| Highlight | Year |
| Columbia City Ballet Founded |
1961 |
| First CCB Performance – Mixed Repertoire and “The Steadfast Tin Soldier” |
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 |
| First Full-Length Production of Nutcracker |
1966 |
| First Full-Length Production of The Sleeping Beauty |
1967 |
| First Full-Length Production of Giselle |
1969 |
| Igor Schwezoff Conducts Workshop for CCB from New York City |
1970 |
| American Ballet Theatre’s Michael Lland Staged Pas de Deux from Flower Festival |
1971 |
| First Full-Length Production of Swan Lake at Dreher High School Auditorium |
1971 |
| First Full-Length Production of Coppélia |
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 |
| Homage to Diaghilev Performed at Township Auditorium Honoring Serge Diaghilev |
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 |
| Swan Lake is Filmed for SCETV |
1985 |
| Columbia City Ballet’s 25th Anniversary Celebration – The Stars Come Home Held at Keenan Theatre |
1986 |
|
Moved the Company Headquarters All Under One Roof to Its Current Downtown Main Street Location (Corner of Main and Taylor Streets) |
1986 |
| William Starrett Becomes Artistic Director Upon Ann Brodie’s Retirement |
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 |
| Implemented the Summer Dance Institute Partnering with The University of South Carolina |
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 |
| Moved the Company to Its New Performing Home – the 2,200 Seat Koger Center for the Performing Arts |
1989 |
| World Premiere of First Full-Length Production of Snow White The Ballet |
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 |
| World Premiere of Full-Length Ballet Ballet Tara |
1994 |
| World Premiere of Full-Length Ballet Aladdin |
1995 |
| World Premiere of Full-Length Ballet Pocahontas |
1996 |
|
Staged “Stravinsky Evening” Featuring “Rite of Spring” and “The Soldier’s Tale” with Full 85-Member South Carolina Philharmonic |
1996 |
| World Premiere of Full-Length Ballet The Hunchback of Notre Dame |
1997 |
| Brought In Prima Ballerina Gelsey Kirkland to Coach the Company for Giselle |
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 |
| Staged Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are and Choreographed by Septime Webre |
1998 |
| Implemented the South Carolina Summer Dance Experience in Myrtle Beach |
1998 |
| World Premiere of Full-Length Ballet Dracula’s Revenge |
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 |
| Filmed the Full-Length Productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Swan Lake for SCETV |
2000 |
| World Premiere of Full-Length Ballet Frankenstein |
2000 |
| First Full-Length Production of Don Quixote, First South Carolina Premiere, Which Was Also Filmed by SCETV |
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 |
| Filmed the Full-Length Ballet Beauty and the Beast for SCETV |
2002 |
| Performed Agnes de Mille’s Rodeo Set by Joffrey Ballet’s Paul Sutherland |
2003 |
|
World Premiere of the $1.2 Million Production of Off the Wall and Onto the Stage: Dancing the Art of Jonathan Green |
2005 |
| Company Featured in Southern Living Magazine |
2005 |
| World Premiere of Full-Length Ballet The Lion King of Mali |
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 |
| World Premiere of Full-Length Ballet Cleopatra |
2008 |
| World Premiere of Full-Length Ballet The Hootie & The Blowfish Ballet |
2009 |
| World Premiere of Full-Length Ballet The Little Mermaid |
2010 |
| Selected as the Featured Artistic Performers for the Columbia Mayoral Inaugural Gala |
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 |
| World Premiere of Full-Length Ballet The Little Prince |
2013 |
| World Premiere of Full-Length Ballet Alice in Wonderland |
2014 |
| World Premiere of Full-Length Ballet Peter Pan |
2016 |
| World Premiere of Full-Length Ballet Emanuel: Love is the Answer |
2017 |
| World Premiere of Full-Length Ballet Beatles The Ballet |
2019 |
| World Premiere of Full-Length Ballet The Great Gatsby |
2020 |