LOURDES LOPEZ / ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

A ‘Model’ Day!

You may have seen sisters Leigh-Ann and Sara Esty gracing the pages of various dance magazines this season. Why? Earlier this year, they became the official spokesmodels for Suffolk Pointe’s new leotard line! We caught up with Leigh-Ann to hear about their amazing experience. Here is what she had to say!

Leigh-Ann Esty

When my sister and I received an email from our PR manager about being the new Suffolk Pointe leotard models, we went absolutely nuts! To model for the company that makes our pointe shoes would be the coolest thing ever. After a few weeks of planning, we found ourselves in a stretch limo to the airport after one of our shows in West Palm Beach. Talk about movie star treatment! We flew out at about 5pm to Dallas.

Welcome to Texas!

When we arrived, Keri Suffolk (married to Marc Suffolk, creator of Suffolk pointe shoes) and her assistant Deb greeted us with excitement. We drove over to Spotlight Dance wear, Keri’s store, where we tried on a multitude of Suffolk shoes for the photo shoot.

A girl can't have enough shoes!

By this time, it was 11:00 at night! After being dropped off at our hotel, Sara and I got a quick six hours of sleep. The make-up and hair stylist knocked on our door at 6:30 am! Thankfully, Keri came with Starbucks, so we were all set!

Two hours later, and as glamorous as could be, we drove over to the Cavanaugh Flight Museum. This location was chosen due to the retro 40’s theme of the leotard line. What a cool place! There were airplanes in the museum that were actual WWII fighters, and one of only three left in the world.

Cavanaugh Flight Museum

Sara and I each had about 10 looks to model. I felt like a superstar...the team was so attentive and supportive of what we were doing. I had never modeled before, so I was a little nervous. After each picture, we got to see the preview on the computer, and fix what we didn’t like. It was a lot of work, but so much fun!

Striking a pose

The whole day of shooting took about seven hours. A highlight was meeting Marc ….he was so nice! He actually got to look at our feet and suggested different shoes for us. It was an honor to meet the brains behind it all. Without his creativity, dancing would be very difficult!

We finished the day with a nice dinner with the Suffolks before heading back to the airport. We arrived in Miami at midnight. It was a whirlwind 24 hours! The experience was a gratifying one, and we would do it again in a heartbeat.

Official ad from Suffolk Pointe's catalog

Ella Titus captures MCB School on Instagram!

While the company is off for the summer, aspiring ballerina Ella Titus from MCB School will be taking over our Instagram feed this week! She will be snapping behind-the-scenes shots of MCB School students preparing for their upcoming Student Showcase, May 17-19.  The Student Showcase celebrates the hard-work, hours of training, and dedication that these outstanding students withstand each year in pursuit of becoming professional dancers.  Follow Ella #EllaMCBphotos to check out the dance stars of tomorrow!

Ella Titus in costume for Petipa's Paquita.

Fun Fact about Ella: Ella’s first performance with Miami City Ballet was when she was 7 years old. She was an angel in The Nutcracker and principal dancer Jennifer Kronenberg was the Sugar Plum Fairy! For five years, she performed MCB’s Nutcracker in her hometown Clearwater, Florida, when she was a little girl.

Ella Titus as a little girl in MCB's The Nutcracker

Follow Ella for the most up-to-date action at MCB School and watch her onstage during the Student Workshop performances, May 17-19, at the in-house Lynn & Luis Wolfson, II Theatre, right here in our Miami Beach studios!

ITS A WRAP! Jennifer Lauren Shoots Final Program of 2012-13 Season

Soloist Jennifer Lauren will bid farewell on Instagram as we say good-bye to the 2012-2013 Season during Program IV: Broadway and Ballet at the Adrienne Arsht Center May 3-5. She will be catching the best of Broadway, Ballet and Baseball….what? Yes, Baseball! When MLB All-Star Mike Piazza makes his debut as the Gangster in George Balanchine’s Slaughter on Tenth Avenue, Jennifer will be snapping shots of all of the backstage action! Don’t miss out on the fun. Follow her at #JenLaurenMCBPhotos.

Jennifer Lauren
Jennifer Lauren

For our final program of the season, Jennifer will be performing the “blue girl” in Jerome Robbins’ Dances at a Gathering. We asked her why she enjoys this role so much and here is what she had to say:

I enjoy being in “Dances” because it feels like you are dancing with your family.  I always tell Jeanette and Patricia that its fun to be their other sister for an hour.

Jennifer Lauren performs Dances at a Gathering with Jeanette (left) and Patricia (center) Delgado.

Join Jennifer and the rest of MCB’s amazing dancers for our final program of the season this weekend at the Arsht Center.

Baseball All-Star Mike Piazza becomes the Gangster!

