Miami City Ballet Blog

So far the Company’s tour to Paris has been a huge success! If you weren’t able to travel to France, have no fear. Zoe Zien has already started giving us the play-by-play on the tour. The second installment of Zoe’s Paris coverage takes us into the dressing rooms, reveals what the dancers do on their free day, and listens in on conversations!

Check back with us for more Paris happenings!

As you may have heard, MCB is currently on a three-week tour in Paris! Corps dancer Zoe Zien is bringing us all the action and keeping us in touch with the Company! Follow Zoe and the rest of the dancers through her virtual tour journal. Stay tuned for more!

In just 24 hours the Company will be boarding a plane to Paris! There has been so much excitement about this tour and it doesn’t end here. Zoe Zien, corps dancer and our Paris correspondent, will be bringing us all the Parisian happenings through iPhone videos, photos, and blog entries.

Zoe began her Paris coverage recently in the studios with some pre-tour action.

Stay tuned for more!

Post by Jennifer Lauren, Soloist

Celebrating MCB’s 25th anniversary this past season was very exciting.  Amongst all the wonderful performances, we had something in the back of our minds: PARIS! I was thrilled to find out we would be performing there for three weeks.  The next question I had in my mind was, how am I going to pack for this long stay? How many pointe shoes should I bring? Do I really need five different kinds of eyeshadow and lipstick?  I’ve never really been outside the country, much less actually lived and worked in Paris for three weeks.

It’s been a little overwhelming to prepare for this trip, but thanks to our wonderful MCB production/wardrobe staff, we were given a great advantage. We were able to ship our pointe shoes/ballet slippers and one theater case on the boat headed to Paris last week. Some of you may be asking what a theater case is. For me, it’s a suitcase devoted only to items needed for a long weekend, or tour, of performances. Most of us have one that we haul around from theater to theater all season long. To keep up with everything I’m taking in my theater case, I wrote it all down. We were told whatever came to Paris on the boat had to come back on the boat. Even our used pointe shoes. We were also told we wouldn’t see our cases for a whole month after the tour.

Here is my list:

-My trusty MCB Company Dancer jacket and sweat pants.

-A picture of my husband that he printed for me to take to all theaters. (It says “Grow old with me. The best is yet to be!”)

-A small bookmark with me and my best friend, Kyle, dancing together in Alabama.

-A fortune from a fortune cookie.

-Two formal dresses and a pair of high heels that I will wear to any MCB related events.

-My blue down booties.

-Hairspray, hair pins, hair nets and two brushes.

-Five pairs of fake eyelashes and eyelash glue.

-Liquid eyeliner, white and brown eyeliner and a pencil sharpener.

-Studio fix (pressed powder) and concealer.

-My palette of all my eye shadows.

-I could’t put my lipsticks in my case because of the heat on the boat, but I really can make due with just one good color for all the shows.

-Five pairs of tights, two skirts, three pairs of leg warmers, eight leotards and one pair of ballet slippers — all for company class that my boss, Edward Villella teaches.

-A packet of corn cushions and toe nail clippers. (Both very important to have on hand at all times.)

Last but definitely not least, 14 pairs of pionte shoes, (with the elastic and ribbon already sewn) to get me through one of the best experiences of my life!

With the Paris tour just a hop, skip, and a jump away, everyone is doing all they can to prepare — including brushing up on their French!

MCB will perform in Paris during the popular dance festival Les Etés de la Danse at Théâtre du Châtelet July 6-23, 2011.

Alexei Ratmansky has been commissioned to create an original ballet for the Company, which will have its world premiere in March 2012 – with live music by The Cleveland Orchestra (TCO). This one-time MCB/TCO performance and gala will take place at Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami. The new Ratmansky ballet – Symphonic Dances – then will become part of Miami City Ballet’s repertoire during the 2012-2013 Season.

Post by Jeanette Delgado, Principal Dancer

Last summer I saw New York City Ballet dance a new work by Alexei Ratmansky and I was blown away! It was everything new and fresh about dancing but still true to ballet and musicality. I still have visions of this ballet and I am so moved by them. Never did I dream that we would get the chance to work with such an incredible artist!

The two weeks we recently spent working with Mr. Ratmansky felt like a glimpse into what the dancers who worked for George Balanchine must have felt! To be a part of someone’s creative process has been amazing! He pushed us to move in ways we’ve never moved nor ever thought of moving before. It is super challenging but he knows exactly how to ask for what he wants and shows it in the most inspiring way! It is a lot of work to really grasp the movement but it’s work that I can’t wait to continue!

Alexei Ratmansky working with MCB dancers.

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.