About Robert Ivey: Robert Ivey was a distinguished dancer, choreographer and artistic director. He began teaching at the College of Charleston in the early 1980s and became a full-time professor in 1993. He touched the lives of thousands of students through his last class, which he taught in spring 2011. Some of the classes he taught include: dance technique in ballet and modern 20th century dance, introduction to theatre, history of dance, choreography, dance ensemble, and the popular Maymester course on the Spoleto Festival.

Bob studied ballet at the American Ballet Theatre School while attending Columbia University in New York as a pre-med student, eventually earning a degree in radiology before turning to dance full time. He later would study at the Ballet Arts School in Carnegie Hall. His professional credits include major roles on Broadway and in Europe, most notably the New York and London productions of “West Side Story.” He was a member of the Swedish State Theatre and Royal Norwegian Ballet for seven years, and studied dance in Russia.

Bob was the Founder and Artistic Director of the Robert Ivey Ballet and was director of the Robert Ivey Ballet School for 35 years. His company toured throughout the U.S., as well as on an international stage in Russia, Denmark, South America, Spain and China.

He won many national choreography honors, grants and awards, including the prestigious Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Award (Governor’s Award) from the South Carolina Arts Commission for excellence in the Arts. He also directed and choreographed “Many Moons,” the first opera to be performed at the College of Charleston.