EDWARD VILLELLA / FOUNDING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

New Beginnings!

The 2011-2012 season opens with Program I on October 21 at Adrienne Arsht Center! With a world premiere by Liam Scarlett, two full-length classics, and the return of Opus One Orchestra, this season promises to be one of the best in MCB history! We’d like to congratulate our newly promoted dancers and welcome new faces to the troupe for this very exciting season.

Promoted to Soloist:

Sara Esty (Photo © Leigh-Ann Esty)

Kleber Rebello (Photo © Kyle Froman)

Promoted to Corps de Ballet:

Andrei Chagas

Suzette Logue

Promoted to Company Apprentice:
Chloe Freytag
Lexie Overholt
Kara White

Welcome back Jeremy Cox!

Jeremy returns for Programs I and II as a principal dancer after performing in Paris with MCB.

New to MCB:

Shimon Ito joined the Corps de Ballet and danced with MCB in Paris. He joins us from Ballet San Jose.

Jonathan Batista – School Scholarship Apprentice
Jovani Furlan – School Scholarship Apprentice
Sara McCahill – School Scholarship Apprentice

Five Positions

It’s been a bright day at MCB to say the least! There was paint everywhere; the lobby was full of onlookers; cameras were flashing — all this for a special treat!

Jordan Schaps and Benjamin Martin, two New York based multimedia artist, worked with MCB School student Ella Titus on a photography project for the Company. Jordan, former creative director of New York Magazine, where he produced other 800 covers and has developed stories for Sports Illustrated, GQ, and InStyle, stepped back into creative director shoes for this exciting project. Benjamin, who has exhibited photographic works in group and solo exhibitions (and plays in a rock band), worked side by side with Jordan. The two painted Ella’s legs and photographed her in each of the five positions. The photos will be part of an oversized banner to be placed on the Miami City Ballet building at 2200 Liberty Avenue, Miami Beach.

Stay tuned for the reveal date. In the meantime, take a look at today’s happenings!

Liam Scarlett: The Man Behind The World Premiere – Part 2

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.

Jeanette Delgado on Liam Scarlett and the World Premiere

MCB’s World Premiere is officially complete! Liam Scarlett has returned home and the dancers are taking some much-deserved time off. But we can’t get enough of the Liam craze! We chatted with principal dancer Jeanette Delgado recently and she seemed to agree with the rest of the dancers who were thrilled with Liam’s work and presence at MCB.

P.S. – There is a special surprise for Jeanette at the end of the video. Enjoy!

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.

Working with Liam Scarlett

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: The Man Behind The World Premiere

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!

Jennifer Kronenberg in Pointe Magazine’s “Teaching With The Stars”

Jennifer Kronenberg was interviewed for the August/September issue of Pointe Magazine about stepping off the stage and into a teaching role.

“I’ve always liked deciphering and explaining things. When I get an idea across to my students, I’m amazed at how much clearer it becomes in my own mind.” – Jennifer Kronenberg

TO READ THE ENTIRE STORY, CLICK HERE.

Saying Goodbye to Ashley and Erick

The five-week Summer Intensive Program is over and Ashley and Erick have moved on to other ventures. We miss them already! It seems like just yesterday we were halfway through the program. Before they left, we chatted with them one final time!

MCB Takes Paris – The Finale – By Zoe Zien

Zoe Zien has taken us along on the Paris tour every step of the way through her virtual journal (click here, here, here, and here to refresh your memory)! In the finale of her Paris coverage, Zoe captures some very emotional moments and literally takes us onstage!

Halfway Through The Summer Intensive

Remember Ashley and Erick? We touched base with them recently to see how it feels to be at the halfway mark of the Summer Intensive Program. Ashley and Erick share with us what they’ve been learning and what works they’ve been rehearsing for the presentation at the end of the summer.