Miami City Ballet Blog

Before Liam Scarlett returned to London, he filled us in on what’s been going on with the World Premiere since we last spoke. He dishes on finishing the piece in ten days, designing the costumes himself, and naming the ballet!

Liam Scarlett’s new ballet premieres in January 2012 at Adrienne Arsht Center, followed by performances at Broward Center and Kravis Center. Click here for more information.

Liam Scarlett of The Royal Ballet spent the last three weeks with MCB working on the World Premiere, which premieres in January 2012. Enthusiasm filled the building, and dancers and staff alike were thrilled with the developments coming from the studios. Sara Esty, newly-promoted soloist, collected some thoughts on what is was like to work with Britain’s hottest choreographer, Liam Scarlett.

Liam Scarlett, who choreographed his first piece at the tender age of 11 for his fellow students at The Royal Ballet School and is now The Royal Ballet’s most successful young choreographer at age 25, has accepted a commission from MCB to create his first work for an American company. Needless to say, we are ecstatic that he’s finally here! The still-to-be-named ballet, set to Lowell Liebermann’s “Piano Concerto No. 1,” will premiere in January 2012.

Liam recently chatted with us about how this opportunity presented itself to him, and some inside on the piece and the way he works. Stay tuned for more!

Post by Principal Dancer Jennifer Kronenberg

What a great honor it was to dance the role of ‘Juliet’ for MCB’s premiere of the historic ballet Romeo and Juliet, and for our silver anniversary – celebrating the company’s great accomplishments over the last twenty five years. I have not felt such excitement and sheer anticipation at the idea of a performance in a very long time. It seemed like the buzz was everywhere, not only between dancers and staff, but out on the street as well. The public was amazingly enthusiastic over us dancing Romeo and Juliet; anxious even, which of course only added to my own exhilaration!

For weeks I dreamt of opening night. My expectations were very high, and I couldn’t wait to get on stage and dance. When the moment finally arrived I was ridiculously emotional. I was nervous, giddy, excited, and so sad to think that in three short hours, before I even knew what hit me, it would all come to an end.

Would performing this iconic ballet be all that I had expected? Could I really do it justice? I had built it up so much in my mind, though I tried my hardest not to. Would the audience appreciate how much I love and respect the role of ‘Juliet’? Could they understand how much hard work went into preparing for it, how special this all was to me? Did that even really matter?  I hadn’t thought so, but I suddenly found myself worrying about it. So many thoughts were going through my head and I wanted to run away from them.

My first couple of entrances went by like a whirlwind. I yearned to feel something magical, yet it was all moving so fast, and not as smoothly as I had hoped. There were traffic issues backstage, costume changes weren’t going smoothly, and I was sweating all of my makeup off… What happened to the fairytale that I had dreamed about? So far I was way too connected to harsh reality.

But before I could get too disappointed, things changed. In the ball scene, when Carlos’ eyes met mine for the first time, everything slowed down. Time stood still in just that instant, and I felt an overwhelming calm come over me. This was it! This was the feeling that I had been waiting for – the high that I feared would get drowned out by adrenaline and frenzy, and escape me in the performance. I felt overwhelmingly relieved at seeing my Romeo. In that moment, I knew that nothing else mattered. We were in the midst of achieving something great, and infinitely special. I knew it was a performance that I’d remember and treasure always, and one that never had to be, nor could be replicated. I decided in that instant to commit myself to enjoying the ride for as long as it would last.

We’ve danced a number of “R&J’s” since opening weekend, and no two have been exactly alike. I’ve been trying to appreciate how unique and distinctly different each one is from the last. I am so happy, and eternally grateful, to have been given the opportunity to dance ‘Juliet’, and I hope that I’ll be able to grow and evolve with each performance to come.

Photos © Kyle Froman

So much is going on at MCB these days! The final Open Barre of the season is this weekend, Romeo and Juliet closes next weekend at Broward Center, and the Company is rehearsing for the Paris tour!

