Ballet Spartanburg is bringing back So You Think You Can Dance, Spartanburg! on Thursday, February 27, at Chapman Cultural Center.
So You Think You Can Dance, Spartanburg! is a friend and fund-raiser for 8 community groups who want to not only raise funds but awareness of their organizations.
“This event is different from other fundraisers. Our concept was to include organizations that we partner with to dance the first year to raise money and awareness for the groups,” said Executive Director Teresa Hough. “Those groups raised $20,000 in votes. The teams keep 100% of the votes raised. In 2018, we invited a few new teams. They raised over $28,000 in votes. This year we have 2 new teams and they are excited to dance and raise money.”
“The evening is the perfect night for a family event. Children are able to see children and adults of all ages and abilities doing what make them happy-dancing! We expect people to clap, sing and dance in the aisles. This is not a quiet event,” Hough added.
The groups dancing this year are the Charles Lea Center Adults, Halter, The Junior League of Spartanburg, Meeting Street Academy, Parkinson’s Team, The South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind, Spartanburg School District 1, and Spartanburg School District 7.
The teams are listed below. They need your votes! And it is easy to vote for them. Go to www.balletspartanburg.org to vote. Each vote is $10. You may also vote by mailing in a check and you can vote the night of the event.
The Charles Lea Center adults will show off their country moves. They will throw down and yeehaw to the fun song, “The Git Up”. With a cowboy beat and a little move to the left and a move to right, these adults will have fun on the stage dancing for votes.
Halter is a local organization who serves children with equine therapy. These students and mentors will move on the stage to Shakira’s “Try Everything” from the movie Zootopia. Halter is so excited to share how they can move with their hobbyhorses, which were handmade by volunteers just for this performance.
The Junior League of Spartanburg will share their fancy footwork to “Footloose”, a well-known song that has a quick beat and these ladies are going to have everybody going footloose over their dancing. This is the Junior League’s first time dancing with SYTYCD, Spartanburg!
Meeting Street Academy will perform a piece from the well-known Broadway musical, The Lion King. The students are so excited to premiere a song from their upcoming spring musical and to raise funds for their school.
Parkinson’s Team will move to a beautiful Appalachian waltz played by team member Winne Walsh’s son, Westbrook Walsh, a master cellist. The team will move to a slower paced melody with a quilting theme.
The South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind students will show the audience how they can dance to an African beat as well as a little hip hop. These students are excited to dance to an original song written just for this performance.
Spartanburg School District 1 Landrum Middle School dance students will dance to a lyrical piece called, “A Safe Place to Land” by Sara Bareilles and John Legend. This is the first time for Landrum Middle School students to perform this piece.
Spartanburg School District 7 has an exciting team – the DANCING PRINCIPALS from District 7. The principals will show their Michael Jackson moves to the well-known song, “Beat It” with moonwalk movements and snappy hip roll moves.
Jamarcus Gaston from WSPA’s Your Carolina will keep the evening hopping as the master of ceremonies. Celebrity judges Jack McBride, Lustra Miller and Carlos Agudelo will add a lot of sparkle and funny comments for each team.
We have a $25 general admission ticket and we will sell concessions in the lobby. We have a $65 VIP ticket which includes cocktails and hors d’oeuvres in the Chapman Cultural Center lobby. The VIP party begins at 6:00 PM with general admission at 7:15 PM for the show.
For tickets, call 864.542.ARTS or go online to www.balletspartanburg.org for information about tickets. So You Think You Can Dance, Spartanburg! is ONE NIGHT ONLY.
Written and submitted by Ballet Spartanburg / Chapman Cultural Center.