Go out and get your copy to find out how she and her sister Jeanette ended up working together at MCB, why Patty had a bone removed from her foot, and why Edward Villella thinks she’s perfect!

Added bonus: catch a glimpse of corps member Sara Esty in the “Step Up Your Training” piece to read about her experiences at Miami City Ballet School intensive programs!

We’ve shared pictures of Amanda at the Vail International Dance Festival in a previous post.

Come see Amanda dance this weekend at Broward Center. Don’t miss your last chance to see Program II.

As a ballet student, you never think that the day will actually come when your career as a dancer might become a thing of the past. Caught up with the rigorous challenges of training, you are more anxiously conscious of wanting your career to begin. Then, you find yourself in a company, dancing every night, waking early to take class and rehearse, and time goes by. In the middle of it all, another ten years seem to be so much time to enjoy what you love to do, and with all the work to accomplish- the ballets to learn, the performances to prepare for, the endless strings of Nutcrackers, it doesn’t seem possible as you dance through your twenties and into your thirties that a career could ever end. Suddenly, though, the day comes when you realize it is time to move on, and you are left with years of memories, and the realization that time and careers do pass.

This is where I find myself at this moment, part way through my twenty-first season here with Miami City Ballet. I decided, a few months ago, that I would retire from the stage at the end of this season. I have spent the dancer’s equivalent of a lifetime here; indeed, I feel that, here, as an artist, I was “born,” grew up, matured, and am now facing what feels like the death of my life as a ballet dancer. Somewhere I read that dancers experience two deaths: the “death” of their careers and then their true death – and now I understand. Maybe death is a strong word, but for me, it acknowledges the completion of a journey and the chance to move on.

What can I say after two decades of dance? I have had an amazing time. I have been lucky to enjoy the career I have had- I am not sure it would have been this way anywhere else. I have been allowed to dance to the divine strains of Tchaikovsky more than my fair share, I think, as well as those of Stravinsky, Mozart, Delibes, Prokofiev, Ravel, Faure, Chopin and countless others. The music that moves our souls- I was granted the chance to dance to that- to live- to exist.

All of the ballets I will dance this year hold special meaning for me, and to be able to visit them again before I leave the stage is a special gift. And so I am looking forward to a season of little private moments of goodbye. Dancing my last performances of Company B and Allegro Brillante during the Kravis weekend, words such as,”…and this is the last time…” would float through my head, and the lump in my throat would start to swell. Each moment became a private goodbye to that part of my on-stage world. Bittersweet though it is, I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Deanna Seay in “Diamonds”. Photo by Steven Caras

Daniel told us what he’s looking forward to performing. What are you looking forward to seeing?

We caught up with a few of them over the summer to find out how they spent their time away from the Ballet:

Jennifer Kronenberg:

Carlos Guerra:

Renato Penteado:

Patricia Delgado:

Callie Manning & Didier Bramaz:

Ashley Knox:

Allynne Noelle:

Kristin D’Addario:

Bradley Dunlap:

Jeanette Delgado, Patricia Delgado and Ballet Mistress Crista Villella:

You may recognize Kris Kramer from the MCB stage – she was a dancer with the Company for five years. Recently joining the administrative staff as Development Associate, Kris is charged with recruiting new members for MCB’s Upper Room (the Ballet’s young professionals group) and hosting videos for our Web site, YouTube channel and Facebook  Fan Pages (Miami City Ballet Fan Page, MCB School Fan Page). Check out her video intro.:

Caroline Murray is Miami City Ballet’s Marketing Manager.  Although she was never a dancer (okay, so her mother shoved her feet into ballet slippers when she was five, but that was short-lived), she loves dance and the arts in general.  Caroline has been with MCB for more than eight years – she’s family — and she makes it her business to spread the word about MCB.

Ailency Martinez is a Ballet newbie, starting as our Marketing, Social Networking and PR Assistant extraordinaire last month.  She’s always armed with her video camera and iPhone, and is ready to bring you the dish as it happens!

We want to hear from you! Comment here to let us know what you would like featured on MCB Blog.

Photo by Nicolle Ugarriza

In the coming months, our Social Networking Team (who you’ll meet next week) will share insider information, behind-the-scenes videos, exclusive photos, interviews with artists and more.  MCB Blog will occasionally have guest authors as well, including dancers, artistic staff, administration and supporters.   So you don’t miss out on any of the action, subscribe to our RSS feed or visit MCB Blog several times a week to read our updates.

We encourage you to participate! Comment on our posts; let us know what you think of our performances; and send us your ideas for topics we haven’t yet covered here.

Talk to you soon!