2023 S.C. Arts Awards: Carlos Agudelo
Governor's Award: Individual Category
As the day nears for the 2023 South Carolina Arts Awards, The Hub is focusing on this year's recipients: five receiving the South Carolina Governor's Awards for the Arts from the South Carolina Arts Commission and two receiving the Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award, managed jointly by the SCAC and McKissick Museum at the University of South Carolina.
Carlos Agudelo has been Ballet Spartanburg’s artistic director since 1991.
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.
The South Carolina Arts Awards are coming live to SCETV on Sunday, May 14, 2023 at 8 p.m. ET.
South Carolina ETV, the state’s public educational broadcasting network, will broadcast the awards ceremony through its 11-station TV network that spans the state. Viewers can access the broadcast via livestream
on the homepage of SCETV.org; by using a digital antenna; or through cable, satellite, and streaming live TV providers.
Further information about accessing SCETV is available here.
Scholarships offered for Dance/USA summer conference
Head to the ATL in June with help from South Arts
APPLICATION DEADLINE: Friday, March 31
The Dance/USA Conference—June 13-16 in Atlanta—is said to be "an invigorating gathering of approximately 400 dance professionals united by their interests in advancing dance and celebrating the joy of movement."
Attendees get to honor leaders in the field, share and access new resources, and connect with peers through thought-provoking training and conversations. Together attendees discover innovative approaches to shared problems and strengthen relationships among fellow dance professionals.
Sounds worthwhile to The Hub! Our partners at South Arts recognize that participation costs may be a barrier and, along with the Georgia Council for the Arts, are offering scholarships to attend the Dance/USA Conference this year. Applicants are required to currently reside in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. These scholarships will support conference registration costs.
The deadline to apply for scholarship assistance is Friday, March 31, 2023.
Anyone interested and eligible for the scholarships is encouraged to apply. Be aware that South Arts is prioritizing support for dance leaders who may be:
- A Black Person, Indigenous Person, or a Person of Color (BIPOC)
- An individual with a disability
- An individual whose annual income is lower than $30,000
- An individual who is based in the state of Georgia
Grand Jeté returns with opportunities for S.C. dancers, dance teachers
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: Tuesday, February 1, 2022
Dance students from across the state will gather together to connect, compete, and cultivate their skills during the third annual Grand Jeté Student Ballet and Contemporary Dance Competition.
The now week-long event offers master classes led by guest artists, audition and recruitment events with national dance programs and teacher workshops for private studio and public school dance teachers.
“This is not just a competition,” said
Josée Garant, Grand Jeté director. “This is an opportunity for the dance community to come together, learn together and showcase the exceptional talent our state has to offer. Dance is such a competitive field, which is why we feel it is so important to host an event where dancers can get to know each other, support each other and consider their future in dance at the collegiate level.”
Dance students, ages 10-19, who choose to compete have the chance to win prizes, totaling $5,250, in the categories of classical ballet, modern/contemporary and student choreography. They will also gain valuable feedback from the competition’s esteemed, out-of-state, adjudicators—
Jorden Morris,
Akua Noni Parker and
Sarah Wroth. Morris is a retired principal dancer, choreographer and the current guest artistic director of the Orlando Ballet. Parker has performed as a leading company member with prestigious dance companies such as Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Cincinnati Ballet and Ballet San Jose. Wroth is an associate professor of music in ballet and the chair of the ballet department at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.
Competitors and noncompetitors can attend virtual information sessions and in-person audition classes with university and trainee dance program recruiters from Dean College, New World School of the Arts, Ohio State University, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Texas Christian University, University of North Carolina Charlotte, University of Oklahoma, University of South Florida, University of Utah and others. They can also participate in in-person master classes in ballet and modern/contemporary.
“Grand Jeté is the only event in South Carolina where high school juniors and seniors can share their talents with so many recruiters in one place,” Garant said. “This is an amazing opportunity for students seeking a summer intensive or university dance program with the potential to earn scholarships.”
