Once Upon an Evening 2025: A Message from the Artistic Director

Ballet at its highest level doesn’t need to be simplified. When it’s done with excellence, it moves people. It lifts us up. It gives us something to reach for.

My vision is to make Columbia the place to see world-class ballet in South Carolina. We’re the capital city. This should be where people come from across the region to experience the best ballet. Columbia Classical Ballet represents ballet for the capital, and we’re building something that draws both artists and audiences because of its excellence.

In this production of Once Upon an Evening, I chose Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella to showcase how different musical styles transform classical ballet technique. We have two Russian composers from different eras, Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev, with completely different musical approaches.

I think of it this way. Tchaikovsky’s music is like looking at a beautiful Monet. You immediately see and feel its beauty. It’s romantic, lush, and instantly accessible. Prokofiev’s music is more like a Picasso. It’s beautiful, but you might not recognize that beauty at first. Prokofiev doesn’t show you it’s beautiful right away. You have to discover it through the choreography and the dancing.

You’re going to see the same technical steps in both ballets, but two completely different musical environments. The steps are our words, but the music gives them their accent, their emotion, their meaning. When dancers truly feel the music, the steps become the music. That’s how we tell stories in ballet. Through this marriage of movement and music.

The beautiful thing about Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev is that you could close your eyes and still love the music. It’s that powerful. But imagine getting to open your eyes and love it even more.

In ballet, you get to listen with your eyes. You see the music come to life through movement. That’s what makes these performances wonderful for anybody, whether you’ve seen a hundred ballets or this is your first. The music draws you in, and the dancing makes you see it in a whole new way.

Joseph Phillips

Artistic Director