Marianna Sawyer

Marianna Sawyer began dancing at the age of 4 and shifted her focus to ballet when she started elementary school. Her ballet training began at English Theatre Arts in Greenville, SC. She later attended DanceArts Greenville (formerly known as The School of Carolina Ballet), The Fine Arts Center of Greenville County, and The Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities. She decided to finish high school online so that she could study as a trainee with the company Carolina Ballet Theatre in Greenville, SC. During her senior year, she also competed with English Theatre Arts and received solo awards.

After high school, she pursued a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems and a Bachelor of Arts in Dance with a concentration in Performance and Choreography from the College of Charleston. While in college, she was able to focus on more forms of dance including Lyrical, Contemporary, Jazz, Modern, African Dance, and various other social and cultural dances, but Ballet was always her main focus. Before graduating in 2020, she was able to perform and choreograph every year. She was even able to put on her own showcase featuring her original choreography and choreography from Le Corsaire as her senior thesis.