South Carolina dance instructors can also participate in Grand Jeté which offers in-person teacher workshops. Classes in beginner ballet, intermediate/advanced contemporary and intermediate/advanced ballet will be held for private studio teachers. K-12 public school teachers can register for workshops in historical dance, world dance, ballet fundamentals and modern/contemporary free of charge.
Grand Jeté will be held March 1-6, 2022 with the competition occurring on March 6. Participants can choose to only attend their preferred events and are not required to attend for the full week. In-person events will be held on the Governor’s School’s campus in downtown Greenville.
Interested individuals can register online at scgsah.org/grand-jete until February 1, 2022.
Sponsorship opportunities are available. Contact the S.C. Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities Foundation at 864.282.1570 for more details.
Columbia dancers awarded NEA grant
Wideman Davis Dance of Columbia was approved for a $20,000 grant Arts Projects award from the National Endowment for the Arts to support the dance company's immersive and interactive Migratuse Ataraxia.
This project will fund a three-month residency, followed by four public performative installations. Wideman Davis Dance will use the residency and performative installations to develop and test a community-oriented residency curriculum that introduces, integrates, and expands the themes of “Migratuse Ataraxia.” Wideman Davis Dance’s project is among 1,073 projects across America totaling nearly $25 million that were selected during this first round of fiscal year 2021 funding in the Grants for Arts Projects funding category.
“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support this project from Wideman Davis Dance,” said Arts Endowment Acting Chairman
Ann Eilers. “Wideman Davis Dance is among the arts organizations across the country that have demonstrated creativity, excellence, and resilience during this very challenging year.”
“The National Endowment for the Arts Grant not only supports a performative experience of “Migrartuse Ataraxia, but also residency activities and facilitated sessions with community groups, including students from Allen University and Benedict College and seniors from the Columbia Housing Authority residential programs. We are excited to receive NEA support to assist us in our art making and our efforts to engage the Columbia, SC community,” co-director, Tanya Wideman-Davis and Thaddeus Davis said in a statement.
Project Description
The original performance, which was workshopped at Columbia’s Hampton-Preston Mansion and Gardens in April of 2019, centered on the humanity of enslaved Africans in antebellum homes despite the oppressive bondage under which they lived. In 2021
Migratuse Ataraxia intentionally shifts, exploring the journey from spaces of enslavement to those of Black liberation and empowerment through a mobile performative intervention that moves from the antebellum Hampton-Preston site to the former home of Modjeska Monteith Simkins, South Carolina’s most notable civil and human rights activist. Participants will travel a route where they will encounter the artists’ responses to historic structures through large scale projections, sonic environments, and live performances that speak to Black futurity.
By focusing the energy on this temporal and physical migration, WDD reclaims the representation of Black bodies and narratives, creating new visual, emotional, and intellectual entry points in an immersive, interactive setting. In addition, the spatial shift will allow the artists to redirect the focus from the interior architecture of an antebellum site to an expanded exterior magnification of the physical labor of Black bodies – centering these performative practices on a celebration of radical Black female space.
For more information on projects included in the Arts Endowment grant announcement, visit
arts.gov/news.
Martha Brim dances into new role at Richland Library
A local artist who has served as a Columbia College dance professor for nearly 35 years is ready to share her talents with Richland Library over the next four months.
[caption id="attachment_43732" align="alignright" width="300"]
Columbia dancer Martha Brim.[/caption]
We’re excited to welcome Martha Brim as our next artist-in-residence, starting Jan. 13.
With a background as choreographer, educator and arts professional, Brim has a rich legacy of creativity, mentoring multiple generations of dance students and artists across disciplines. Founder of The Power Company Collaborative in 2000, she continues to investigate large-scale performance installations that involve musicians, designers and artists as co-creators.
Brim is the recipient of numerous choreographic commissions, awards and professional acknowledgements. Her work is described as “intelligently conceived… quirky with shrewd, robust humor.”
