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Ballet Spartanburg produces a four program season that includes Spartanburg's holiday celebration of The Nutcracker, a fall program, a spring program (DanSynergy series) and a new ballet at end of the season in April. These productions showcase our Professional Company dancers and our Dance Center students. Ballet Spartanburg has hosted in the past world class artists from such companies as: Ballet Austin, Houston Ballet and San Francisco Ballet, and American Ballet Theater, and New York City Ballet. In addition, Ballet Spartanburg performs in festivals, outreach sites and galas each year which have included The International Festival in Spartanburg and Greenwood, SC, Piccolo Spoletto in Charleston, SC, Tryon, NC. and Houston, Tx. Ballet Spartanburg maintains an active outreach program for the community. Reaching over 10,000 youth annually, performing in over 46 outreach sites, it is Ballet Spartanburg's mission to continue educating and inspiring students and adults.
Ballet Spartanburg’s mission is to promote dance and dance appreciation in Spartanburg County and surrounding areas by providing the highest quality dance training, education, performance and outreach.
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Ballet Spartanburg's History
History
In 1966, a group of 85 ballet enthusiasts and visionaries under the leadership of the late Majorie Riggs, met at Converse College and decided that Spartanburg needed to have the opportunity to enjoy live classical ballet. They began working as a group to create a charter named The Ballet Guild of Spartanburg. Memberships were $5 for an Active Member, $15 for a Patron and $25 for a Sponsor Membership.
During the first year, local ballet schools from Asheville, North Carolina, Greenville and Spartanburg performed in the first Ballet Festival presented by the Spartanburg Ballet Company. The first nationally recognized ballet company presented by The Ballet Guild of Spartanburg was The Southern Ballet Of Atlanta. Over the course of the next 25 years, notable ballet companies such as Washington Ballet, the Houston Ballet, The Pennsylvania Ballet Company, the Miami Ballet Company, The Atlanta Ballet, The Pittsburgh Ballet and the Charlotte Ballet Company to name a few performed in Spartanburg.
Today Ballet Spartanburg is recognized as a regional dance company with an exceptional commitment to education and outreach activities in the Upstate. Ballet Spartanburg has performed at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, the Koger Center in Columbia, at the Peace Center in Greenville, TEDXTryon, Houston, Texas and Forest City to name a few. For the past 4 years, Ballet Spartanburg has retained the only resident Professional Company in the Upstate.
The Dance Center, which began in 1967 under the direction of the late Barbara Ferguson, now instructs approximately 350 students from over 31 zip codes.
With an ever growing outreach program, Ballet Spartanburg offers lecture/ demonstrations in partnership with Spartanburg School Districts with after school programs, in-school performances, artists in residences, and free performances of Peter & the Wolf. We also partner with the City of Spartanburg with summer programs for at-risk youth and the Boys and Girls Club of The Upstate as well as offering performances at nursing homes, hospitals and community events.
Ballet Spartanburg continues to evolve with the dance needs of its students, always adding new variations of dance classes with opportunities to extend dance knowledge and technique. With the tradition of dance technique and compassion for its community, Ballet Spartanburg celebrates its 50 year anniversary 2016-2017. We welcome you to join our dance family as we gracefully move into our next 50 years.
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Ballet Spartanburg Mission Statement