Feb 19, 2013 Comments
Starring in George Balanchine’s The Steadfast Tin Soldier™, Soloist Jennifer Lauren breaks down this delightful, yet tragic love story!
See it performed LIVE as part of Program III: The Masters!
Feb 12, 2013 Comments
Corps dancer Jovani Furlan is back to take over our Instagram feed as this week’s guest photographer! Jovani will be snapping shots of the dancers hard at work rehearsing for Program III: The Masters and Program IV: Broadway and Ballet.
Jovani shared a new fun fact (along with some pictures) for his second stint at Instagram!
Fun Fact: In 2007, Jovani performed the pas de trois of the Russian version of The Nutcracker for Mikhail Baryshnikov at his ballet school in Brazil. Baryshnikov LOVED the performance !
Last season, Jovani was able to reunite with Baryshnikov, when he made a surprise visit to our studios during rehearsals of
Alexei Ratmansky’s Symphonic Dances.
Check out Jovani’s photos this week by following us on Instagram #JovaniMCBphotos. See them brought to life onstage at the Kravis Center, February 22-24, for the opening of Program III: The Masters.
Photo: Headshot © Gio Alma.
Feb 11, 2013 Comments
For those of you who didn’t make it to the Miami HEAT vs. L.A. Lakers game last night, we picked up a copy of TIPOFF — the official in-game program book for the MiamiHEAT!
Read the full story inside TIPOFF here!
Feb 4, 2013 Comments
Corps dancer Leigh-Ann Esty is back on Instagram! Last August, she became the first guest photographer for our inaugural Instagram series. This week, Leigh-Ann will take us behind-the-scenes when the company performs its second program in Naples! #LeighMCBPhotos
Fun Fact about Leigh: She and her sister Sara are the official spokesmodels for Suffolk Pointe’s new leotard line! Look out for more to come!
Photo © Gio Alma.
Jan 22, 2013 Comments
Corps dancer Adriana Pierce is taking over our Instagram feed in the midst of a very busy week for Miami City Ballet. Right now, the dancers are battling reptiles as they make their way across Alligator Alley for the opening of our repertory season in Naples. After two days in Naples, the company will venture east to Palm Beach for the closing of Program II: Tradition and Innovation. Adriana will capture the final performances of Liam Scarlett’s Euphotic, two Balanchine favorites, and the popular Don Quixote Pas De Deux, wrapping up a sensational second program of our 27th season. #AdrianaMCBphotos
Fun Fact about Adriana: Her most prized possession is a framed, signed photo of Liza Minnelli!
Photo © Gio Alma.
Jan 15, 2013 Comments
After an exciting opening weekend of Program II: Tradition and Innovation, Soloist Jennifer Lauren is taking over our Instagram feed to keep up the momentum for performances at the Broward Center. Look out for her behind-the-scenes shots (#JenLaurenMCBphotos) and performance in George Balanchine’s Divertimento No. 15 and Liam Scarlett’s new work Euphotic.
Fun fact about Lauren: She comes from a family of artists! Before dancing with MCB, Lauren’s mother made many of her costumes, including the tutu below from Alabama Ballet’s production of Swan Lake. Her father also photographed almost every performance.
You can catch Jennifer live during Program II: Tradition and Innovation at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Jan. 18-20. For tickets call our box office at 305.929-7010 or visti miamicityballet.org.
Jan 14, 2013 Comments
When asked what ballet she was most excited about performing this season, Principal Patricia Delgado knew right away that it was George Balanchine’s Duo Concertant.
Patricia recounts, “I remember seeing the ballet when I was a student at Miami City Ballet School, and thinking, ‘I have never seen anything like this!’ The dancers simply stand and listen to the music onstage, admiring and respecting it, which sets the mood of the piece so beautifully. It is unlike any of Balanchine’s other ballets. The spotlighting effects and stylized choreography evoke drama and love, making the piece completely mesmerizing. Although I have been with Miami City Ballet for 12 years, I have never had the opportunity to perform the ballet, until now. I always thought it would be a dream to dance that pas de deux, so when I saw it selected for Program II, I thought, ‘I can’t wait!’ Knowing Duo Concertant was in the programming inspired me to get me through my injury last season.”
Patricia also explained the significant role that a répétiteur — someone who teaches a ballet’s steps and interpretation of roles — plays to the process of bringing specific works to the stage. “Répétiteurs often have personal experience working with a ballet’s original choreographer and are charged with keeping the ballets alive. The Balanchine Foundation sent répétiteur Ben Huys to stage Duo Concertant and perfect our movement so that it reflects the original intent of “Mr. B” himself. It’s the most rewarding process for the dancers to work with the répétiteur because we get all of the backstage stories and details of the choreography. Then you can do the ballet justice onstage and make it your own.”
See Patricia perform in George Balanchine’s Duo Concertant as part of Program II: Tradition and Innovation, January 18-20, at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.
Photos: Headshot © Gio Alma. Stage shot by Rebecca King.
Jan 8, 2013 Comments
When Liam Scarlett — the young, acclaimed choreographer from London’s The Royal Ballet — brought our Costume Designer and Wardrobe Director Haydée Morales his costume design sketches for his new work Euphotic, she knew that she was up to the challenge!
The first step in bringing Scarlett’s vision to life was helping him determine the full color palette and types of fabrics that were aesthetically appealing, yet allowed the dancers to move freely. Scarlett wanted the costume hues to include dark blue for the corps dancers, radiant yellow for the principals, and a combination of yellow and blue for the soloists to tie the piece together. He also wanted the costumes to depict the ombré effect, which shows the consistent gradient of a color from its lightest shade to its darkest.
To determine the exact tones of the ombré, Costume Artist Maria Morales tested how various colors of dye displayed against the three types of fabric used in Scarlett’s piece. For two weeks, Maria consistently performed dye work for all of the fabric used in the ballet’s costumes. Using three pots full of different colors of dye and hot boiling water, she created beautiful ombrés for each woman’s skirt, man’s unitard, and a small detailed section on each woman’s bodice — dyeing a total of 62 pieces of fabric!
While Maria was busy with dye work, the rest of the team worked on sewing the costumes. The first step in the costume construction process was creating muslins, which are the inner piece of the bodice used for the first costume fitting, so that any necessary alterations will not affect the final fabric used on the exterior of the costume. The seamstresses also built the mens unitards, which were sewn in two parts — the top half and the bottom half — and then dyed as separate parts to achieve a contrast of dark and light tones near the torso of the costume.
After assembling the costumes, a second round of fittings and a dress rehearsal with the dancers rehearsing the ballet in full costume helped Haydeé determine if the costumes fit and moved properly. A final round of fittings then took place to take care of the subtle details such as, adjusting shoulder straps or the length of the skirt. Once Haydeé and her team completed these finishing components the costumes were ready for the stage!
See what the final costume looks like in motion during the world premiere of Euphotic during Program II: Tradition and Innovation.
Jan 7, 2013 Comments
This week’s guest photographer on Instagram is no other than corps dancer Rebecca King! Rebecca will be capturing an important piece of dance history as Liam Scarlett’s Euphotic makes its world premiere debut on Friday, January 11. From rehearsals in our studios, to the dressing rooms, to the stage, Rebecca will make sure that no one misses out on the exciting action this week!
Fun fact about Rebecca: She has her own blog! Check it out by clicking here!
Jan 3, 2013 Comments
Liam Scarlett of London’s The Royal Ballet gives us the inside scoop on Euphotic — his second world premiere for Miami City Ballet to debut on January 11 at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami, FL, as part of Program II: Tradition and Innovation.
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