It’s been a whirlwind semester for dancers and musicians at the University of South Carolina. They’ve been keeping company with BIG talent — eminent creative professionals from the world-renowned Joffrey Ballet.
Twenty-four Joffrey company members arrived on campus March 17 for a three-week residency culminating in an unprecedented collaborative performance April 5 at the Koger Center for the Arts. Students and faculty from USC’s Betsy Blackmon Dance Program and the USC Symphony Orchestra have joined forces with members of the Joffrey entourage to marry movement and music into a spectacular concert for the community.
For USC dance major Caitlyn Messenger, the opportunity triggers a delightful sense of déjà vu.
“This residency with Joffrey holds a special place in my heart. The first summer intensive I went to was at the Joffrey in 2017, which was a milestone in my life. It gave me the motivation to approach dance as a career,” she says. “This experience has been eye-opening and so much fun.”
The connection between USC and the Joffrey Ballet begins at the highest level of the university. USC President Michael Amiridis and First Lady Ero Aggelopoulou-Amiridis, avid patrons of the arts, forged a lasting friendship with Joffrey CEO Greg Cameron years ago at a University of Illinois-Chicago alumni event where, at the time, President Amiridis was serving as chancellor.
“Part of Joffrey’s mission is to bring the ballet to broader audiences,” the First Lady says. “This company likes breaking ground with collaborations between ballet and other art forms like music, theater and multimedia. This is Joffrey. It’s fresh. It’s innovative. It’s unexpected.”
While this residency undoubtedly offers much to the USC community, it also has benefits for the Joffrey Ballet.
“This residency allows for the opportunity to dance with no barriers,” says Linda Swayze, Joffrey’s director of community engagement. “We want to learn and share with our partners so we can continue to effectively serve the dance community, no matter how small or large. From dance novice to dance aficionada, there is something for all, and we are honored to do our part of building the dance community.”
While the Joffrey visit has been more than a year in the making, anticipation grew exponentially in the weeks before the company’s arrival.
Waiting in the wings
Jennifer Deckert, director of dance at USC, says her students have eagerly anticipated the visit.
“Our students are so ready. They were actually asking for extra classes during spring break!” she says. “We have amazing, really strong dancers in our program.”
They prepared well for auditions with Joffrey. Twenty-two will earn active roles in the concert.
Mia Sanderson, a senior and dual-major in dance performance/choreography and advertising, says the collaboration is providing a different perspective on college life.
“Getting to do what I love at such a high level while pursuing my degrees is a very unique opportunity,” she says. “I’m extremely lucky to get to be a student at USC.”
Dance major Amy Brooks is especially grateful to spend one-on-one time with international dance icons, including Suzanne Lopez, retired company artist and now head of the Grainger Academy of The Joffrey Ballet.
“Working with her was such a fun experience because she was very encouraging and knew the piece very well,” Brooks says. “The more we work with the Joffrey faculty and continue to refine the choreography, the more I get excited for the outcome. Getting to be a part of this opportunity is so amazing, and I am beyond grateful to get to learn and work with Joffrey.”
Getting to do what I love at such a high level while pursuing my degrees is a very unique opportunity. I’m extremely lucky to get to be a student at USC.
Twice the pleasure
Sarah Spencer, violinist with the USC Symphony, has a dual perspective on the show’s dance and music components.
“I actually was a ballerina first before picking up violin,” Spencer says. “I started at the age of 3 doing ballet, tap, jazz and other styles. I think my love for performing and being on the stage comes from my early dance recital days. I am most excited for the costumes and choreography. As musicians, we decorate time with sound, and the dancers decorate space through movement.”
As a graduate student, Spencer has been balancing multiple class assignments with exams looming.
“I practice up to two hours a day,” she says. “My favorite way to practice is by listening to the pieces, especially the score,” which she has played on rotation while studying, running errands and doing chores. “I am a big fan of mental practice.”
Music performance major and clarinetist Tay Brown also has a background in dance.
“I have been dancing since I was little,” Brown says. “Actually, dance is what brought me the idea of other forms of music. It’s another form of expression.”
Unusual stage presence
Quite notably, musicians for the April 5 performance will not be anonymously hidden in the pit. Instead, they will appear on stage in tandem with the dancers. For some of them, it will be their first time seeing the stage while performing.
I practice up to two hours a day. My favorite way to practice is by listening to the pieces, especially the score. I am a big fan of mental practice.
“It is definitely not typical for the orchestra and the dancers to be on the stage together,” says Scott Weiss, director of orchestras at USC. “I also conduct the SC Ballet Orchestra, and we always perform in the pit. With the dancers in front of the orchestra for this performance, the situation is in reverse. I am excited about that, and I know the musicians in the orchestra are as well.”
Brown is thrilled to enjoy this unique perspective: “Seeing the Joffrey dancers is sort of a bucket list thing for me, and I’m very grateful that I can have this opportunity to meet fantastic dancers and the choreographer as well.”
Weiss says that the musical repertoire chosen by the Joffrey Ballet ranges from works written for a large symphony orchestra to those written for smaller ensembles.
“One of the pieces, Viva Vivaldi, is a concerto for guitar and orchestra by Antonio Vivaldi,” he explains. “The guitarist for this performance is USC’s guitar professor Mak Grgic, a three-time Grammy Award nominee. Another work is All That Remains, a trio for violin, cello and piano, featuring Joffrey pianist Jorge Ivars accompanied by doctoral students Holly Workman on violin and Jordan Bartow on cello.”
‘I hope there are sparks’
First Lady Aggelopoulou-Amiridis is excited about this collaboration. “The Betsy Blackmon Dance Program is on an ascending trajectory, so a collaboration with a company of the caliber of Joffrey is very fitting at this time of growth,” she says.
After the last string has been plucked, chord played and jeté executed, Deckert hopes all involved in the performance will feel as if they have been to an exquisite artist’s retreat.
“I want people to have the idea that ballet and dance are for everyone. Dance is one of our most accessible and primary art forms,” Deckert says.
“I also hope the Joffrey group will get a sense of our Southern hospitality,” she adds. “I hope they can explore our beautiful city and meet beautiful people. I hope they are inspired. As artists, it is so helpful to get out of your routine and go someplace new. It sparks things. I hope there are sparks.”
Learn more
The residency, concert and gala are made possible in part by generous support from USC and Presenting Sponsor Jim Hudson Cadillac. Visit the Koger Center website for tickets to the April 5 performance. For more information, contact Kevin Bush at 803-777-9353 or via email at bushk@mailbox.sc.edu.