Front and Back Cover: BART NOSCHESE Painting on Cover: “Untitled” by Minnie Evans, courtesy of The Johnson Collection Strength and support when you need it most. J. Grier Bomar | A. Kyle Milner, III | TJ Walsh 864-585-2256 | georgejohnsonins.com We come together for the arabesques. SPARTANBURG Spartanburg is where you take the stage. We share your dedication to supporting ballet. You make Spartanburg better every day, and you inspire us to make banking easier, so we all have more time to enjoy life as we take our next step together in this place we call home. Regions is proud to support the Spartanburg Ballet. 1.800.regions | regions.com © 2019 Regions Bank. Regions and the Regions logo are registered trademarks of Regions Bank. The LifeGreen color is a trademark of Regions Bank. Show Us Your Ticket Stub & Receive AT THE SKILLET 10% OFF RESTAURANT Not good with any other offer, must present ticket stub at time of purchase. Discount is before taxes 435 E. 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Smith Building Montgomery Building CycleBar United Community Bank Proud to be a part of the iconic Twichell Auditorium renovation at the new Zimmerli Performance Center. See you at the Nutcracker! #seespartanburgrise | #lovewhereyoulive | #balletspartanburg HarperGC.com William F. Adair Jr. DMD PA SERVICES INCLUDE: • General Dentistry • Oral Conscious • Crown & Bridge • Esthetic Dentistry Sedation • Veneers • Dental Implants • Root Canals • Dentures 811 East Main Street • Spartanburg, SC • 864-573-9254 • adairfamilydentistry.com Dr. Louis L. Martin Dr. L. Janell Martin Dr. Alva S. Pack III OPTOMETRIC PHYSICIANS 399 E. Henry Street | Spartanburg, SC 29302 | www.eyesonhenry.com P: 864-585-0208 | F: 864-594-6783 JOIN THE FIGHT FOR ALZHEIMER’S FIRST SURVIVOR. 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Church St. Spartanburg, SC CUSTOM SENIORCUSTOM TRANSPORTATION SENIOR TRANSPORTATION SERVICE SERVICE BILLY CRIBB 864-764-5245 | [email protected] CRAIG WILLIAMS 864-978-3811 | [email protected] Chartwells has been providing nutritious meals to SpartanburgChartwells has Countybeen providing school nutritious children meals since to Spartanburg County school children since 1992, supporting the ‘whole child’ in the Arts, Academics, 1992, supportingAthletics, the and ‘whole the Community. child’ in the Arts, Academics,Chartwells Athletics, School and Dining the Service Community. 7092-B Howard St. Spartanburg, SC 29303 (864) 253-9567 Chartwells School Dining Service 7092-B Howard Street Spartanburg, SC 29303 864-253-9567 Donnie & Ann Hodge Proudly Support Ballet Spartanburg's 2019/2020 Season BALLET SPARTANBURG 2019-2020 COMPANY DANCERS ANDREA CHICKNESS was born in Pennsylvania. Andrea received her training at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. She spent summers with prestigious companies such as Boston Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, and Charlotte Ballet. At the age of 17, she joined Jeffrey Ballet Chicago. Shortly after, she moved to Charlotte to work with then artistic director, Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, and Kennedy Center Honoree, Patricia McBride. There, Andrea performed feature roles in Balanchine’s Who Cares, Le Corsaire, and The Sleeping Beauty. After a summer with Atlanta Ballet, Ms. Chickness joined Milwaukee Ballet II. While there, she performed in notable leads such as Man I Love Pas de deux and Fascinating Rhythm from Who Cares, Bedroom Pas de deux from Othello, Majisimo, and Forsythe’s In the Middle Somewhat Elevated. The summer of 2014, Andrea received an offer to join Victor Ullate Ballet in Madrid, Spain, as a soloist. The following year, Andrea realized her dream of dancing in Germany, joining Leipzig Ballet as a soloist. There, she had the honor of being part of Jean Philip Dury’s creation of Zucker for his world premiere of Der Nussknacker, as well as having Amour pas de deux created for her for Bruno Bouche’s world premiere of Chansons. In 2017, Andrea returned home to the USA to be closer to her family, dancing with the Columbia City Ballet and US International Ballet. In addition to her dance career, Ms. Chickness is a certified sports nutritionist, personal trainer, charity runner, and is currently working toward her Master’s in integrative nutrition. This is her first season with The Company. GRAYSON DRIVER is originally from Apex, NC. Grayson began dancing at the Cary Ballet Conservatory where she trained with Rossana Machi. She continued her training at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. Grayson