Columbia Ballet School

That wraps up our two-week intensive for our senior dancers! We are so proud of the dancers’ hard work, beginning the dance day at 9:00am and ending at 4:15pm. Along with Technique and Variations classes, they got to experience Partnering, Pilates, Jazz, and Contemporary. It was truly a great two weeks.

Thank you to our incredible year-round faculty and the well-loved guest teachers. What a team! (Not all are pictured but are loved.)

Only a few spots left for our week of summer fun for dancers 4 to 6 years old! Come dance with us! 🩰
Register online: columbiaballetschool.com.

Introducing our esteemed year-round faculty teaching at our summer intensive for senior dancers (Part 2):

Kiomi Mercadante Ramirez is a dance educator with more than 28 years of experience, and she is a professional dancer with more than 19 years of performance experience. She is a fellow with the Cecchetti Council of America - one of only 50 in the United States. Her dance styles include ballet, contemporary, and jazz, and she is a renowned choreographer as well as teacher and dancer.
She is married to her dance partner, Eduardo Ramirez, and together they have four beautiful children and yes, the whole family dances. She continues to teach, choreograph, and dance throughout the area.

Anne Plowden is a successful Columbia Ballet School alumna whose career has included dancing, modeling, and social media manager. Anne trained at the Rock School, Boston Ballet, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, and the Sarasota Cuban Ballet School. She was an apprentice with Eglevsky Ballet. She has also worked at Heathwood Hall School, her alma mater. Anne is the Associate Ballet Mistress.

James Velasco, a Columbia native, just finished his second season with Columbia City Ballet. But his background is far more than dance. He has a background in musical theatre, performing in a variety of stage productions and music videos. He was the leading actor in Cody Webb’s “Peaches.” He is a graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts and the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA), training in both New York and Los Angeles. He has a passion for songwriting, and his original music can be heard on streaming services.

We are excited to have a mix of our beloved year-round faculty and our guest teachers!

Introducing our esteemed year-round faculty teaching at our summer intensive for senior dancers (Part 1):

Anita Ashley, Artistic Director:

Anita Ashley founded Columbia Ballet School in 1980. With over 50 years’ teaching experience, she has served as founder and director of the state’s first professional ballet company, South Carolina Ballet Theatre, and is one of the founders of Ann Brodie’s Carolina Ballet.
She has taught classical ballet, jazz and theatre dance at USC, USC Aiken, Columbia College, South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, Eglevsky Ballet, and North Carolina School for the Arts. Her students have gone on to successful careers in ballet companies such as Louisville Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, Bebe Miller, Boston Ballet, Eglevsky Ballet, and Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Other students have found success in film, television, music, and Tony Award winning Broadway productions. Her students have been National Finalists at Youth America Grand Prix five
times.
Ms. Ashley’s choreography has been performed throughout the Southeast, Michigan, Ohio and Canada, as well as by Ann Brodie’s Carolina Ballet, Columbia Classical Ballet, Artists for Africa, Town Theatre, Workshop Theatre and Trustus Theatre, where she was a company member. Her choreography has received positive reviews in Dance magazine and she was featured in Dance Teacher magazine. She was awarded the Maria Tallchief Award for Excellence by the Eastern Cherokee Nation.

Yes, the students get to have THE Ms. Anita every day this week!

Our summer intensive for senior dancers starts tomorrow, and we can’t wait! Along with our esteemed year-round faculty, we are excited to have a few “guests” joining us.

Sarah Joan Hipolito currently dances with Sacramento Ballet and has formerly danced with Richmond Ballet, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and Kansas City Ballet. She was also a trainee with Boston Ballet and trained year-round with UNCSA. Sarah Joan is a CBS alumna and teaches at our summer intensive ever year!

Rico Hipolito also dances with Sacramento Ballet and has formerly danced with Richmond Ballet, Kansas City Ballet and Ballet West’s second company. He grew up at Pacific Northwest Ballet and finished his training at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Rico is also Sarah Joan’s husband and has been adored by the children each summer he has taught in our intensive.

Louis DeFelice is also from Columbia and was taught by our very own Mrs. Kathy at the Montessori School of Columbia. He studied exclusively with Stanislav Issaev and graduated from the Kirov Academy of Washington, DC. Louis currently dances with New Jersey Ballet and has performed with Columbia Classical Ballet and Les Grands Ballets de Montreal. He has toured internationally with the Etoile Ballet Gala and the International Classical Ballet of Ukraine. He also has a Bachelor’s Degree from Yale University.

We are excited and honored to have them join us!

Are you ready for this? Ten years ago today, Laura Evelyn Rogers was in the Columbia Ballet School recital, and her brothers Hampton and Sullivan. Today, Laura Evelyn, Sullivan, and Ellington will be in our performance — 10 years older and all with fabulous solos and group pieces. This is CBS family. Love to all and m***e today!

We are so proud of our dancers who competed at UBC this weekend. They put in such hard work and were beautiful on stage. The next generation of CBS dancers ❤️

This weekend a group of the next generation of CBS dancers took a step forward at Universal Ballet Competition in Wilmington NC.
We couldn't be more proud of the dancers' dedication and work ethic. Each dancer was assigned 1 or 2 difficult variations from the classical repertoire. After hours of coaching they faced the judges: alone - on stage , in front of a panel of world class judges. After they danced they received a score for their efforts. All scored gold with one dancer scoring high gold.
What courage it took for these wonderful girls to step onto a global stage.
We are proud of you Elizabeth Rabon, Bella Petersen, Kate Lichty, Abby Toole, Liesl Dolder, Ellie Sabbagha, and Dylan Sautner!

