SB Pye - Technical Staff / Choreographer
SB is a dance and flag specialist with Ember Winter Guard. Their marching arts career began nearly 15 years ago, when they joined the Lexington High School winter guard (Lexington, SC) as a middle schooler. In high school, they performed as a River Bluff High School Gatorette with summers marching drum corps at Oregon Crusaders and Coastal Surge and winters performing with Aria Winterguard (Greensboro, NC). In college, SB continued their color guard career at Charles Towne Independent in Columbia, SC. Beyond the marching arts, they trained at the Southeastern School of Classical Ballet, studying classical ballet, jazz, modern, and contemporary dance.
SB’s teaching career began with introductory ballroom dance through the National League of Junior Cotillions Greater Columbia Chapter. They later began teaching color guard at Brookland-Cayce High School in West Columbia, SC, and have since worked with numerous programs throughout the Carolinas and Missouri. As an educator, SB is especially passionate about building strong fundamentals and giving performers a foundation to understand not just what they are doing, but how to do it well, consistently, and safely.
Outside of marching arts, SB holds a PhD in Molecular Microbiology & Microbial Pathogenesis from Washington University in St. Louis and works as a plant biologist at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, the world’s largest independent nonprofit research institute dedicated to plant science. They are also a string bassist with the St. Louis Civic Orchestra.