The Charleston Gaillard Center serves students and the others throughout the Lowcountry by offering curriculum-based workshops, master classes, pre-show lectures, and more. All of these programs are designed to bring the arts to the classroom, the community, to you.
Please contact Sterling deVries at sdevries@gaillardcenter.org with any questions.
MASTER CLASSES

ADVANCED/PRE-PROFESSIONAL MASTERCLASS
Saturday, April 22 | 1:00PM-2:30PM
Dance Conservatory of Charleston | 1632 Ashley Hall Road
Recommended 4-5 of years training | 13 years of age and older
$25
Scholarships are available. Please contact Sterling deVries at sdevries@gaillardcenter.org to learn more.
Instructor: ABT Principal Calvin Royal III
Support for this program is made possible by the Peter Glenville Foundation and other generous donors who have committed time and resources to the Charleston Gaillard Center’s Dance Initiative.
Please join the Charleston Gaillard Education & Community Program and our partner, Dance Conservatory of Charleston, for an Advanced/Pre-Professional Masterclass with American Ballet Theatre’s Principal Calvin Royall III. Read more...
About Calvin Royal III
Calvin Royal III began his formal dance training under the direction of Suzanne Pomerantzeff and Patricia L. Paige at the Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School in St. Petersburg, Florida. He was a finalist at the Youth America Grand Prix Scholarship Competition in New York City in April 2006 and joined the American Ballet Theatre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School in September 2006. Royal was the recipient of the Ethan Stiefel Scholarship in 2006 and 2007. While at the ABT JKO School, Royal appeared in original works by Raymond Lukens and Jessica Lang.
Royal joined ABT II (now ABT Studio Company) in December 2007 and danced leading roles including Prince Siegfried in the White Swan and Black Swan pas de deux from Swan Lake, George Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante, Jerome Robbins’ Interplay, Antony Tudor’s Continuo, and works by Edward Liaang, Aszure Barton, Jodie Gates, and Brian Reeder.
Royal joined the main Company as an apprentice in October 2010 and the corps de ballet in April 2011. He was appointed a Soloist in September 2017 and a Principal Dancer in September 2020. His repertoire with the Company includes the title role in Apollo, a Cavalier in Cinderella, Dorcon in Daphnis and Chloe, Espada in Don Quixote, the third sailor in Fancy Free, Albrecht in Giselle, Persian Man in The Golden Cockerel, Pierrot in Alexei Ratmansky’s Harlequinade, Reverend Brocklehurst in Jane Eyre, Lescaut in Manon, Nutcracker, the Prince, Recruit, and the Arabian Man, and the Spanish Dance in Ratmansky’s The Nutcracker, Chaereas in Of Love and Rage, a Carnival Dancer in Othello, Romeo and Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet, the Spanish Prince and Prince Fortune in The Sleeping Beauty, Prince Siegfried, von Rothbart, Benno, and the Spanish Dance in Swan Lake, Jaseion in Sylvia, Prince Coffee and Prince Cocoa in Whipped Cream, leading roles in Bach Partita, The Brahms-Haydn Variations, Her Notes, Piano Concerto #1, Seven Sonatas, Symphonic Variations, Thirteen Diversions, and ZigZag, and featured roles in AfterEffect, Black Tuesday, Clear, Company B, Deuce Coupe, Duets, In the Upper Room, Raymonda Divertissements and Sinfonietta.
He created the North Wind in A Gathering of Ghosts, Bacchus in The Seasons, a Fairy Cavalier in Ratmansky’s The Sleeping Beauty, Adam in Touché, leading roles in AFTERITE, Lifted, Serenade after Plato’s Symposium, Single Eye, and Songs of Bukovina, and featured roles in After You, AfterEffect, Dream within a Dream (deferred), New American Romance, and Praedicere.
Royal was named a finalist at the 2013 Clive Barnes Awards and, in 2014, was awarded the Leonore Annenberg Fellowship to further his artistic development. Royal has been featured in global campaigns for GAP, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Target, Ralph Lauren, and Canali. He was featured in the 2019 Pirelli Calendar alongside Misty Copeland, photographed by famed Scottish fashion, celebrity, and art photographer Albert Watson.
Royal was named the 2020-2021 Artist-in-Residence for the Vail Dance Festival in Vail, Colorado.
WORKSHOPS

POETRY WORKSHOPS
Workshops are offered both in-person and virtually.
Poet Laureate and Gaillard Center’s Artist-in-Residence Marcus Amaker is Charleston, South Carolina’s first poet laureate and an Academy of American Poets fellow.. Read more...
In addition to poetry, Marcus is an award-winning graphic designer and musician. He’s published nine poetry books and has been recognized by NPR, the Kennedy Center, The Washington National Opera, PBS Newshour, and more. Learn more about Marcus here.
Poetry Workshop Opportunities
Self-Portrait Poems (Grades 9–12)
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Poet Laureate and Artist-in-Residence Marcus Amaker will teach students a poetry lesson that shines a light on each student’s personal story. During the lesson, students will learn the impact of the written word, and realize that their voice matters. During the experience, they will write two poems using guided prompts. At the end of the lesson, students will have the opportunity to share their work.
Write About What You See! (Grades 6-9)
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Ekphrastic poems are a common tool used by poets to make their poems come alive. Poet Laureate and Artist-in-Residence Marcus Amaker will use various images – famous paintings, album artwork, video game images, and more – to guide students in writing poems that are vivid descriptions of a scene.
All About Alliteration (Grades 3-5)
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Poet Laureate and Artist-in-Residence Marcus Amaker will teach students all about one of the most-used figurative language tools: alliteration. During the lesson, Amaker will show examples of alliteration in well-known poems and lead the students in writing their own fun and impactful pieces.
Music Poems (Grades 5-9)
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Poet Laureate and Artist-in-Residence Marcus Amaker will use figurative language tools (alliteration, rhyme and repetition) to guide students in writing poems inspired by music. Students will hear examples of spoken word and be given the tools they need to write their own!
Metaphors! (Grades 5-9)
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Poet Laureate and Artist-in-Residence Marcus Amaker will guide students on a deep understanding of metaphors and how to use them in their writing.