During her residency, Brim plans to host weekly office hours at our Main location (1431 Assembly St.), answering questions while sharing her knowledge and experience with others. She’s coordinating with our arts librarian as well to offer an array of free programs for all ages, which focus on identity and transformation.
In addition, Brim intends to work on a community performance installation that combines textiles, collage, printmaking and movement. Her residency lasts through mid-May 2020.
Initially developed in September 2016, the concept behind Richland Library’s artist-in-residence is to connect the community with local, working artists and to provide creative and educational opportunities to local residents in a way that supports cultural and artistic exchange.
About Richland Library
Awarded the National Medal in 2017 by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Richland Library is a vibrant, contemporary organization that provides resources and information that advance the Midlands. Offering state-of-the-art technology, a variety of literary and cultural programs and 13 bustling facilities located throughout the county, Richland Library provides a truly customizable, modern library experience for residents and visitors alike.
South Arts’ Dance Touring Initiative gains ‘Momentum’
Momentum is a new opportunity open to modern dance and contemporary ballet companies based in the South.
An expansion of South Arts’ Dance Touring Initiative (DTI), Momentum is a new, three-year intensive professional development program for a group of five Southern dance companies. The program will include mentorship, networking, conference showcasing and exhibiting, on-site planning meetings with presenters, tour-prep residencies, and touring. South Arts will convene the group for in-person meetings, webinars, and conference calls throughout the program’s duration and provide funds to support touring engagements in at least five Southern communities. For each touring engagement, the dance companies will provide multi-day community residencies to include educational activities and public performances. Technical assistance and professional development will be designed to complement the tours and enhance companies’ organizational and touring capacity. Each participant must commit to the three-year program running from spring 2019 to spring 2022.
If you are a modern dance or contemporary ballet company based in the South with touring aspirations but limited previous success, Momentum is an opportunity to build both your artistic and technical capacity. Only professional modern dance and contemporary ballet companies located in South Arts’ nine-state region are eligible to apply. (South Arts’ region includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.)
Applications are due January 18, 2019. Read Momentum's full guidelines and application.
Want to learn more about this new initiative? Join South Arts for an informational webinar on Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018, 11a a.m. to noon (Eastern). Participate in the webinar.
Questions? Contact Nikki Estes, Program Director, at 404.874.7244 ext. 16.
Front-page image: Ballet Spartanburg, dancer Charlotte Lanning
Story main image: Pexels.com
Three S.C. organizations selected for South Arts Dance Touring Initiative
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RIOULT Dance NY is one of the companies providing residencies for the Dance Touring Initiative[/caption]
The Arts Center of Coastal Carolina in Hilton Head, the City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs, and Harbison Theatre at Midlands Technical College in Columbia have been selected for the third cohort of 10 arts presenters participating in South Arts' Dance Touring Initiative (DTI), a competitive and intensive three-year program supporting performing arts presenters throughout the South. With funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, venues across the South will develop a rich selection of performances, workshops, and audience engagement activities to connect local audiences with touring modern dance and contemporary ballet companies.
“We are excited to begin our third DTI cycle,” said Nikki Estes, program director with South Arts. “The first two cycles have connected over 30,000 audience members throughout the South with modern dance and contemporary ballet, and we look forward to broadening that impact over the coming years. After the start of this third cycle, we will have 26 active arts presenters in the initiative as a network and learning community among dance presenters.”
The third cohort of presenter participants:
- Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, Hilton Head Island, SC
- Arts Council of Central Louisiana, Alexandria, LA
- Bologna Performing Arts Center, Cleveland, MS
- City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs, Charleston, SC
- Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, LA
- Duke Performances/Duke University, Durham, NC
- Harbison Theatre at Midlands Technical College, Columbia, SC
- Kentucky Center for the Arts, Louisville, KY
- Memphis Development Foundation/The Orpheum Theatre, Memphis, TN
- Paramount Theatre/City of Goldsboro, Goldsboro, NC
The 26 arts presenters come from eight Southern states (Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee) and will receive professional development, take part in residency planning visits with artistic directors from major national dance companies, and receive financial support to provide both educational programming and public performances for their audiences.