Former MLB catcher Mike Piazza visited our studios yesterday for a quick costume fitting and round of rehearsals in preparation for his cameo appearance as the Gangster in George Balanchine’s Slaughter on Tenth Avenue.  Channeling his Italian heritage and adding a mafiosa twist, Mike turned out to be a natural fit for the role.  Check out his impressive acting skills in this sneak peek video!

Don’t miss Mike Piazza’s ONE NIGHT ONLY performance during Program IV: Broadway and Ballet on Friday, May 3, at the Adrienne Arsht Center!

For more on this baseball all-star and his ballet debut, check out this story by the Associated Press!

Here are some fun pics too!

Mike Piazza got a surprise ballet lesson from principal dancer Patricia Delgado.
Costume Designer & Director Haydee Morales takes down Mike Piazza's measurements.
Our costume/wardrobe team with Mike Piazza and Philip Neal, Répétiteur for George Balanchine Trust (on right).

Adriana Pierce captures ‘Poetic Fusion’ on Instagram!

While most dancers are taking full advantage of their one week off before final performances of Program IV: Broadway and Ballet at the Broward Center and Adrienne Arsht Center, corps dancer Adriana Pierce is taking over our Instagram feed as this week’s guest photographer. Not only will Adriana be snapping pics, but she is also creating a new work on dancers Leigh-Ann Esty, Sara Esty and Nicole Stalker , in collaboration with poet Barbara Lisette Anderson, for the month-long  O, Miami Poetry Festival.  Check out how Adriana bridges the worlds of ballet and poetry when our MCB ladies perform Poetic Fusion on Friday, April 12, at The LAB Miami. Follow her #AdrianaMCBPhotos.

Adriana Pierce

We caught up with Adriana to learn more about her upcoming work.  Here is what she said!

My choreography is usually derived from images, and so I often find inspiration from text. Barbara Anderson’s poetry has rich descriptive narratives and conjures up a lot of thoughtful imagery for the reader or listener. I’m having a lot of fun in the studio infusing my movement quality with her writing style, and, of course, working with any of the MCB dancers is always a dream.

Check out Poetic Fusion this Friday at The LAB Miami, and don’t miss our multi-talented dancers’  final performance of the 2012-2013 Season during Program IV: Broadway and Ballet.

Broward Center: April 26-28
Adrienne Arsht Center: May 3-5

From Our Dancers to YOU!

We can’t believe that its already our final program of the 2012-2013 Season!  While we feel like the year has just flown by, many of us have been anxiously awaiting the opening of Program IV: Broadway and Balletespecially our dancers who can’t wait to get onstage.  Find out why!

Emily Bromberg

Emily Bromberg, Corps de Ballet, on Program IV: Broadway and Ballet – I’ve been looking forward to Program IV since last July [2012] when we started rehearsing for both ballets!  I was overjoyed when I saw that I would be learning the “mauve” girl in Dances at a Gathering.  For me, this part has a lot of meaning. From what I understand, her character is portrayed as a bit internal and full of thought.  Finding my own way of portraying this has been my favorite part of the rehearsal process because everyday I get to go into the studio and experiment with how I want to feel, while dancing each movement.  This experimentation along with the personal molding of each of the difficult, but liberating steps is such a fulfilling process.  I couldn’t look more forward to performing such a role!  Slaughter on Tenth Avenue is so much fun to perform with the audience! We use their energy, applause and reactions to fuel our every step!  I’m happy to get the chance to be a part of it!

Bradley Dunlap

Bradley Dunlap, Corps de Ballet, on George Balanchine’s Slaughter on Tenth Avenue –  For the first time I am performing a pre-dominantly, comically-driven “character” role.  This new experience has given me a chance to take a break from my technique and just have fun. Without Slaughter I wouldn’t have realized the satisfaction of an audience responding to my work with laughter.

Callie Manning

Callie Manning, Principal Soloist, on Program IV: Broadway and Ballet – Personally, this program is like visiting old friends.  I’ve performed in both Dances at a Gathering and Slaughter on Tenth Avenue before and have very fond memories of both.  They are roles I love and can’t wait to dance them again. The part I do in Dances, “Green Girl”, is a really special part to me.  She’s a little cooky, flirtatious, reminiscent and quite complex.  I love diving into her character and discovering new things about her.  Every performance I do brings out something different.  Slaughter satisfies me in a completely different way.  Don’t tell anyone, but I always secretly wanted to be a Fosse dancer on Broadway.  The “Strip Tease Girl” in Slaughter, is the epitome of Broadway — high kicks, jazz hands and all!

Jennifer Carlynn Kronenberg

Jennifer Carlynn Kronenberg, Principal, on Program IV: Broadway and BalletSlaughter on Tenth Avenue and Dances at a Gathering are ballets that are very dear to me since I’ve had the great opportunity to “grow into” my roles in both — having danced them since the company premiered them years ago.  The “Striptease Girl” in Slaughter is such fun to dance onstage.  I learned it back when it was staged for us by Susan Hendl, and it was very different than anything I had yet danced with MCB – almost more Broadway than ballet!  It was a great chance to let go, have fun and even show a little of my wild side in the jazzy, upbeat second pas de deux.  It was especially fun to dance years later with Carlos [Guerra] as the “Hoofer”!