In all this excitement, something big is happening to a young dancer. Adrienne Carter, a member of the corps de ballet, will be dancing an major role during this weekend’s Open Barre. We caught up with Adrienne for a quick Q&A before she ran off to rehearsal!

MCB: You’re dancing the role of ‘Choleric’ in George Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments this weekend during Open Barre – your first major role with the company! How do you feel?

Adrienne: I am so excited and honored to be given the opportunity!

MCB: What have you found to be the most enjoyable?

Adrienne: This part has always been one of my favorites. Just the fact that I have been given the chance to dance it is enjoyable!

MCB: You will be dancing this role in our intimate studio theater. Does that offer you more or less comfort than if you were dancing on a main stage?

Adrienne: I wouldn’t say it offers more or less comfort, but it is different than dancing in a bigger theater. Even though it is a smaller audience, they are a lot closer and much more visible than usual.

MCB: What do you hope to gain from this experience?

Adrienne: I hope that the experience of dancing this role, especially in the small studio theater, helps me grow as a dancer and develop more maturity on stage.

Post by Rebecca King, Corps de Ballet

In Program III, Miami City Ballet brings you the third of four company premieres, Paul Taylor’s Promethean Fire. I sat down with a few dancers to talk to them about dancing this piece for the first time.

The last Paul Taylor work that MCB performed was Company B last season. For those of you who have seen this spectacular work, you may agree with Jennifer Lauren when she describes it as “playful and lighthearted.” But she mentions that this work is much different than Promethean Fire, not only in energy, but also in style. “Promethean Fire is much more controlled with a specific technique.” This piece is rumored to be Taylor’s choreographic reaction to the tragedy of 9/11. Leigh Esty observed that this piece reflects the sediments of that day, calling it “emotional, almost even dark.”

With a different Taylor style to conquer, Ms. Lauren said, “the steps began to feel good once I became more comfortable and more familiar with the ballet. Until then, it all felt very foreign to me.” Ms. Esty added that this piece is much more “modern” than any Taylor work the company has done in recent history.

“The first movement of Promethean Fire never stops. Getting through until the end was a challenge for me at first,” says Ms. Lauren. Ms. Esty adds that she found herself having difficulties with the steps where she had to gracefully get from a standing position to the floor. “I have never had to do so much crawling around on the floor in my life!” she muses.

The dancers’ favorite moment in this work was unanimous. “The first movement is fast and chaotic,” Ms. Lauren describes, “then all of a sudden everyone slows down moving in unison.” This section is called the “back exercise” as it is similar to an exercise you work on in a modern class. Ms. Esty agrees that she likes this moment adding, “the human pile we create at the end is also a highlight for me. It is a really powerful moment.”

There is always an element that the dancers look forward to most when it comes to dancing Taylor pieces: working with Patrick Corbin. Mr. Corbin danced for Paul Taylor, now has his own company CorbinDances, and comes to Miami to set Taylor pieces on MCB.

When I asked the dancers about Patrick, everyone began to gush. “I love Patrick. I think he has a really amazing way of seeing a dancer for who they are and working with them to develop into better dancers. He just helps you love yourself as a dancer,” says Stephen Satterfield. Ms. Lauren points out his positive and calming energy. Ashely Knox agrees, saying, “He knows that this style of dance is foreign to us and does everything he can to encourage us.” Ms. Esty chimes in saying, “He is just inspiring because you can tell he loves what he does and it makes you want to love what you do.”

Patrick Corbin working with MCB.

You may have seen Leigh-Ann Esty front and center during Program III in George Balanchine’s Scotch Symphony as the “Scotch Girl” soloist. If you haven’t seen her, you won’t want to miss this diverse program which includes Paul Taylor’s Promethean Fire and Twyla Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs. And Leigh dances in all three pieces!

We recently chatted with Leigh about the experience of dancing a featured role and dancing in these three, very different works.

