The title, Ballerina, as used by South Carolina Ballet, is bestowed upon female ballet dancers who are considered exceptionally talented and above the standard of other leading Principal female dancers. We will be looking back at South Carolina Ballet’s amazing Ballerinas who have graced our stage over the years. Join us as we celebrate the contributions of these extraordinary women.
With names like Pat Miller, Lynne Charles, Victoria Choklas, Regina Willoughby, and of course, Prima Ballerina, Mariclare Miranda, South Carolina Ballet has been a veritable beacon for highly accomplished female dancers. These formidable women have captured audiences and elevated the artistic standards of South Carolina Ballet to astounding heights. We are proud to remind you of these incredible Ballerinas through this retrospective. Given the incredible level of pro-fessional excellence achieved, we have elected to present our review in a random order.
We begin by looking at the career of Ballerina, Lynne Charles. Ms. Charles trained at the American Ballet Theatre School, School of America Ballet, and Harkness School of Ballet under such notable teachers as Patricia Wilde, David Howard, Stanley Williams, and Alexandra Danilova. During her career, she was a principal dancer or ballerina for ballet companies around the world, including the Geneva Ballet, Hamburg Ballet, Bejart’s Ballet of the 20th Century, and Ballet National de Marseille. In addition, Miss Charles made guest appearances at the National Ballet of Spain, National Ballet of Canada, Patrick Dupond and Friends, London Festival Ballet, Kirov Ballet, and the 4th and 5th World Ballet Festivals in Japan. Miss Charles holds a bronze medal from the International Ballet Competition in
Varna, Bulgaria, and the Berliner Kunst Prize for Best Artist of the Year. She was featured by South Carolina Ballet in such roles as: Duchess Isabella – Don Juan; Swan Queen – Swan Lake; Sugar Plum Fairy – Nutcracker, and other starring roles from 1997-2000. Today, Miss Charles is a much sought-after teacher and choreographer in Europe.
Patricia Miller was born in Florence, SC, and trained at the Academy of the Washington, D.C. Ballet. A Principal Dancer for New York City’s Joffrey Ballet, Miss Miller also graced the cover of Dance Magazine and the pages of Ballet News, Vogue, and New York Magazine. Miss Miller originated the role of Juliet in the Joffrey’s production of Cranko’s Romeo & Juliet and Bianca in Cranko’s The Taming of the Shrew. While at Joffrey Ballet, Resident Choreographer, Gerald Arpino created leading roles for her in Round of Angels, Secret Places, and Epode. Miss Miller has been featured in many South Carolina Ballet productions since 1995, with roles including Lilac Fairy – The Sleeping Beauty; Mina Harker – Dracula: Ballet with a Bite; Chosen One – Le Sacre du Printemps; Snow Queen & Sugar Plum Fairy – Nutcracker; Chosen Maiden – Aladdin, and the lead role in Thais Meditation. In addition, Miss Miller has served as Artistic Assistant and Ballet Mistress for South Carolina Ballet. Even today, she regularly coaches the Company for our annual Nutcracker; and last Season, appeared as Mrs. Stahlbaum when Nutcracker toured to Florence, SC. Miss Miller lives in Florence, where she is a successful and much sought-after interior designer. She has made it possible for South Carolina Ballet to tour selected productions to the Francis Marion Performing Arts Center through her advocacy on our behalf.
Now we look at Mariclare Miranda, the only dancer to have been elevated to the position of Prima Ballerina in South Carolina Ballet’s 65-year history. The exceptional talent of Mariclare Miranda provided the first building blocks with which CEO & Artistic Director, William Starrett, was able to transform the then Columbia City Ballet from a civic dance group into the world-class professional ballet company today known as South Carolina Ballet.
