Company Highlights

1961

1962

Swan Lake – CCB’s First Full-Length Ballet Ever Staged – Performed at USC’s Drayton Hall

1965

First Grand Pas de Quatre of CCB with “Black Swan” Pas de Deux from Swan Lake with Ann Brodie and Johnny DeHart

1965

1966

1967

1969

1970

1971

1971

1975

William Starrett First Performs with CCB as a Special Guest Artist

1977

First Full-Length Production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Filmed for SCETV

1977

Filmed the Full-Length Production of Cinderella for SCETV, which was nominated for an Emmy, with Ballet Mistress Mimi Wortham-Brown in the title role.

1978

First Partnering of William Starrett and Mariclare Miranda at the Diaghilev Gala at Township Auditorium Performing “Les Sylphides”

1978

Premiere of Carmina Burana with the Columbia Philharmonic Orchestra and Choral Society at Township Auditorium

1979

SCETV Films Coppélia for the Network and Wins Prize at Berlin Film Festival for the Film

1979

First Full-Length Production of La Sylphide and “Paquita” at Township Auditorium with Warren Conover as Guest Dancer and Filmed for SCETV

1980

Mariclare Miranda Dances Her First “Sugar Plum Fairy,” Walter Miller as “Nutcracker Prince” and Kyra Strasburg (who went on to become a Principal with Boston Ballet) as “Snow Queen”

1980

1981

Nutcracker Production Showcases Columbia Lyric Opera Orchestra, Conducted by William J. Moody, as First Time CCB Has a Live Orchestra

1982

Madonna and Angels Celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the Kress Collection at Workshop Theatre -Photographed by Kenn Duncan of New York

1984

Nutcracker is Filmed for SCETV

1984

First Full-Length Production of Romeo and Juliet Filmed by SCETV with Joint Choreography of Ann Brodie and William Starrett. With William Starrett as “Romeo,” Mariclare Miranda as “Juliet,” Thom Jones as “Lord Capulet,” Thomas Richards as “Tybalt,” Donna Lewis as “Lady Montague,” Ann Brodie as “Lady Capulet” (her last CCB performance), and Ashley Tuttle (who went on to become a Principal with American Ballet Theatre) as “Juliet’s Friend”

1985

William Starrett Joined the Columbia City Ballet Staff as Associate Artistic Director

1985

1985

1986

Moved the Company Headquarters All Under One Roof to Its Current Downtown Main Street Location (Corner of Main and Taylor Streets)

1986

1986

Vyachaslav Gordeyev, Artistic Director and Principal Dancer of Moscow Ballet and the Principal Dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet, Taught a Masterclass for CCB

1987

Commissioned Sets and Scenery for a New Full-Length Nutcracker – The First Production Created Specifically for the New Koger Center for the Performing Arts

1987

Implemented the Educational Outreach Program Reaching Approximately 32,000 Children Annually

1988

1988

The South Carolina Arts Commission and Governor Carroll Campbell Present Columbia City Ballet with the Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Award for Arts Organizations with Special Recognition Given to Ann Brodie on May 3, 1988. The Verner Award Recognizes Those Individuals and Organizations Whose Vital Support of the Arts Enriches and Promotes South Carolina’s Artistic Heritage. Awards are Named for the Late Mrs. Verner, an Internationally Renowned Charleston Artist Whose Etchings and Pastels Brought the Scenes of This State’s Lowcountry to the Attention of a Worldwide Audience.

1988

1989

1989

World Premiere of Full-Length Ballet Dracula:  Ballet with a Bite

1991

William Starrett Becomes Company Manager In Addition to Artistic Director

1992

World Premiere of First Full-Length Production of Beauty and the Beast Which Set Koger Center Box Office Records with Three Sold-Out Performances Thus Adding a Hold-Over Performance. This Performance Was Created for Peter Kozak (Beast/Prince) and Mariclare Miranda (Belle) and Also Featured Gillian Murphy (who went on to become a Principal with American Ballet Theatre).

1993

1994

1995

1996

Staged “Stravinsky Evening” Featuring “Rite of Spring” and “The Soldier’s Tale” with Full 85-Member South Carolina Philharmonic

1996

1997

1997

World Premiere of Full-Length Ballet Don Juan and Marks the Company’s 8th Original Full-Length Ballet Added to CCB’s Repertoire – Believed to Be the Most of Any Company in the United States

1997

CCB Dances Final Performance of Dracula:  Ballet with a Bite During the 100th Anniversary of Dracula and Has Now Played to More Than 50,000 Audience Members in Columbia, Greenville, Spartanburg, Sumter and Savannah, Georgia

1997

1998

1998

1998

William Starrett Returned to the Stage After Revolutionary Hip Replacement and Was Featured on Dateline NBC with 22 Million Viewers, Dancing “Prince Charming” in the Full-Length Cinderella

1999

2000

2000

2001

40th Anniversary Celebration Production Featuring Reigning American Ballet Theatre’s Principal Ballerina and Columbia City Ballet Alumni Gillian Murphy with Partner American Ballet Theatre’s Principal Dancer Marcelo Gomez

2001

William Starrett Receives the Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Award on May 8, 2002 – The Official Governor’s Award for the Arts and the Highest Honor the State Gives to South Carolina Organizations, Businesses and Individuals Participating in the Growth and Advancement of the Arts in South Carolina.

2002

2002

2003

World Premiere of the $1.2 Million Production of Off the Wall and Onto the Stage:  Dancing the Art of Jonathan Green

2005

2005

2006

 Nationally Recognized in Dance Magazine for the Company’s Commitment to Maintaining Diversity by Keeping One-Third of the Company African American, Reflecting the Makeup of the Community

2006 

2008

2009

2010

2011

50th Anniversary Gala Production with Guest Performers Harby Gonzales of VISTA Ballroom and Sarah Lane of American Ballet Theatre

2011

Implemented “Body & Movement Explored” Dance Event to Increase Awareness and Appreciation for Mixed Repertoire as Well as the Contemporary and Modern Dance Movement

2013

2013

2014

2016

2017

2019

2020