Paul Taylor’s Promethean Fire, the third company premiere of the season, opens tonight at Adrienne Arsht Center! Principal dancer Yann Trividic took the Flip camera along this week. Join us as Yann follows this amazing work.

Over the past five years, Patrick Corbin has been setting Paul Taylor works on MCB. This season he returned for the company premiere of Promethean Fire. We sat down with him for a chat on this powerful, moving piece that will be performed during Program III.

Don’t miss the premiere of Promethean Fire, as well as George Balanchine’s Scotch Symphony and Twyla Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs. Click here for tickets.

Newly promoted soloist Jennifer Lauren will be dancing the role of The Sleepwalker in George Balanchine’s La Sonnambula for the first time this weekend at Broward Center. We asked her a few questions about the role and also threw in a some about what she’s dancing in Western Symphony.

MCB: Congratulations on your recent promotion to Soloist! In what way does it feel different to be at a higher rank?

Jennifer: I see being promoted as a wonderful acknowledgment of my dedication, artistry and hard work. I have enjoyed the past three and a half years the same as I do now. My rank doesn’t make me feel like a better dancer. Ultimately my performances enrich me most as a ballerina.

MCB: You will be dancing The Sleepwalker in George Balanchine’s La Sonnambula this weekend.  What do you think will be the most enjoyable part of this role?

Jennifer: Finally getting to perform it onstage with all the scenery, lights and especially the nightgown. With all these elements coming together, I can truly embrace the role and let myself become The Sleepwalker.

MCB: Will you mentally prepare differently to go on stage for this role as compared to others?

Jennifer: Yes. I will try to feel as if I cannot see with my eyes, but with my body.  It is a completely different way of dancing than I am used to.

MCB: The Sleepwalker wears her hair down.  Does this offer you a sense of freedom or a new challenge?

Jennifer: I have a lot of hair, so dancing with it down at first was a little overwhelming. After several rehearsals I began to feel naked with out my hair down. The hair adds so much to the flowing movements in the choreography.

MCB: You stay “on pointe,” gliding around stage on the tips of your toes for much of the role.  Is it hard to be in this constant position for so long?

Jennifer: Yes it is hard when you first start to rehearse the role. After a few painful rehearsals my toes went numb.  But the hard part is when we wouldn’t rehearse for a while and then come back to it. Or even just a week of no rehearsals would soften my toes again. Prior the show I walk around on pointe to prepare my toes.

MCB: At the end of the ballet, you carry the dead Poet off stage in your arms walking slowly backwards.  Carrying a limp man must be hard enough let alone while walking backwards.  Did this take a lot of practice or is it not that hard?

Jennifer: This did not take a lot of practice. You either can carry your partner or you can’t. I just had to do it! I also go up a slight ramp walking backwards with the Poet in my arms. This is something I never imagined myself doing but am proud to say that I can.

MCB: You will also be dancing the second movement of George Balanchine’s Western Symphony.  In your opinion, why are you the only girl in the whole ballet who wears pink tights (although you later put black ones on)?

Jennifer: I’m new to the role, but I think she appears in pinks tights because she needs to be a beautiful vision to lure the man into falling for her. She is a pure ballerina in the man’s mind.

MCB: What do you like about this role?

Jennifer: I like how she mimics quite a few gestures from classical ballets such as Swan Lake and Giselle, which I have performed. It is also a comical piece that is fun to dance with my partner. It’s an Adagio with some cute moments, but also some very dramatic moments.

MCB: When you are dancing special roles, do any of your friends or family come to watch?

Jennifer: My parents have always been there for every step of my career. My husband has always been just as supportive.

MCB: Does it make you more or less nervous knowing they are in the audience?

Jennifer: They are always there when possible, so I am not nervous at all. I enjoy sharing the end result of my hard work and dedication with those who have been instrumental in helping me get to this “pointe.”