South Carolina Ballet coming to Orangeburg; ‘true holiday experience’ planned

The three shows on Saturday, Dec. 2 will feature the ballet company’s full performance of “Frosty the Snowman” from its current touring season, as well as excerpts from “The Nutcracker.”

“We decided to further enhance the performances and provide a special treat to our Orangeburg audiences by combining some excerpts from ‘Nutcracker,’ for a true holiday experience,” South Carolina Ballet Chief Development Officer Jamie White said.

South Carolina Ballet, based in Columbia, has been looking for an opportunity to perform at the BlueBird for the past two years, White said.

The process began when Bobby Padgett, an engineer at Allied Air Enterprises in Orangeburg, encouraged Allied to donate HVAC systems to the BlueBird, Etters said. Allied has been a longtime supporter of SC Ballet, White said.

Padgett and White brought the ballet company’s CEO and artistic director, William Starrett, to tour the theater.

“We were so impressed with the space and its versatility that we immediately knew it would be mutually beneficial for us to bring a production to the BlueBird,” White said.

BlueBird Building Manager Randy Etters hopes the performances will draw other performers from outside of Orangeburg to the BlueBird.

“Really, the reason that we like the fact that it’s coming is it shows the diversity in the type of performances that we can do in the BlueBird,” he said.

Etters said the community’s support of the Orangeburg Civic Ballet shows the area’s affinity for ballet and the arts.

“So it just seemed like a good fit for us and when they offered, we certainly jumped at the chance,” he said.

The performances will hopefully encourage people to check out the BlueBird’s other programming, White said.

SC Ballet is no stranger to performing in Orangeburg, he said.

“We have presented our Mixed Repertoire Series for many years at Claflin University and performed regularly at Stevenson Auditorium in years gone by,” White said. “We also have a long history of partnering with other organizations such as the BlueBird to enrich the cultural vibrancy of communities. We are very excited to return to Orangeburg and proud to be sponsored by McDaniels Auto Group.”

He gave a special thanks to Etters and the BlueBird Theater as well as to Bobby Padgett at Allied Air Enterprises.

“We hope as many citizens of Orangeburg as possible will make it a point to attend one of our three performances and experience both South Carolina Ballet and the BlueBird Theater,” he said.

The performances on Dec. 2 will be held at 1:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. General admission tickets can be purchased online for $30. Discounted tickets for seniors, military and children 12 and under are available for $25.

Tickets can be purchased at the South Carolina Ballet’s website at southcarolinaballet.com/calendar-tickets.