went on to dance as a trainee and an apprentice with the Charlotte Ballet under Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, Patricia McBride, and Mark Diamond. While with the Charlotte Ballet, she had many performance opportunities including roles in Peter Pan, The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, and the Pas de Trois des Odalisques from Le Corsaire. She then went on to dance with Atlanta Festival Ballet, Southern Arc Dance Theater, and Ballet Evolution. While dancing with Ballet Evolution, Grayson had the opportunity to perform many soloist roles in original works by Jonathan Tabbert, including the Serpent in Creation. She also had the privilege of being a part of Light Lines, a choreographic showcase by Crystal Wellman in collaboration with local artisans in Charleston, SC. This is Grayson’s third season with The Company. JOHN GARDNER started dancing at the age of eleven at the Greensboro Performing Arts in North Carolina. After graduating high school, he studied at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet for two years on the male scholarship program where he studied under Marcia Dale Weary, Nicolas Ade, and Darla Hoover. He has a BFA from the North Carolina School of the Arts. John has performed the roles of Cavalier, Snow King, and Drosselmeyer in Ethan Stiefel’s, The Nutcracker and Siegfried in Act 2 of Swan Lake with GPA. Additional performances include Motel in Tradition, a ballet adaptation of Fiddler on the Roof, Black Swan Pas de Deux in Alexei Kremnev’s, Carnival of the Animals and Prince Desire in The Sleeping Beauty. He has guested in several ballets along the East Coast and especially in the Carolinas. His passions are storytelling and acting. He loves it when ballet enables him to do both. This is John’s first season with The Company. NICHOLA MONTT is originally from Boston, MA, where she received her training under the direction of Marylou Cunningham in Hanover, MA, and at Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre in Cambridge, MA. She has also trained with the American Academy of Ballet, Festival Ballet Providence, and in Paris, France with Dance New York International. While in Paris, Nichola studied with teachers from the Paris Opéra Ballet, Stefanie Batten Bland and had the opportunity to perform a piece set by a member of the William Forsyth Company, at the invitation of Kazuko Hirabayashi. While with the Purchase Dance Company, Nichola performed multiple works by Jessica Lang. Ms. Montt graduated from SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance with a BFA in Dance and a minor in Arts Management. Upon graduation, she started her professional dance career dancing with XACO Contemporary Ballet in NY before joining Ballet Spartanburg. Nichola has performed lead roles in The Nutcracker, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Cinderella, The Sleeping Beauty, The Great Gatsby, An American in Paris, Beauty and the Beast, and The Balcony Pas De Duex from Romeo and Juliet. Nichola has also performed with International Ballet Academy of Greenville in their production of Giselle. In September 2016, Nichola and company member Will Scott performed Passages, a duet choreographed by Lona Gomez for TedxTryon in North Carolina. This is Nichola’s seventh season with The Company. CHAUNCEY PARSONS was born in Santa Barbara, California. He began dancing at age 12 at the Santa Barbara Ballet Center under Michelle Pearson and Denise Rinaldi. At 15, he was accepted into the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington D.C., where he trained for three years under Vladimir Djouloukhadze. After graduating, he performed for the State Street Ballet under Rodney Gustafson for two years. In 2002, he joined the Colorado Ballet as a soloist under Martin Fredmann, and in 2004 was promoted to the rank of principal dancer. In 2008, he joined OBT as a soloist under Christopher Stowell, and was promoted to Principal in 2009. Over the course of his career he has danced a wide variety of roles, including Basil in Don Quixote, Count Albrecht in Giselle, Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake, and Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet. Further, he has danced leading roles in Balanchine’s Rubies, Emeralds, Tarantella, The Nutcracker, and Stravinsky Violin Concerto, Michael Pink’s, Dracula and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Agnes De Mille’s Rodeo, Nicolo Fonte’s Bolero and Never Stop Falling (In Love), Paul Taylor’s Company B, and others.