Columbia City Ballet / South Carolina Ballet
Our 66th Performance Season: 2026–2027
Founded in Columbia in 1961, Columbia City Ballet became South Carolina Ballet in 2023. Today, our professional company continues to bring classical ballet, original productions, and educational performances to audiences in Columbia, across South Carolina, and throughout the Southeast.
Our name reflects our reach across the state, while our connection to Columbia remains central to who we are. Audiences who have enjoyed Columbia City Ballet for generations can continue to experience our performances as South Carolina Ballet at the Koger Center for the Arts.
Explore our current season and purchase tickets.
Our Beginnings in Columbia
James Montjoy Calvert, Naomi Calvert, and Ann Brodie founded Columbia City Ballet in 1961 with the support of community leaders who shared a commitment to bringing ballet to Columbia audiences.
Ann Brodie, the company’s original Artistic Director, had performed as a soloist with the Radio City Music Hall Ballet and trained with notable ballet figures including Igor Schwezoff, Alexandra Danilova, and Vitale Fokine. Together, Naomi Calvert and Ann Brodie established the Calvert-Brodie School of Dance in 1961, where many of the company’s early dancers received their training.
From these beginnings, Columbia City Ballet developed into a professional performing company with a repertoire spanning classical works, original full-length ballets, and productions created for student audiences.
William Starrett’s Artistic Leadership
In 1986, Ann Brodie selected William Starrett as her successor. He had appeared with the company as a guest artist and choreographer since 1976 and served as Associate Artistic Director during the preceding season.
His vision was to build a professional ballet company that would attract and retain exceptional artistic talent while contributing to the cultural life of Columbia and the wider region.
Under his leadership, the company has presented classical ballets alongside original productions including Dracula: Ballet With a Bite, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Cleopatra, The Little Prince, Alice in Wonderland, The Great Gatsby, and Off the Wall & Onto the Stage: Dancing the Art of Jonathan Green.
Becoming South Carolina Ballet in 2023
In 2023, Columbia City Ballet changed its name to South Carolina Ballet to reflect its statewide reach, touring activity, and role in South Carolina’s cultural life.
Columbia City Ballet / South Carolina Ballet is the same organization, continuing the artistic work and community relationships established in 1961. Our current name connects that history with the audiences we serve today.
For current production information, company news, and ticket links, visit SouthCarolinaBallet.com.
Professional Ballet at the Koger Center
The Koger Center for the Arts remains our main stage in Columbia. Our 2026–2027 season brings together familiar traditions and distinctive productions, from the theatrical drama of Dracula to William Starrett’s Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and the art-inspired Off the Wall & Onto the Stage.
Upcoming South Carolina Ballet performances at the Koger Center include:
- Dracula: Ballet With a Bite
October 23–24, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. - William Starrett’s Nutcracker
December 12 and 19, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
December 13 and 20, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. - Sleeping Beauty
February 20, 2027, at 3:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. - Off the Wall & Onto the Stage: Dancing the Art of Jonathan Green
March 12, 2027, at 7:30 p.m.
All performances listed take place at the Koger Center for the Arts, 1051 Greene Street, Columbia, SC.
Education and Community
Education remains an essential part of Columbia City Ballet / South Carolina Ballet’s work. Our Educational Outreach & Engagement Series introduces students to professional ballet through theatre performances that connect dance, music, storytelling, and classroom learning.
By welcoming students into the theatre, the company helps new generations discover live performance and develop an appreciation for the arts.
Whether you first attended as a student, return each year for Nutcracker, or are discovering the company for the first time, we invite you to join us.
Discover the season and book your tickets.
Mission
Columbia City Ballet / South Carolina Ballet’s mission is to bring new levels of excellence to ballet, both onstage and offstage. We will accomplish this through processes that are inclusive in scope, educational, and creative.
Through this mission, we will significantly advance ballet as an art form and enrich the cultural life of our community while providing artistic excellence, exhilarating performances, innovative choreography, and superb educational programs.
Inclusive
Making ballet accessible and meaningful to increasing segments of our community by:
- Expanding ballet’s relevance to the community by presenting works that reflect timeless emotions and current topical concerns.
- Demonstrating our strong commitment to diversity among our audiences, artists, and staff.
- Including our traditional audience while working to develop new audiences.
Educational
Dedicating ourselves to the ongoing enrichment and development of all our constituencies by:
- Illuminating the technical and artistic elements of dance, music, and the related theatre arts.
- Developing new generations of artists while supporting the continued development of professional dancers and staff members.
- Relating the dance traditions of the past to today’s contemporary works.
Creative
Developing new works and interpretations of ballet while preserving the history of the art form by:
- Examining and presenting ballet in new ways while honoring what has come before.
- Creating new works and allowing new choreographic voices to speak.
- Encouraging and promoting individual expression in everyone participating in the organization.
Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Mission
Columbia City Ballet / South Carolina Ballet’s Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DE&I) Mission is to:
- Provide individuals an opportunity to achieve their full potential.
- Enhance and strengthen our art form.
- Sustain our reputation as a preeminent arts organization that embodies excellence, diversity, and inclusion.
We strive to present our art while maintaining a welcoming and inclusive environment that celebrates and embraces all forms of diversity.
Our Definition
At Columbia City Ballet / South Carolina Ballet, our DE&I Mission is defined by:
- Striving to reflect the diverse communities we serve.
- Allowing a wide range of different voices to be heard.
- Valuing and respecting differences, both visible and invisible.
- Practicing humility and transparency in our DE&I Mission.
- Assuming responsibility for positioning ballet as an art form that is accessible to everyone.
We further define diversity as appreciation and respect for the varied intersections of differences in society, including but not limited to race, gender, gender identity, nationality, ethnicity, culture, religion, sexual orientation, physical ability, or age.
Our Commitment
Columbia City Ballet / South Carolina Ballet will continue to celebrate and respect our differences while recognizing that these differences make our dancers, staff, volunteers, and audiences who they are.
We recognize that this work is an ongoing commitment, both for our organization and for the individuals who make up that organization.
We believe that our mission as an artistic and creative organization is strengthened by our commitment to diversity, equity, access, and inclusion. The inclusion of diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences among our professional dancers, students participating in our programs, staff, repertoire, audiences, board members, and volunteers is of primary importance to us because it is the right thing to do and:
- Builds energy.
- Supports growth.
- Inspires creativity.
- Creates a welcoming environment that celebrates all forms of diversity.
Columbia City Ballet / South Carolina Ballet recognizes that this commitment represents an essential and ongoing journey.