We are so proud of our pre-ballet, primary-ballet, level 1, and satellite students for their performance today at CMFA. A BIG thank you to John Whitehead, , and the staff at Columbia Music Festival for helping us make it happen! 🩰

Can’t wait to see our young dancers for today’s end-of-year performances. M***e to all!

Interested in Adult Ballet? We’d love to help you experience the art of dance! 🩰

We believe that dance should be for EVERYBODY, so our adult classes are BACK!

Our updated dates and times are:

EXPERIENCED Adult Ballet: Monday 6:30-7:30pm

Adult BEGINNER Ballet: Tuesday 6:30-7:30pm

Adult BEGINNER Contemporary: Wednesday 6:00-7:00pm

Adult ADVANCED Tap:Saturday 10:30-11:30am

Don’t let the kids have all the fun!

Adult contemporary - Wednesdays, 6-7

Beginner adult ballet - starting Oct 3. Tuesdays, 7-8

Intermediate adult ballet — Mondays, 7:30-8:30

Drop-in $15 per class. Pay the teacher.

Message us with questions.

Today’s spotlight is on Liesl! Liesl has been dancing with CBS for 8 years and is a rising eighth grader. This summer, she will be attending the University of South Carolina’s intensive for 3 weeks! M***e, Liesl! ❤️

Monday feature! Today’s spotlight is on Ellie! Ellie a rising sophomore and has been dancing at CBS for 10 years. She will be attending Orlando Ballet Schools’s summer intensive in Florida for 3 weeks. M***e, Ellie! ❤️

Thursday’s spotlight is shining on Skyla! Skyla is a rising junior and has been dancing at CBS for 6 years. She is attending both the School of Nashville Ballet’s summer intensive in Tennessee and Complexions Contemporary Ballet’s intensive in Los Angeles this summer. M***e, Skyla! ❤️

ADULT CLASSES are BACK! 🩰 Classes will resume on April 8th. Each class is $15, paid directly to the instructor.

Experienced Adult Ballet is taught by Stephanie Sloop Reeves.
Adult Beginner Ballet is taught by Perry Lynn Wright.
Adult Beginner Contemporary is taught by Perry Lynn Wright.
Adult Advanced Tap is taught by Cindy Flach.

Whether it’s your first time in the studio or you move your body with us regularly, we’d love for you to come dance with us! 🩰

REMINDER that the studio will be CLOSED for Spring Break March 29th-April 7th. We will see you tomorrow and Thursday. Classes resume April 8th. 🩰

Monday Spotlight! Kendall has been dancing with CBS for 7 years and is a rising ninth grader. This summer, she will be attending Cary Ballet Conservatory’s intensive under the direction of Mariaelena Ruiz. She will be at Cary in North Carolina for 3 weeks! M***e, Kendall! ❤️

A snap from partner technique work with Mrs. Cortlin! 🩰 This helps the students not only learn how to spot incorrect technique but also learn how to fix it. Happy Friday! Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend of rest and recovery! ❤️

Happy Wednesday! Today’s spotlight is on Dylan! Dylan is a rising eighth grader and has been dancing at CBS for 7 years. She will be attending the University of South Carolina’s summer intensive for 3 weeks. M***e, Dylan! ❤️

Monday feature! Today’s spotlight is on Harmon! Harmon is a rising junior and has been dancing at CBS for 13 years. She will be attending Charlotte Ballet’s summer intensive in North Carolina for 5 weeks. M***e, Harmon! ❤️

Summer Intensive Spotlight! Today, we are featuring Kate! Kate is a rising sophomore and has been dancing at CBS for 6 years. She will be heading to Florida this summer to attend Orlando Ballet School’s intensive for 3 weeks. M***e, Kate! ❤️

Happy Monday! Our spotlight is on Zola today! Zola is a rising junior and has been dancing at CBS for 6 years. This summer, she will be headed to North Carolina to attend Charlotte Ballet’s 5 week intensive. M***e, Zola! ❤️

Friday’s spotlight is on Abby! Abby is a rising sophomore and has been dancing at CBS for 12 years. She will be heading to Florida to attend Orlando Ballet School’s 3 week intensive this summer. M***e, Abby! ❤️

Today’s spotlight is on Laura Evelyn! Laura Evelyn is a rising junior and has been dancing at CBS for 12 years. She will be attending the School of Nashville Ballet’s 5 week intensive in Tennessee this summer. M***e, Laura Evelyn! ❤️

Summer Intensive Features are here!
Our first feature is Bella. Bella is a rising 9th grader, and she will be attending Cary Ballet Conservatory under the direction of Mariaelena Ruiz. She will be in North Carolina for the 5 week intensive this summer. M***e, Bella! ❤️

Columbia Dancers: Come join an open community class led by dancers from Complexions Contemporary Ballet, who will be in-residence at USC in advance of Complexions' performance with USC Dance Company at the Koger Center April 6.

The FREE class is on March 16 from 11am - 12:30pm at the USC Dance Studios, 324 Sumter St. Open to intermediate level (and above) dancers 12+.

To register, email [email protected]! Space is limited, so register today!

From our Level 2 class with Mrs. Cortlin! Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend🩰