S.C. Governor’s School for the Arts to honor Barry Brannum with President’s Alumni Award
April 14, 2017
Dancer and choreographer Barry Brannum, from Columbia, S.C., will receive the 2017 President’s Alumni Award at the 3rd Annual Artists in Bloom event on April 20, presented by the Governor’s School for the Arts Foundation and TD Bank.
The President’s Alumni Award is bestowed on an accomplished graduate from the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities who has shown a commitment to the arts and artistic achievement, while embodying the school’s key values. This includes continuing to cultivate a personal responsibility for intellectual growth, maintaining a keen intellectual curiosity about the world, and evolving positively as a thinker and artist, while also contributing in positive ways to the community.
“Barry truly embodies the core values that the Governor’s School strives to impart on our students and community, ” said Dr. Cedric Adderley, SCGSAH president. “We’re very proud of his achievements and the work he’s doing as a student, teacher and practicing artist.”
Brannum attended Richland Northeast High School before getting accepted into the Governor’s School’s residential high school dance program. “This was my first foray into modern and contemporary dance. I was able to hone my commitments to classical and modern techniques, while experimenting in choreography,” said Brannum, who contributed an original piece to each dance department showcase while in attendance.
After graduating in 2009, Brannum attended Princeton University, receiving an honors degree in English and a certificate in Dance. He was an active member and officer in the Princeton University Ballet and FUSE, an experimental dance collective. Brannon was awarded the department’s Outstanding Thesis Award in 2013.
Currently, Brannum is a PhD candidate in UCLA’s World Arts and Cultures/Dance Department where his work investigates representations of African-American respectability politics in the realm straddling popular culture and concert dance. He is also a teaching associate for the department and a dance instructor at the UCLA Performing Arts Summer Institute. “I’m fortunate enough to have continued spending almost equal time in both the studio and the classroom,” said Brannum.
Brannum’s accomplishments will be honored at the 3rd Annual Artists in Bloom, a fundraising event celebrating South Carolina’s emerging young artists and featuring performances by students from the Governor’s School. Event proceeds will benefit the Governor’s School for the Arts Foundation, which provides scholarships for students, brings world-renowned guest artists to the Upstate, and funds arts-related outreach programs to schools across the state. The event will be held on April 20 at ZEN in downtown Greenville, S.C. Visit gsafoundation.net to purchase tickets.
About S.C. Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities
Located in Greenville, the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities (SCGSAH) cultivates young artists from across the state through pre-professional training in the areas of creative writing, dance, drama, music and visual arts. As a public, residential high school, serving juniors and seniors, students refine their talents in a master-apprentice community while receiving a nationally recognized academic education. Summer programs are available to rising 7th-12th grade students, and SCGSAH serves as a resource to all teachers and students in South Carolina, offering comprehensive outreach programs designed to bring together artists, educators, community organizations and schools. www.scgsah.org