The name Mariclare Miranda is synonymous with ballet in Columbia. Miss Miranda began her ballet training at the age of 7 with Ann Brodie, the founding Artistic Director of Columbia City Ballet. In 1976, she joined the Company, becoming a Soloist in 1980, Principal Dancer in 1982, and Ballerina in 1984. In 1997, she attained the rank of Prima Ballerina. Miss Miranda has danced every ballerina role in South Carolina Ballet’s classical repertoire and has performed a myriad of roles in William Starrett’s original ballets, with the lead roles created on her. These ballets include Beauty & the Beast, Dracula: Ballet with a Bite, Dracula’s Revenge, Aladdin, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Pocahontas, A Tribute to Fred Astaire, Don Juan, Frankenstein, and Off the Wall & Onto the Stage: Dancing the Art of Jonathan Green. Winner of the 1997 South Carolina Arts Commission Individual Artist Fellowship in Dance, Miss Miranda was also chosen by choreographer Norbert Vesak to dance in his Belong Pas de Deux, a work which won a gold medal for choreography at the 1980 International Ballet Competition in Varna, Bulgaria. She retired from the stage in March 2006, dancing her final performances in the title role of Giselle. In recognition of her accomplishments, Miss Miranda was awarded both the Key to the City of Columbia and the Order of the Palmetto at her retirement gala. Since retirement from the stage, Miss Miranda has continued to work closely with the company and has served as Ballet Mistress, Company Instructor, and currently as Répétiteur. Miss Miranda is also a founder and Principal Instructor of the Columbia Conservatory of Dance, where she continues to train future ballet stars and to safeguard the integrity of the art of ballet. While easily spotted as an audience member at South Carolina Ballet productions, you will also see Mariclare in cameo appearances such as her role as Lady Capulet in last season’s Romeo & Juliet and Bathilde in Giselle. South Carolina City Ballet is proud of our continued association with Mariclare Miranda, our only Prima Ballerina!
Victoria Cholkas received ballet training in both Florence and Columbia with Elsie Jenkins, William Starrett, and Patricia Miller. She furthered her training with several well-known artists, notably David Howard, Gelsey Kirkland, Georgina Parkinson, Cynthia Gregory, Raisa Struchkova, and Arnold Spohr. Under scholarship for 2 summers at the American Ballet Theatre Intensive program, she was featured in the Coppelia Pas de Deux at their final performance in New York City.
Miss Cholkas has performed a variety of roles for the South Carolina Ballet including Odette/Odille – Swan Lake; Sugar Plum Fairy, Snow Queen, Dew Drop Fairy, and Spanish Hot Chocolate – Nutcracker; Esmeralda – Hunchback of Notre Dame; Dona Anna – Don Juan; Sophia – Dracula’s Revenge; Lilac Fairy and Fairy of the Golden Vine – The Sleeping Beauty; Maiden – Dracula: Ballet with a Bite; Kitri – Don Quixote Pas de Deux and the title role in Cinderella. Victoria was also featured on SCETV as Kitri in the full-length ballet, Don Quixote. Ms. Cholkas lives with her husband, George Tassios, and her two daughters, Christina and Veronica, in Florence, SC, where she continues to express her love for the art by sharing her talent and experience through teaching at the School of Dance Arts in Florence.
We now turn our attention to the most recent person to hold the title, Ballerina, at South Carolina Ballet, Regina Willoughby. Regina began dancing at the age of 8 at Ballet Midland while growing up in West Texas. She graduated from the Virginia School of the Arts, where she was awarded a scholarship at age 15. She also studied at Westside in Los Angeles and on scholarship with the Joffrey Ballet School in New York.
Miss Willoughby’s professional career began at Ballet Austin, where she danced solo roles, including Stephen Mills’ Four Mortal Men. She joined South Carolina Ballet in 1997, dancing such roles as Arabian, Dew Drop Fairy, Snow Queen, and Sugar Plum Fairy – Nutcracker; Maiden and Lucy – Dracula: Ballet with a Bite; the title roles in both Cinderella and Romeo and Juliet; Aurora – The Sleeping Beauty, and Odette/Odille – Swan Lake. Regina was promoted to Soloist in 2001, Principal in 2006, and Ballerina in 2010.
Director William Starrett has created many roles for Miss Willoughby in his original ballets, including Mina – Dracula’s Revenge, the Sand Dance pas de trois and Daughters of the South – Off the Wall & Onto the Stage: Dancing the Art of Jonathan Green. The title role of the ballet Cleopatra was created on Regina and has received rave reviews.
Critics have lauded Willoughby’s commanding stage presence, writing “…was exotically arrogant as Arabian,” and “the showstopper was Regina Willoughby with her sultry stage presence.” The Free Times has said, “Willoughby is the company’s most enchanting female performer, both technically and dramatically,” and that “Willoughby possesses that special ‘it’ quality that makes a performance so riveting.”
Married with two children, Regina and her family reside in Lexington. Regina, an ABT National Training Curriculum certified teacher, continues to teach dance in Lexington.
