Carolina Ballet dancer Caleb Roberts tries out Township’s new stage floor. A year ago the Township Auditorium closed its doors for a 12–month $12 million renovation. On Friday evening, May 28, 2010, the Carolina Ballet will be the first to christen the updated building with a

production of A Midsummer

Night’s Dream—a magical production for a magical makeover. The structure has been a staple of Columbia life for 80 years hosting hundreds of graduations, proms, and concerts so it is fitting that a local arts group should give its inaugural performance.

A Midsummer Night’s

Dream has a rich connection with both the Township and the Columbia dance community. The work was choreographed by Columbia dance legend Ann Brodie in 1978. William Starrett, artistic director of the Columbia City Ballet, danced the part of Oberon.

Carolina Ballet executive director John Whitehead shows off the brand new dressing rooms that were part of the Township renovation. “We are supposed to be a soft opening before Tony Bennett,” said John Whitehead, the ballet’s executive director and Township renovation board member. “I think it’s going to be a very soft opening.” The grand opening is scheduled for June 10 with a special performance by Tony Bennett.

A lot is still left to be done. The front exterior and lobby area are still under construction as well as various other rooms. But what the ballet needs to put on its production is complete and a huge improvement over the previous facilities. The stage has been outfitted with brand new lighting and sound equipment. New scenery rigging has been installed and a permanent spiral staircase was built to allow the technical crew to operate more efficiently.

Carolina Ballet artistic director Mimi Worrell and artistic staff member Keith Mearns admire the Township’s face lift. But it is the floor that has had the most impact for returning dancers. “It’s incredibly different,” Carolina Ballet company member Caleb Roberts said. “(Before) the floor was like dancing on cement. This floor is a nice material. It feels like I’m flying when I dance on it.” Roberts, who recently signed a contract with the Cincinnati Ballet, will dance the role of Oberon.

The old wooden stage was replaced with a Harelquin dance floor, a sprung floor that absorbs shock and helps enhance the dancer’s performance while reducing injuries. In the past the ballet company members would have to transport the dance floor from their rehearsal facility at the Columbia Music Festival Association building to the Township stage. Any planks that could be salvaged of the old floor were transferred to serve as the floor for the new board room.

Portions of the Township’s original brick exterior were preserved in the lobby restoration. “It’s not a state of the art floor and facility that our dancers will come home to,” Carolina Ballet artistic director Mimi Worrell said. “This is the type of floor that dancers should be using.”

Scores of Carolina Ballet dancers performed on the old Township stage, now some of the company’s former stars are

returning for Midsummer.

Sarah Hairston, a senior soloist with the Cincinnati Ballet, will return to dance the role of fairy queen Titania. Lanny Spires, a former Carolina Ballet member who found his way to Broadway then back to Columbia, will dance the role of the mischievous Puck.

Coming home to the Township

For these dancers returning to the Township stage will be an unusual experience—many Carolina Ballet performance traditions were formed around the venue’s sparse accommodations. For example, in the past a small room on stage left

used to be the Nutcracker

snow room where the female dancers would prepare for their roles in the snow scene. Now they will be able to change in the brand new 14 dressing rooms equipped with standard lights, mirrors and restroom facilities.

It used to be that “back stage” was just a few cramped feet behind the back drop. The renovation expanded that space significantly to include to tractor trailer loading bays, storage space, and ample room backstage to maneuver props.

The Midsummer audience will not get the full effect of a finalized Township, but when the renovation is complete, visitors will be treated to a new electronic marquee, more concession stands with a wider variety of food offerings, and an elevator.

In addition to the elevator, the Township has also improved its handicap accessibility in other ways such as building a new handicap ramp that can be reached easily via Henderson Street.

More convenient features include an additional ticket window and two will call windows, two First Citizen ATMs and a merchandise stand. The facility has also more than doubled its number of restrooms to 13.

Construction on the lobby was a major undertaking. Sections of the front of the building were detached and moved forward 25 feet. Portions of the old brick façade can still be seen in the new lobby. “We found out during the process of planning the renovation that the original Township plans called for the lobby to be 25 feet larger,” Whitehead said. “But for whatever reason it was not built that way.”

The renovation didn’t add to the Township’s over 3,100 seats but all the seats are new. The auditorium received a new coat of paint, railings, a new ceiling, and acoustical tiles. There is also now a cover for the orchestra pit that alleviates some of Worrell’s safety concerns.

“We don’t have to worry about anyone spinning off into the pit,” she said. “We also don’t have to worry about a leaky ceiling. The old Township used to leak right onto the center of the stage. During the last

Nutcracker, it was snowing on the stage.”

Even though they are the guinea pig show, so to speak, the Carolina Ballet staff isn’t concerned about things going awry on opening night. The stage is complete, the only element that may be missing for the audience is the “wow factor” of seeing a completed Township, but the company will do its best to provide them with all the excitement they need from the stage.

Tickets for A Midsummer

Night’s Dream are $10.50–$20.50 and $10.50 for students. Call 803-576- 2350 for tickets and information. The ballet’s annual Gala Reception and Dance will follow the performance. Tickets for the gala are $125 per person, $1,000 for a table of eight. Call 803-771-6303 for gala tickets.

For more information about the Township renovation and upcoming season, visit their newly redesigned website www. thetownship.org/.

McKissick honors the Township’s birthday

USC’s McKissick Museum will honor the Township’s 80th birthday with a special exhibit featuring all the highlights of the auditorium’s history. The exhibit, which opens Saturday, will tell the Township’s story through pictures and audio and video recordings of some of its most significant events from performances by Elvis Pressley to activist rallies by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The exhibit will remain through July 31. For more information visit www. cas.sc.edu/mcks/.

During the renovation, a previously unknown time capsule was discovered that held business cards, proclamations, and a

1930 edition of The State

newspaper. The capsule and its contents are on display at the Main Branch of the Richland County Public Library in the Walker Local History Room. It will only be on display through today.