Love Series

Love Series – Linda and Edward

We are ending our Love Series with a bang! Here are Edward Villella, Founding Artistic Director and CEO of Miami City Ballet, and his wife Linda Villella, Director of the Miami City Ballet School. Edward and Linda have been married for many, many moons and have a daughter, Crista Villella, who is a ballet mistress with MCB.

We hope you have enjoyed our Love Series! Take the time to celebrate love and friendship on Sunday and have a very happy Valentine’s Day!

More MCB LOVE!

Joan Latham, MCB Ballet Mistress, and former MCB dancer Arnold Quintane, met while dancing together at Miami City Ballet and have been married for ten years! They have two beautiful little girls. Who knows? Maybe they will have the dancing bug just like Mom and Dad.

Principal dancer Deanna Seay and former MCB dancer Mikhail Nikitine completed each other after they met at Miami City Ballet. The married couple recently took the stage together again during Program II in “Diamonds Pas de Deux” to honor Deanna’s last season with the Company. She will be retiring in April after 21 seasons with MCB and will truly be missed.

Deanna Seay and Mikhail Nikitine in Divertimento No. 15. Choreography by George Balanchine. Copyright The George Balanchine Trust. Photo © Steven Caras.

Love Series – Haiyan and Zou

This is such a magical love story! Principal dancer Haiyan Wu and principal soloist Yang Zou (or just Zou, as we call him) crossed paths earlier in life but never met until they were at Miami City Ballet. They recently added the title of “parents” to their resumes after the arrival of their baby boy, Eric William.

More MCB LOVE!
Returning guest artist (and former principal dancer) Katia Carranza and former principal dancer Luis Serrano’s love blossomed out of a friendship created at Miami City Ballet. They are happily married and currently living in Mexico. Luis is a director in Ballet de Monterrey and Katia is a dancer with the company! We are so happy for them and very excited that Katia is back to dance with us once again.

Love Series – Callie and Didier

These two are practically on their way down the isle! Engaged dancers Callie Manning, MCB Soloist, and Didier Bramaz, MCB Principal Soloist, take part in our Love Series. Watch as they look lovingly at each other while giving you a glimpse into their lives.

More MCB LOVE!

Ashley Knox, MCB Corps de Ballet, and Alex Dufaur, former MCB dancer, tied the knot a few years ago and are living happily ever after. Plus, Alex isn’t just an MCB alumni, he also photographs the Company.

Love Series – Leigh-Ann and Bradley

Leigh and Brad, sitting in a tree! In our second installment of the Love Series, Leigh-Ann Esty and Bradley Dunlap, both corps de ballet members, talk about life outside of the Company and play our question game. Will they get them all right?

More MCB LOVE!
Cupid’s aim was on the money when he hit Kristin D’Addario, corps de ballet member, and Peter Doll, former MCB dancer and current Assistant Stage Manager. They are another young, fun couple who met and fell in love at Miami City Ballet.

In honor of Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is on Sunday and love is in the air! It’s amazing how many people have been hit by Cupid’s arrow here at Miami City Ballet. All this week, we will be paying homage to the Company love birds in our MCB Love Series.

Check in each day for video interviews with some of the couples in the Company — Haiyan Wu and Yang Zou, Jennifer Kronenberg and Carlos Guerra, Leigh-Ann Esty and Bradley Dunlap, Callie Manning and Didier Bramaz, and Edward and Linda Villella! We’ll also be posting pictures of dancers who are married to or dating someone they’ve met at MCB.

To kick off our Love Series, here are Jennifer and Carlos! Watch as they talk about their lives together and play a little game to see how well they really know each other.