If you live in the Midlands, at some point in your life you’ve probably seen a performance of the Nutcracker ballet because for most people, this is a must-do activity during the holidays. This year, all six performances will feature live accompaniment by the South Carolina Ballet Orchestra, which our next guest says is a particularly meaningful development. Mike Switzer interviews William Starrett, CEO and artistic director of the South Carolina Ballet in Columbia, SC.
TRANSCRIPT:
Switzer: Hello and welcome to another edition of the South Carolina Business Review. This is Mike Switzer. If you live in the Midlands at, some point in your life, you've probably seen a performance of the Nutcracker Ballet, because for. For most people, this is a must do activity during the holidays. This year, all six performances will feature live accompaniment by the South Carolina Ballet Orchestra, which our next guest says is a particularly meaningful development. William Starrett is CEO and artistic Director of the South Carolina Ballet. He joins us by phone now from his office in Columbia. But first, a disclaimer. The South Carolina Ballet is a financial supporter of. Of South Carolina Public Radio. William, welcome to the program.
Starrett: Thank you, Mike. It's great to be with you.
Switzer: Now, first of all, give our listeners a brief history and overview of your ballet.
Starrett: So the South Carolina Ballet is the largest performing arts organization in South Carolina. We're celebrating our 66th season. Our founding director is Anne Brody, and I'm the second director in the company's history. And this is my 40th year directing South Carolina Ballet. Our next performances are the Nutcracker, and we're performing in eight different cities,
Switzer: hence the name South Carolina Ballet. You used to be the Columbia City Ballet, right?
Starrett: Yes, we were. For the. Probably the first 63 years of the company, we were the Columbia City Ballet. But what happened, Mike, is we were touring so much. One year, we were in seven different states, and marketing that was. You know, there are 19 different Columbias in the United States. And so it was real lengthy to say the Columbia City Ballet of Columbia, South Carolina. It's really more about who we are as a South Carolina Ballet.
Switzer: All right, now talk about the decision this year regarding the orchestra.
Starrett: Yes, well, you know, the decision, unfortunately, so many times in the arts, the decisions are made because of financial restraints or financial opportunities. And so we had two wonderful donors come forward, and I created what's called the Dream Team. Members of the community have donated the funds because they really believe in having live music for the performance. And so I was able this year to have the Dream Team step forward with $91,000. And so we were able to have live music for every Nutcracker. And we're going to have live music for both performances of the full length Sleeping Beauty, also by Tchaikovsky.
Switzer: All right, now talk about the business side of ballet.
Starrett: You know, we're a nonprofit organization. We have two primary missions. One is to keep our ticket prices reasonable and accessible, and the second is education. So I've created 26 different educational outreach ballets, and then keeping the ticket prices Reasonable. And that's why we receive funding from private donors, the Arts Commission, City of Columbia, Richland county, from public funding, individual gifts, we corporate funding, and different primary fundraisers and foundations and grants. And so, you know, this is my 40th year, Mike, so I'm the CEO as well as the artistic director. And so I'm turning over every rock to raise money for the arts so they can discover the wonderful artists that we have here in our community.
Switzer: And so I guess maybe you would say this might be your number one challenge is financial resources. How about human resources? Are there plenty of dancers out there?
Starrett: Well, yes, my two major challenges are absolutely fundraising, you know, finding, people to come forward to support the arts. And my second challenge, Mike, is male dancers. So we're still fighting the stigma of male dancers, which is crazy to me because first of all, who cares what their preference is? It doesn't make sense to me because it's a very target rich environment. There's, there's 250 women for every male dancer. So I think more people should get involved with the dance. the other challenge is because of immigration laws, right now it's making it impossible for artists to come from Europe or Latin America or even Canada. And so that has been an additional challenge. To find an American male dancer that's of, caliber is just really, really challenging. So I'm kind of like any football coach or any coach always recruiting fantastic players or artists in this particular case.
Switzer: William, thank you so much for spending time with us today and sharing this information.
Starrett: Well, Mike, it's my pleasure. And we're so excited about having live music. You know, there's nothing greater than Tchaikovsky. And to experience that music live with the dance and the storytelling of Clara's Magical Dream and the Nutcracker, it's going to be a really special season.
Switzer: William Starrett is CEO and Artistic Director of the South Carolina Ballet. He spoke to us by phone from his studio in Columbia, South Carolina. And we will have a link to the ballet posted at our webpage so you can learn more South Carolina publicradio.org or you can hear this show again. And remember, you can hear us again wherever you find podcasts and a quick disclaimer. South Carolina Ballet is a financial supporter of South Carolina Public Radio with the South Carolina Business Review. This is Mike Switzer.
The views expressed on the South Carolina Business Review do not necessarily reflect those of South Carolina Public Radio. South Carolina Business Review transcripts are intended to accurately represent the original audio version of the program; however, some discrepancies or inaccuracies may exist. The audio format serves as the official record of South Carolina Business Review’s programming.
