MCB Opens Program II At Adrienne Arsht Center With The Company Premiere Of Paul Taylor’s Mercuric Tidings

Villella’s ?FOX-TROT? and Balanchine’s Ballet Imperial also FeaturedMiami City Ballet’s Program II will show at the Adrienne Arsht Center and will feature ?THE FOX-TROT: Dancing in the Dark,? Mercuric Tidings, and Ballet Imperial.? Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts is located at 1300 Biscayne Blvd. Performances are on Friday, January 9 at 8p.m.; Saturday, January 10 at 8p.m.; and Sunday, January 11 at 2p.m.???? When Mercuric Tidings, choreographed by Paul Taylor, one of the greatest contemporary choreographers of our time, had its premiere in 1982, The New York Times hailed it ?as a dance work that burst seemingly into song.?A quarter of a century later, The New York Observer called it ?a glorious outburst of kinetic excitement?From the first moment, [the dancers] are in perpetual motion, blasting through space.? Taylor even acknowledged, ?It’s fast, it’s fast.? And one member of the original cast named it the hardest piece she ever danced with the Paul Taylor Company. Yet there’s no sense of strain as its thirteen dancers fling themselves on and off stage in their flamingo-and-white costumes, originally designed by Gene Moore, to the sublime symphonic music of Schubert; everything is harmonious, happy, uplifting. Mercuric Tidings, possibly this great modern choreographer’s most balletic work, is a welcome addition to Miami City Ballet’s Taylor repertory, which already includes Company B, Aureole, 3 Epitaphs, Esplanade, Funny Papers, Arden Court, and most recently Piazzolla Caldera. Patrick Corbin, former dancer with the Paul Taylor Company, staged the piece for Miami City Ballet.?THE FOX-TROT: Dancing in the Dark? is the third section of Edward Villella’s full-length ballet The Neighborhood Ballroom which premiered in 2003. This section highlights the music of the 1940s World War II era. Swing music – a type of jazz with a heavy emphasis on a syncopated rhythm, – was widely popular and came to define an entire generation.? As played by the extraordinary musicians in the big bands of Duke Ellington, Artie Shaw, Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman and others, the music was ?loose, free, and completely modern.?? There were ?hot? bands, emphasizing a hard-driving sound suited to dancing frantic, dare-devil lindy hops, and there were ?sweet? bands, emphasizing sentimental emotions and slower ballads suited to dancing romantic foxtrots. Villella’s loving reconstruction of American life and dance during this period is filled with romance, seduction, jealousy–and some other things?that occur when couples go dancing in the dark?Also on the program is George Balanchine’s Ballet Imperial, a plotless work that is as technically demanding as it is deeply rewarding. Ballet Imperial conveys the spirit and grandeur of imperial St. Petersburg. Balanchine described the ballet as ?a contemporary tribute to Petipa, the father of classical ballet, and to Tchaikovsky, his greatest composer.?Originally choreographed in 1941 for American Ballet Caravan, the ballet was reworked by Balanchine as Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2 for New York City Ballet in 1973. If features a large cast of 29 dancers.A pre-performance talk by Edward Villella and/or his artistic staff will be conducted, free to the ticketed audience 55 minutes prior to curtain in the theater.Tickets are available at the Miami City Ballet Box Office, 2200 Liberty Avenue, Miami Beach, FL 33139, and range from $85-$19. The Box Office toll free number is (877) 929-7010 or go to www.miamicityballet.org.? Tickets are also available through the Adrienne Arsht Center Box Office (305) 949-6722. ?Rush? tickets (1/3 off the price of any available B, C and D seats) are available starting one and a half hours before each performance.? Student discounts are available with proper identification on available B, C, and D seats in advance through Miami City Ballet’s Box Office or at the theater starting one and a half hours before the performance. Tickets are also available at all Ticketmaster outlets.Program II will also show at Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in Palm Beach on December 5-7 and at Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale on January 16-18.Programs are subject to change.Miami City Ballet performs in the Tri-County South Florida area: in Broward at Broward Center for Performing Arts, in Miami-Dade at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, and in Palm Beach at Kravis Center for the Performing Arts. MCB is presented as the resident ballet company at the Naples Philharmonic Center in Naples, Florida. The Company also tours extensively.Miami City Ballet thanks Funding Arts Network for its support of Mercuric Tidings.###