Charleston Ballet Theatre celebrates 25 years of world-class performances
Movement has meaning, that’s the truth of it.
We tell our stories through our words, yes, but also in the way we walk. Even tapping our toes can be communication. A world class dancer moving across the stage takes that story to another level, turning movement into poetry.
Maybe that’s how Charleston Ballet Theatre (CBT) has kept us enchanted, performance after performance, year after year.
And now it’s their silver anniversary. That’s right: 25 years as a professional dance company. That’s considered a milestone in most marriages, a time to renew vows and reaffirm the love. And this season is shaping up to be exactly that—an affirmation of love between CBT and the audience that loves them.
It opened with the glory and grandeur of Don Quixote, literature’s most famous comic knight errant, as his story was brought to life on the stage of The College of Charleston Sottile Theatre. “Don Quixote is a full-length classical ballet that was choreographed by Jill Eathorne Bahr herself a few years back,” says Kyle Barnette, CBT Administrative Director. “It is a prime example of the ballet at its classical best, showing off the elaborate costumes, epic set designs and the classical style Charleston Ballet Theatre patrons have come to expect.”
After that, The Big Easy paid homage to the sights and sounds of New Orleans, a dash of A Streetcar Named Desire sprinkled in to give it extra spice. “The Big Easy took a look to the past and the future, with a more modern balletic vibe and presenting new works by famed guest choreographers,” Kyle explains. And that was just the beginning of the season! “The other end of the season,” he continues, “is based on audience feedback, celebrating many of the greatest performances from our past repertoire, as identified by members of our audience.”
When it comes to audience feedback, it’s hard to top the seasonal delight that is The Nutcracker (just play a few notes of the “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” and even those who swear they’ve never seen a ballet in their lives will likely begin to tap their toes in recognition), especially given CBT’s Charleston-inspired take on the beloved classic.
“Our Nutcracker is an annual holiday tradition and continues to stand as one of the most unique versions of the story, set entirely in 1850s Charleston with familiar Charleston family names and landmarks,” Kyle says. “It’s something the ballet is very proud to perform each year. And it continues to grow. Now there are shows both at the Gaillard Auditorium and the North Charleston Performing Arts Center!”
February will hold a special treat for those who’ve watched choreographer Jill Eathorne Bahr’s career with CBT over time: a revival of her very first CBT ballet, Poetry with a Splash of Red Blood, will be included with the ballet’s performance of the classic, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
That’s a lot of celebrating for one season…and that’s really just a few of the highlights. Outside of their regular season, CBT has been all around town, collaborating with other artists and organizations. These collaborations included New Orleans-themed dance vignettes at the exhibition In Search of Julien Hudson: Free Artists of Color in Pre–Civil War New Orleans at the Gibbes Museum and a one-night Halloween production called Thriller: A Monster Mash-up with local theater group What If? Productions and Greg Tavares of local comedy legends, The Have Nots.
It hasn’t been all up-hill, and they’ve managed to ride the rollercoaster of the last few years of economic upheaval with their own characteristic grace. Changes, such as a new location and innovative fundraising and collaborative projects, have just been part of the ride.
Though long a treasured part of the Upper King Design District, the Charleston Ballet Theatre moved from their signature black box setting at the corner of King and Ann in the summer of 2011. Both the professional company and ballet school relocated to a consolidated Dance Education Center in The Plaza at East Cooper in Mt. Pleasant. The location allows the dancers 6,000 square feet of rehearsal space, just what they needed to really stretch their legs.
A substantial gift from the estate of a wellloved patron became the inspiration for a major fundraising drive, with the long-term view to fund the dance company not only for the current season but for years to come.
“Over the past season and last summer we launched a Major Gifts Initiative with a matching donor goal of $250,000, which we have been lucky enough to have matched and exceeded,” Kyle says. “Also, this season we are trying a new sort of gala fundraising event. In the past we have had great success with our annual Oscar Gala, but with our recent music collaborations with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra and Charleston Jazz Orchestra, we really wanted to highlight the beauty and importance of music in what we do.”
Countless hours of practice, performances, galas, collaborations, celebrations, sweat, pain, love and longing have come and gone since 1987 when artistic directors Don and Patricia Cantwell brought choreographer Jill Eathorne Bahr to Charleston and transformed a small ballet group into a world-class professional dance company.
Over the years, the company has developed a diverse and innovative repertoire. Though classical ballet is very much its specialty, it has also become renowned over the last 25 years for exploring new styles, even bopping to the beat of The Beatles or dancing to the great pop music divas. Toss some R&B, rock, jazz or even country—the sounds that form the soundtrack to our daily lives—into the ring and these pros will find a way to meld motion with music and produce a sensation that will keep crowds begging for more.
“We wanted not only to celebrate some of the greatest achievements of the past, but also display how eclectic and broad the styles of dance are that CBT performs,” Kyle adds, then sums it up: “We‘re celebrating what makes the arts so important and vital to everyday life.”
Charleston Ballet Theatre
Charleston Ballet Theatre’s 25th-anniversary
gala season finale will be held March 24th,
2012 at the Gaillard Auditorium.
For this and other performances.
843-723-7334
www.charlestonballet.org
