The Foothills Conservatory for the Performing Arts (FCPA) is a 501(c)3 non-profit arts organization that exists for the purpose of promoting quality performing arts experiences to the Upstate Community of South Carolina and the surrounding areas. FCPA reaches out to area schools and community organizations such as senior centers, nonprofit community organizations, and churches with free performances, educational lectures, and demonstrations.

FCPA produces an annual performance of the Nutcracker Ballet featuring local dancers, guest performers and choreographers. For the past four years our Nutcracker has been part of the TriArt series at the Brooks Center for the Performing Arts, allowing over 1,000 school children to see ballet. Many of these children are exposed to dance as a serious art form for the first time in their lives at these events.

FCPA produces an annual spring dance concert featuring local dancers, guest performers and choreographers for the general public.

A summer fine arts camp for children ages 10 to 17 provides multidisciplinary training in the arts including drama and dance. Students in the summer camp also receive exposure to a wide variety of arts forms through lectures by seasoned arts professionals. Topics of some lectures have included opera, performing arts, sign language interpreting, history reenactment, ethnic dance and music forms, and Broadway performance technique.

While FCPA does charge admission to the public performances and tuition for the performing arts camp, many of our performances are free to area schools and students in financial need are admitted to the summer camp program tuition free. As with most arts organizations, ticket revenue and tuition does not even begin to cover production and workshop costs. Therefore FCPA raises funds to cover the cost differential and support its programs and performances.