said, “except when injury forced me to.” The young dancer is now a company member of Chattanooga Ballet (CHA Ballet), a small regional company bound for Jackson as part of its Art/Motion tour Friday and Saturday, Jan. 24-25. The homecoming highlights Shearer in performance, with the opportunity, too, to share her newfound love of teaching. The weekend’s two performances in Jackson showcase works by legends in contemporary ballet — a rare treat for area dance fans — and newer works as well. The flirty, energetic “Tarantella” by New York City Ballet co-founder George Balanchine and the deeply romantic “Sea Shadow” by Joffrey Ballet co-founder Gerald Arpino are key showpieces on a program that also features the new “Intersections of Life” by Dance Theatre of Harlem member Ingrid Silva, and “Copacetic,” a fun and jazzy work choreographed by Chattanooga Ballet Artistic Director Brian McSween. This is CHA Ballet’s 50th anniversary season. Shows will also include contemporary ballet performances by Belhaven University dance students (“In One Accord,” choreographed by Belhaven dance alum Rachel Bitgood) and by Mississippi Metropolitan Ballet (“Timelapse” by Andrew Brader). “Sea Shadow” CHA Ballet dancers Alessandra Ferarri-Wong and Eli Diersing, Credit: Wizardly Studio Performances will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24, and at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, at Belhaven University Bitsy Irby Visual Arts and Dance Center’s Studio Theatre. CHA Ballet’s tour includes master classes for local dance students Saturday morning, with intermediate and advanced sessions for ages 12-15 at 9 a.m. and for advanced students ages 16 and older at 10:30 a.m. Find tickets to CHA Ballet performances and master classes and more information at https://givebutter.com/Belhaven. Advance purchase is recommended; parking is available in the lot behind the building. The tour’s Jackson leg is sponsored by Janet Shearer Fine Art. “I wanted Mary Kate to come home and dance so that family and friends can see her locally, but more importantly, what Chattanooga Ballet does, serving communities with world-class dance,” Janet Shearer said. The daughter of Janet and Dale Shearer grew up in Ridgeland, developing the passion she pegged as a pre-schooler through lessons with the Madison-based Mississippi Metropolitan Ballet and summer camp training. Shearer, 26, graduated from Indiana State University and its Jacobs School of Music’s dance department in May 2021 and joined CHA Ballet just months later as one of its seven professional dancers.  Credit: Wizardly Studio “She’s a very determined and dynamic dancer, and highly intelligent,” CHA Ballet CEO/Artistic Director McSween said of Shearer, also praising her range across contemporary, modern and classical works and even character roles. “She’s a great technician. She’s an even better artist.” “I love to dance and I think it’s incredible that I get to do that as my job,” Shearer said.  When company director McSween floated the possibility of a Jackson tour, she thought it was a fantastic idea.  “That would be so much fun, for a lot of reasons,” she said. “It’ll be really cool because I haven’t had the opportunity to teach in Jackson much at all. … Since I’ve been at Chattanooga Ballet, teaching is a part of my job that I’ve fallen in love with in a way that I didn’t really expect. So, I’m excited to share with my hometown this newfound love of sharing my knowledge about my art form, not just performing.” In classes, she continues ballet’s strong oral tradition of passing down instruction from one generation to the next. In Chattanooga, she embraces teaching 8-, 9- and 10-year-olds.  “Something about that age group — it’s their first year where they come to ballet twice a week, and they’re not self-conscious yet, so they’re still just so excited and wanting to try new things. It’s just been really cool to share my knowledge with the next generation of future dancers and dance lovers,” Shearer said. She recalls her own childhood ballet classes at MMB, and some of the imagery MMB Artistic Associate Crystal Skelton used to describe steps.  Mary Kate Shearer Credit: Courtesy of Mary Kate Shearer “It’s still stuff I tell my students now, like talking about our hip bones as the headlights of our car, and making sure they’re staying facing forward all the time at the barre, and things like that,” Shearer said. “Young, young dancers can say, ‘I don’t know what my hip bones are, but I know what the headlights of a car look like.’” MMB Artistic Director Jennifer Beasley recalled Shearer’s dedication, strong work ethic and her sponge-like eagerness to learn. “I always knew she could have a career in professional ballet if she wanted it. … I’m really excited to see her dance — I haven’t in a little while, and I’m most excited because our students get to meet her and take class and see that dancing professionally is attainable if that is something they want to pursue. Seeing her, being from here and from the school, is going to be great for them.” Belhaven University Dance Department Chair and Dean of the School of Fine Arts Krista Bower welcomed the opportunity for her students, too, in classes, demonstrations and Q&A with McSween and Shearer. “That’s a great opportunity for the Belhaven dance students to hear about pathways to a professional career, and it’s wonderful for them to get to see a professional dance performance right here in Jackson.” For Shearer, the tour’s hometown spotlight weaves artistry and memory in a reach back to her roots and a reach out to young dancers who may want to follow in her footsteps. Her self-described strengths and personality that come through in her dance easily trace back to her earliest intro to the art form. “I love to jump , so that’s one thing,” she said with a chuckle. “So, I’m very dynamic in that way. “I really try and show the audience that I’m up there having fun, and I think that comes through onstage — that I love what I’m doing and I want other people to feel that love, too.” The post Mississippi-born dancer comes home with ballet company to share her passion appeared first on Mississippi Today.