South Carolina Ballet production inspired artists’ paintings, Gullah culture coming to Beaufort
Staff reports
The Freedman Arts District and USC Beaufort Center for the Arts are partnering to present the South Carolina Ballet’s (Formerly Columbia City Ballet) one-of-a-kind ballet, “Off the Wall and Onto the Stage: Dancing the Art of Jonathan Green.” Praised by the New York Times as “fabulous…an ingenious idea … striking,” this production vividly brings Jonathan Green’s Gullah-inspired paintings to life with captivating choreography and innovative sets. Artistic Director William Starrett crafted this extraordinary performance, scheduled for March 29, 2025, at the USCB Center For the Arts.
Green received his professional art training at the Art Institute of Chicago and has created more than 1,700 works that capture South Carolina’s Gullah culture. Internationally known for his vibrantly colorful art depicting Gullah life in South Carolina’s Lowcountry, Green has said, “I wanted to go back to my roots … the older people were dying, and I began to see [the Gullahs] differently. I saw them as a people with a strong link, probably the strongest link with Africa of any of the black American people.”
Because slaves had been forcibly torn away from Africa and were often denied access to their own history, the cultural traditions that they succeeded in passing on to future generations acquired special significance.
“The importance of nature, family, community, and especially spirituality, are the threads which the Gullah culture contributes to the tapestry of our modern-day lives. It is this harmonious union of cultural traditions and deep spirituality that William Starrett translates through the art of dance in Off the Wall and Onto the Stage: Dancing the Art of Jonathan Green.”
“Off the Wall and Onto the Stage: Dancing the Art of Jonathan Green” was first performed in 2005 after Starrett and Green met at the S.C. Arts Commission’s Governors Awards ceremony. The two mutually admired each other’s work and collaborated to successfully bring Green’s paintings to life through dance.
Starrett has created vignettes from 22 of Green’s paintings and explores themes of family, faith, hope, and love. He incorporates Green’s rich, vibrant colors onto the stage through eye-popping backdrops and scrims, over 150 hand-sewn costumes, an array of music that combines traditional work songs, gospel music, Motown, classical, and jazz, as well as a live choir.
The choreography brings it all together as the company’s dancers depict the cultural heritage of the Gullah and Geechee communities illustrated in Green’s paintings. The production features singers Elliot Brown with Regina Skeeter in the role of Bessie Mae.
Tickets go on sale at 8 a.m., on Artist Sunday, December 1. To purchase, go to uscbcenterforthearts.com or call 843-521-4145. Tickets are $60 for adults, $50 for seniors/military, and $35 for students.
Want To Go?
Who: The Carolina Ballet
What: “Off the Wall and Onto the Stage: Dancing the Art of Jonathan Green”
When: March 29, 2025
Where: USCB Center For The Arts
Tickets: Tickets go on sale at 8 a.m., on Artist Sunday, December 1. To purchase, go to uscbcenterforthearts.com or call 843-521-4145. Tickets are $60 for adults, $50 for seniors/military, and $35 for students.
