Get to know recent JMBT graduate Emily Bartee!
Emily is currently a company artist with South Carolina Ballet (SCB) in Columbia, SC. Catch up with Emily on what life is like now moving from Boston to South Carolina as a professional dancer!
JMBT is a great school for aspiring ballet students who want to pursue a professional career since the program offers rigorous, technical classes, and especially YouthWorks for performance experience. Even though I am one of the youngest company artists at SCB, my performance resume is just as strong and varied!
What is a day in the life for you at SCB?
We perform 4 major ballets a season, with two to three other performances staged in between. I rehearse and train five days a week in the studio, with two days off. Unless we are in the midst of a performance, then days off are rare and hours can be quite long, especially on travel days. Our main theater is in Columbia, but we also perform throughout southeast SC and northeast GA.
What was the process to enter into a professional ballet company such as SCB?
In the winter before audition season, I rehearsed and filmed audition materials, compiled a resume and appropriate videos/photos to send to companies, then awaited responses for in-person auditions. The SCB audition was a company class followed by an interview with the Artistic Director, William Starrett. I was offered a contract at the end of the interview!
Did your training at JMBT help prepare you to be a professional dancer? How so?
I began dancing at JMBT at the Summer Intensive. Angie DeWolfe was my instructor and really pushed me while also giving me the confidence boost I needed at that time in my training. I appreciated learning different dance styles at the intensive as well – Indian and Flamenco.
This has actually been helpful in my first year at SCB as not many ballet dancers have that experience. At SCB, we perform a shortened ballet for school groups as educational outreach. This is often rehearsed around our main ballet, and students are certainly a unique audience! My time in YouthWorks provided this experience of performing a piece with only a few rehearsals and in front of varied audiences. But my last year at JMBT was the most preparing – one of my teachers was Boris Richir. His teaching style prepared me for company class, along with his corrections and notes. Understanding and quickly implementing corrections and notes is a valuable asset as a company artist!
What is one of the most important things that you took away from your training at JMBT?
The ability to adapt to different directors’ techniques. I had the opportunity to learn from many different teachers that all had different styles. Learning to adapt to each style and technique helped me in auditions where you need to quickly acclimate!
What did you enjoy most about dancing at JMBT? Do you have any favorite memories from your time at JMBT you would like to share!
I enjoyed the frequency of the YouthWorks performances as well as the opportunity to revisit pieces choreographed by Mr. Mateo. I appreciated the chance to really understand and feel confident about a piece. I also formed amazing friendships at JMBT that will truly last a lifetime – one of my favorite memories at JMBT was performing company pieces, specifically Pachelbel. Getting to perform at so many different events, formal and informal, with the same girls really bonded us and allowed us to fully understand and enjoy the piece to its fullest!
What advice would you give to current ballet students who want to pursue a career as a professional dancer?
Put in the work, push yourself, and you’ll see the progress. Ballet isn’t a sprint but a marathon where you’re constantly learning and growing. It’s okay to have a diverse experience; there’s no one singular path. Having different kinds of training in different styles actually helped me get as much performance experience as possible. Finally, make connections in the dance and ballet world; knowing the right people can also be a benefit.
Learn more about our Summer Intensive program! Register to audition today.