“DTI enables these organizations to expand their already solid community partnerships,” said Suzette M. Surkamer, executive director of South Arts. “This training provides presenters with additional platforms to garner a larger and stronger audience base, especially around modern dance and contemporary ballet.”
About South Arts
South Arts, a nonprofit regional arts organization, was founded in 1975 to build on the South’s unique heritage and enhance the public value of the arts. South Arts’ work responds to the arts environment and cultural trends with a regional perspective. South Arts offers an annual portfolio of activities designed to address the role of the arts in impacting the issues important to our region, and to link the South with the nation and the world through the arts. For more information, visit
www.southarts.org.
Harbison Theatre’s Performance Incubator debuts “tapestry of jazz and modern dance”
Experience the beauty of live jazz matched with fluid, contemporary movement when The HT@MTC Performance Incubator debuts Woven: Life in Notes and Steps, composed by internationally touring, locally bred trumpeter Mark Rapp on Jan. 14, 2015, at 7:30 p.m. The event takes place at Midlands Technical College's Harbison Theatre in Irmo, S.C.
In this one-of-a-kind tapestry of jazz and modern dance, jazz composer Rapp teams up with professional choreographer Stephanie Wilkins to meld choreography with improvisation, taking the audience on a life voyage through universal human experiences, from passion to despair, from questioning to acceptance. Woven was developed exclusively as part of The HT@MTC Performance Incubator.
“Woven alludes to how everyone is connected in the giant web of life, like threads strung together,” said Rapp. “Each piece, each melody is choreographed, while the solos are improvised by both dancers and instrumentalists inspiring one another – creating an exciting, organic and unique artistic presentation each time.”
During their professional careers in New York City, Rapp and Wilkins worked in the upper echelons of the performing arts industry. In Woven, their collective experiences are conveyed through an evening-length set of works featuring five jazz musicians and six modern dancers, portraying, through notes and steps, how we are all connected – woven – together in this fabric of life.
Rapp has performed sold-out shows for audiences in New Orleans, New York City and Europe, playing in legendary venues such as The Blue Note and Joe’s Pub with top-tier musicians such as Branford Marsalis and Hootie and the Blowfish. In 2008, DownBeat Magazine listed Rapp on their short list of “Top emerging jazz trumpeters.” Rapp has since recorded four albums as a lead musician, including his critically acclaimed debut Token Tales (2009), and has been featured on various chart-topping jazz albums.
Wilkins received her Masters of Fine Arts in Dance Performance and Choreography from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts in New York City, where she lived for 14 years. She has taught, choreographed and performed extensively in New York, San Francisco and Brazil, and has worked with many notable choreographers in NYC, including Bill T. Jones (as an apprentice), Bebe Miller and David Parsons. Wilkins has since returned to Columbia, S.C. and currently serves as an adjunct professor of dance and a choreographer for the USC Dance Company at the University of South Carolina.
For ticket information, visit www.HarbisonTheatre.org or call (803) 407-5011.
This project is funded in part by the South Carolina Arts Commission, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts.
About Harbison Theatre
Rooted in the performing arts, Harbison Theatre at Midlands Technical College offers programs and productions that encourage reflection, examination and discovery; and that provide entertainment, education and opportunity to professionals, learners and community members in all stages of life. To learn about upcoming events, purchase tickets, or pursue sponsorship and volunteer opportunities with Harbison Theatre, visit www.HarbisonTheatre.org.
About Midlands Technical College
Midlands Technical College (MTC) is a comprehensive, two-year, public college serving Richland, Lexington and Fairfield counties of South Carolina. The fifth-largest higher education provider in South Carolina and the largest provider of transfer students to four-year colleges and universities in the state, MTC offers an excellent education at an excellent value. Serving approximately 18,000 academic credit students and 15,000 Corporate and Continuing Education students annually, MTC equips students with the tools they need to meet the challenges and opportunities of the modern work world. Learn more at midlandstech.edu.
Via: Harbison Theatre