Dances is another ballet that I learned from Ms. Hendl back when she staged it for the company.  I was originally cast, fittingly, as the “Mauve” girl – a role that seems, to me, much like the older sister.  She is a bit more serious, pensive and mature than the pink, blue and yellow girls.  After dancing that role for years, it seems natural to now move on and transition into the role of the “Green” girl, who has an unusual cameo sort of part in the ballet.  Her solo, originally choreographed for Violette Verdy, is one that portrays an older, nostalgic, maybe even retired dancer reflecting on the joys of her career as a great ballerina.  Though I’m not not yet retired (I’m confident I have more than a few good dancing years left in me), I’m certainly at a point in my career where I can identify with the idea of “reflection”.  With each step of the solo I can really bring myself back to a special moment I had onstage — engaging the audience or getting lost in the steps, the music, the lights and the special perfume of a  ballet. With a flick of the foot, the solo ends with the “Green” girl simply walking offstage with a unique satisfaction.  She seems very proud of what she has accomplished …. not necessarily in that specific moment, but in general throughout her career.  That is something I can definitely relate to.

See Emily, Bradley, Callie and Jennifer  in our final program of the season Program IV: Broadway and Ballet!

Kravis Center: April 5-7
Broward Center: April 26-27
Adrienne Arsht Center: May 3-5

Adrienne Carter is back on Instagram!

Corps dancer Adrienne Carter takes over our Instagram feed during this performance packed week! Adrienne will capture the company bringing the best of Broadway and Ballet to audiences in Naples on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then in West Palm Beach over the weekend — for a total of SIX performances (let’s not even mention the rehearsals).

Don’t miss out on the action! Follow Adrienne #AdrienneMCBPhotos.

Adrienne Carter

For the opening of Program IV: Broadway and Ballet, we caught up with Adrienne to find out what ballet she is most excited about performing this week.  Here is what she said!

I’m really excited for Slaughter on Tenth Avenue because I have always loved jazzy type things and its also my first time performing after my injury!

See Adrienne onstage during our final program of the 2012-2013 season!

Lexie Overholt is back on Instagram!

Corps dancer Lexie Overholt returns to Instagram as this week’s guest photographer.  Lexie will capture the company not only preparing for the opening of Program IV: Broadway and Ballet at the Kravis Center, on April 5-7, but also starting rehearsals for George Balanchine’s Serenade, which will hit the stage during our upcoming 2013-2014 season.  Also, look out for some shots of Justin Peck’s newest work CHUTES AND LADDERS, which makes its WORLD PREMIERE at the New World Symphony on April 20.  Don’t miss out on the action by following Lexie #LexieMCBPhotos!

Lexie Overholt

Fun Fact UPDATE: If you think back to the last blog post about Lexie, you may recall that she was in the process of establishing her own nonprofit aimed at engaging dancers as a community in several ways — number one being — to provide scholarships for young dancers. We are excited to announce that Lexie is in the final stages of 501(c)3 approval and the website will launch in the next 30 days. Stay tuned!

Photo © Gio Alma.

Imagining ‘New Work’ with Justin Peck

When emerging choreographer and New York City Ballet dancer Justin Peck received a call from Artistic Director Lourdes Lopez to create a new work on Miami City Ballet, he jumped at the opportunity.  After choreographing several works for New York City Ballet, the young artist was eager to experience a new company, or as Justin described, “work with new paint.”  For nearly two weeks, Justin immersed himself in music, dance and creation at our studios to choreograph his newest work Chutes and Ladders.  Learn about Justin’s experience working with our dancers and how this exciting project came to be in the video below!

Read more about Justin Peck’s new work in The Miami Herald.  Also, here is an interesting interview with Justin in TimeOut New York.

Here are some pics from Justin’s visit!

Justin Peck choreographing Chutes and Ladders.
Justin Peck rehearses with dancers Jeanette Delgado and Kleber Rebello.

Callie Manning captures Miami Fashion Week on Instagram!

Principal Soloist Callie Manning is not only practicing her tendus and pliés this week, but she is also getting ready to strut her stuff down the catwalk during Miami Fashion Week!  Lucky for us, she will be bringing us all of the action on Instagram as this week’s guest photographer! #CallieMCBPhotos

Callie Manning

Callie, along with dancers Suzanne Limbrunner and Adriana Pierce will be transformed into professional fashionistas, when they hit the catwalk for designer Robin Fleming’s fashion show.  They will model the ballet inspired DUCHESA Couture line for Fleming’s closing collection on Friday, March 22, at 10:00 p.m., at the Miami Beach Convention Center.  Work it ladies!

Headshot © Gio Alma