Anita Sun Pacylowski
Associate Artistic Director
Anita Sun Pacylowski is a native of Columbia, Maryland, and received her formal ballet training at the Washington School of Ballet under the legendary Mary Day and Patricia Berrend. During her training, she was the recipient of the Princess Grace Award in Dance, a National YoungArts Level 1 Award, and was named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts by the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars. She was also a finalist at the New York International Ballet Competition, a semifinalist at the Prix de Lausanne, and a Benois de la Danse Award nominee invited to perform in Moscow.
Anita began her professional career with The Washington Ballet, where she danced under the artistic direction of Mary Day, Kevin McKenzie, Simon Dow, Janek Schergen, and Rex Bickmore. Her extensive repertoire included works by George Balanchine, Choo San Goh, Nils Christie, Alonzo King, Ray Barra, Paul Taylor, Septime Weber, Martine Van Hamel, and Judith Jamison. She toured internationally throughout Russia, Thailand, Singapore, France, England, and Spain. Career highlights include performing The Nutcracker Grand Pas de Deux at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for President Bill Clinton and at the White House Holiday Tea Party.
She later joined Charlotte Ballet as a Principal Dancer, where she performed for seven seasons under the artistic direction of Salvatore Aiello, Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, Patricia McBride, and Jerri Kumery. During her time in Charlotte, she met her husband, Hernan Justo. Together they relocated to Greenville, South Carolina, where they have become two of the region’s most influential leaders in dance. For more than twenty-six years, Anita has served as Associate Artistic Director of Ballet Greenville, continuing to perform professionally while helping shape the company’s artistic vision, educational initiatives, and community engagement.
Alongside her work with Ballet Greenville, Anita has served as co-owner and co-director of DanceArts Greenville for more than twenty-six years, where she has mentored generations of dancers through comprehensive training, performance opportunities, and pre-professional education.
Her dedication to arts education extends throughout the Upstate. Anita was a founding teaching artist on the Metropolitan Arts Council’s SmartARTS roster, providing arts integration programming in public schools for more than a decade. She has served on the Fine Arts Center Board of Directors, co-chaired the Parent Engagement Committee, and was a member of the Presidential Scholar Alumni Association Steering Committee.
From 2017 to 2021, Anita served as Associate Academy Director of Charlotte Ballet, where she continues to teach as a guest instructor and consultant. In 2022, she joined the Fine Arts Center Dance Department as the primary ballet instructor, teaching all levels of ballet, mentoring YoungArts applicants, and coordinating the department’s outreach programs at Berea and Lakeview Middle Schools. In 2023, she founded the Alonzo King Immersion Project, providing students with the opportunity to engage deeply with the artistry and choreographic philosophy of internationally acclaimed choreographer Alonzo King. She now serves as Chair of the Fine Arts Center Dance Department, where she continues to foster artistic excellence, innovation, and mentorship.
Outside the studio, Anita treasures time with her family. She and Hernan are the proud parents of three adult children—Martin, Sofia, and Nicolas. She enjoys creating a welcoming home, taking walks with their Havashu pup, Ellie, cooking homemade meals, and spending evenings dining al fresco with her husband. Grateful to call Greenville home, Anita remains deeply committed to enriching her community through dance while inspiring the next generation of artists with excellence, compassion, and a lifelong passion for the performing arts.
Anita & Hernan Chautauqua Dance Company “Black Swan” pas de deux