New Governor’s School event to cultivate S.C.’s young dancers
Master classes, cash prizes part of student ballet competition
Ballet students ages 10-19 are invited to participate in master classes and compete for cash prizes in the inaugural "Grand Jeté" student dance competition, hosted by the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities.
The competition will be held at the Governor’s School in Greenville on March 2, 2019, and students can now register online to participate at
www.scgsah.org/grand-jete.
The deadline to register is Friday, Feb. 1.
“We are thrilled to offer an opportunity to celebrate and acknowledge South Carolina’s young dancers, and we want to applaud them for their hard work as they pursue and study this beautiful, yet demanding, art form,” said
Josée Garant, Governor’s School Dance Department chair.
“Grand Jeté is a venue for dance students from across the state to get to know each other and share their common passion for dance. It is a venue where, in its competitive environment, they can take the stage, support each other, learn and grow, while receiving feedback from out-of-state, internationally-recognized dance professionals.”
Approximately 60 students will have the opportunity to attend master classes taught by S.C. Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities’ dance faculty and compete, by division, for the opportunity to win cash prizes totaling $7,500. They may also qualify for scholarships and opportunities such as summer dance intensives and college dance programs.
Grand Jeté will be adjudicated by out-of-state, world-renowned dance professionals
Lorna Feijóo,
Francie Huber, and
Olivier Pardina.
For more information about Grand Jeté and to register, visit
www.scgsah.org/grand-jete. The registration deadline is February 1, 2019. However, registration may close early if the maximum number of 60 solos is reached prior to this date.
Sponsorship opportunities are available. Contact the S.C Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities Foundation at 864.282.1570 for more details.
About SCGSAH
Located in Greenville, the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities (SCGSAH) cultivates young artists from across the state through pre-professional training in the areas of creative writing, dance, drama, music and visual arts. As a public, residential high school, serving juniors and seniors, students refine their talents in a master-apprentice community while receiving a nationally recognized academic education. Summer programs are available to rising 7th-12th grade students, and SCGSAH serves as a resource to all teachers and students in South Carolina, offering comprehensive outreach programs designed to bring together artists, educators, community organizations and schools. SCGSAH.org
All photos provided.
Going forward, you can call it South Carolina Ballet.
In a statement, the ballet says the change "underlines its ongoing dedication to making ballet accessible to all while showcasing the state’s cultural vibrancy throughout South Carolina and the national stage through its extensive touring calendar."
Columbia residents need not fear, according to the ballet, which promises Columbia will remain as the company's heart as they promote its hometown's role as a thriving center for the arts.
A similar change occurred decades ago when the Columbia Philharmonic rebranded as the South Carolina Philharmonic, now recognized as an orchestral leader in the state.
"As South Carolina Ballet, our commitment to accessibility remains unwavering," CEO and Artistic Director William Starrett said. "Many of you know my penchant for things that are bigger, brighter, and better. After 62 years and tremendous popularity throughout South Carolina and the nation, our name has to evolve with the increasing demand for our services. Our expansion has been in no small part due to the enthusiasm of our Columbia audiences, who have actively participated in our growth."
"Although our name has changed, our core values endure, and we will continue our mission of enriching lives through the art of dance. Our non-profit status underscores our dedication to providing diverse audiences with opportunities to experience the beauty and joy of dance through our performances and educational outreach programs."
Starrett was a recipient of the South Carolina Governor's Award for the Arts in 2002 and was featured earlier this year in the SCAC's retrospective celebrating 50 years of the award on South Carolina ETV. South Carolina Ballet is a long-time recipient of SCAC grants, including its signature General Operating Support grant.
Updates to the ballet company's website and social media channels to reflect the new brand are forthcoming. The 2023/2024 season begins in October and runs through April.
International Ballet in Greenville worked with three partners this summer to fight inequality and take ballet to children.
As the day nears for the 2023 South Carolina Arts Awards, The Hub is focusing on this year's recipients: five receiving the 
Among his choreography are classic and contemporary favorites, from The Nutcracker, Coppelia, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Carmina Burana to The Hobbit, West Side Story, The Little Mermaid, The Wizard of Oz, and An American in Paris. Some of these have been performed at Piccolo Spoleto Festival, Columbia, Greenville, Greenwood, and Rutherford County, North Carolina.
Under Agudelo’s direction in 2012, Ballet Spartanburg formed a resident professional company comprised of a diverse group of dancers from across the world. For 10 years, it has performed from Spartanburg to North Carolina, Texas, and Las Vegas, in the process staging more than 85 presentations of his choreography.
A native of Colombia, Agudelo began his training with the Atlantic Foundation for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale under the direction of Ruth Petrinovic. He received a scholarship to study at the Harkness Ballet School in New York City and danced with the Israel Classic Ballet in Tel Aviv. He toured the world dancing with the International Ballet de Caracas under the direction of former Harkness Ballet dancer Vicente Nebrada. Alvin Ailey coached him in Ailey’s ballet, The River. He also danced with Ballet Hispanico of New York under the direction of Tina Ramirez.
Mr. Agudelo received the 2021 Civitan Servant’s Heart Award for the community of Spartanburg and the 2022 Spartanburg Citizen of the Year awarded by the Spartanburg Kiwanis Club. In 2018, Ballet Spartanburg was awarded the S.C. Governor’s Award for the Arts in the organization category.
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Laura Kennedy, Furman University associate professor of musicology, has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar award to conduct research in Russia during the 2019/2020 academic year.
For her research project, “Ballet in a Waning Empire: Shostakovich, Lopukhov, and the Search for Soviet Dance,” Kennedy will work in music and dance archives in St. Petersburg and Moscow. She will research costumes, set designs, choreographic notes, musical scores, photographs and other materials from early Soviet ballet productions written in Leningrad in the 1920s and 1930s, a formative period of experimentation in the Russian arts.
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright honor represents a national competition across the humanities, arts, sciences and education. Grantees undergo a rigorous peer-review process, in which proposals are evaluated in both the U.S. and destination countries and are finally selected by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.
“I’m thrilled with the opportunity of this Fulbright and with the chance to pursue new research on Russian ballet. My goal is to author the first book ever written on the ballets of Dmitri Shostakovich: The Golden Age, The Bolt, and The Limpid Stream,” said Kennedy. “These early ballets set the direction of Soviet dance, ensuring ballet’s place as a central expression of Soviet cultural achievement and diplomacy in the 20th century.”