Where to dance, paint and listen to music this week in Columbia
Be in the ballet
Columbia City Ballet is looking for local talent to audition for both the “Dracula” and “Nutcracker” performances that will open in October and November, respectively.
“Dracula” auditions will be Sunday. Audition times for dancers ages 7-10 will be 2-3 p.m. Auditions for dancers 11 years old and up will be 3-4 p.m. Bring pointe shoes for those on pointe for more than two years.
“Nutcracker” auditions will be Sept. 26. Dancers ages 4-6 will audition 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Dancers ages 7-10 will audition 12:30-2:30 p.m., and dancers age 11 and up will audition 2:30-3:30 p.m.
The auditions are at 1545 Main St. There is an audition fee of $15.
For more information concerning auditions, call the Columbia City Ballet at (803) 799-7605 or by email at jcobb@columbiacityballet.com.
Get outside for some Plein Air
Enjoy painting in the great outdoors at the En Plein Air Oil Painting Workshop Sept. 26. Congaree Land Trust has partnered with the Columbia Museum of Art for the workshop, which will be led by artist David Phillips. The painting will commence at Goodwill Plantation in the heart of the Cowasee Basin, one of the Congaree Land Trust’s focus areas for conservation.
For some inspiration, consider the work of a couple of famous “plein air” painters: Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Register at congareelt.org.
8 a.m.-2 p.m. Sept. 26 at Goodwill Plantation, 1291 Goodwill Road, Eastover; $45 without art supplies, $75 with art supplies. Prices include a boxed lunch and a one-year membership to the Congaree Land Trust.
Guantanamo Public Memory Project opens at McKissick
The Guantanamo Public Memory Project tells the history of the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, from its establishment in 1898 to the present and explores how it has embodied cultural, political and legal trends in American history.
The McKissick Museum exhibit’s opening reception is 5:30-7 p.m. Thursday. There will be a discussion, “Mayberry or Mayhem?: Public Memories of GTMO” from 3-4 p.m. Saturday at the museum and a letter drive for veterans from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 11 in front of Russell House Student Union. All events are free and open to the public.
Students from the Public History Program at the University of South Carolina have curated three small exhibitions on research topics on Guantanamo Bay in concert with the main exhibition, which is sponsored in part by the USC Department of History and the USC’s Walker Institute of International and Area Studies.
The exhibit will be up until Nov. 21 at McKissick Museum. 816 Bull St. (803) 777-7251, artsandsciences.sc.edu/mckissickmuseum
Noted composer visits USC for Wind Ensemble concert
The University of South Carolina Wind Ensemble’s first concert of the season will feature Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Joseph Schwantner.
As one of America’s leading composers, Schwantner has had his works performed by some of the world’s most prominent professional orchestras, chamber music groups and soloists.
On Monday, USC’s ensemble will perform Schwantner’s “Luminosity: Concerto for Wind Orchestra” at 7:30 p.m. at the Koger Center for the Arts, 1051 Greene St. The concert also includes works by Leonard Bernstein, J.S. Bach and Michael Daugherty.
Schwantner will give a talk about his music earlier that day from 2:30- 4 p.m. in room 210 at the USC School of Music, 813 Assembly St. Both events are free. www.sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/music
ArtFields on the horizon
Southern artists, it’s that time of the year again. The fourth annual Lake City ArtFields competition has issued its call for artist submissions.
The submission period began Sept. 14 and continues through Nov. 13. The art competition aims to honor and celebrate Southern artists and the traditions of small Southern towns.
ArtFields transforms the historic district of Lake City into a Southern art Mecca for nine days, allowing visitors, residents and artists to experience a large-scale arts festival, according to the festival website.
Contestants must be 18 years or older. All media are accepted, but work must be original and completed within the last two years.
For more information, visit the ArtFields website at www.artfieldssc.org.
This story was originally published September 19, 2015 at 8:00 AM.