For the Columbia Classical Ballet’s artistic director Radenko Pavlovich LifeChance is all about giving back – giving the gift of top notch dance to Columbia while raising money for a worthy cause. For more than 12 years the ballet has brought high quality dancers from across the globe to Columbia for one night of dance in the name of charity, and Saturday’s event at the Koger Center is no exception.

“I always try to get the young, up and coming stars,” Pavlovich said. “Some of them have received the highest honors in the dance world.”

It’s a team effort involving the dancers, staff, and community members to help make LifeChance a success. About five years ago, arts supporter Kevin Fisher developed a plan that would allow the Columbia Classical Ballet to produce a substantial donation for LifeChance’s chosen charity.

“Fisher Communications donates a dollar for every seat that is sold,” Fisher said. “Then we've had an anonymous donor match that. We’ve had at least $2 for every ticket sold. Of course, we'd like to make it bigger and better.”

The star dancers also do their part to help keep costs of the over $100,000 production down by taking cuts in their honorariums. According to ballet chairwoman Lee Lumpkin, all of the dancers are getting a flat $500 honorarium, while many can command thousands to perform at other events.

One of those stars is fourth year LifeChance dancer Jeffrey Cirio, who just last year won a gold medal at the Helsinki International Ballet Competition and a gold medal at the 2009 World Ballet Competition. Cirio met Pavlovich in 2006 at the U.S. International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi where Pavlovich was coaching Columbia native Brooklyn Mack.

“He invited me to come down to do his gala,” Cirio said. “This is an awesome opportunity to give back to what I like.”

Cirio, who dances with the Boston Ballet, will be joined by his sister Lia Cirio, a soloist in the Boston Ballet, and James Whiteside, a principal at the Boston Ballet, in a performance of As One, a contemporary piece he choreographed to Bach’s Cello Suites.

Mack will also return straight off a silver medal win in the 2009 Helsinki International Ballet competition. He is currently in his first season with the Washington Ballet where he has danced principal roles in “Don Quixote” and “The Nutcracker.” Mack’s introduction into the world of dance was at the 1999 LifeChance Gala where the then 12–year–old boy became fascinated by the athleticism he saw onstage. He is eager to return each year as a featured performer.

“It’s tremendous actu- ally (to perform at home),” he says. “One of my goals when I dance is to inspire people, especially youth and enlighten them. I feel a lot of young people don't know about ballet. Coming back home is like an opportunity to inspire somebody like myself.”

Many children each year are given the chance to experience world– class ballet through the company’s outreach program that guarantees at least 500 tickets to people who might otherwise not be able t o af ford them.

This year several special child guests will be in attendance from the event’s beneficiary Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital’s Special Care Unit that offers a variety of outpatient services for special needs children from primary medical care to physical therapy, counseling, and education.

“It’s amazing what they do,” Lumpkin said. “We chose them this year because we feel the few thousand dollars we will be able to give will be truly helpful.”

The funds raised by Life-Chance will help pay for, among other things, specialized equipment for all of the center’s 303 current patients. “We focus on the children’s ability to improve quality of life through therapy,” the center’s director Janice Dinkins said. “For example we can have a treadmill built for special needs children. Maybe a child sees his parents using a treadmill at home and now he can actually get on the treadmill himself during therapy.”