As one of the most renowned ballet companies in the country, Miami City Ballet performs for nearly 125,000 patrons annually during its South Florida home season in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and tours to major cities domestically and internationally, including recent visits to New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles and Paris.

This Black History Month, MCB celebrates the extraordinary Black artists that have made an impact at Miami City Ballet and who continue to contribute to a more prosperous and more diverse cultural and creative landscape.

Nathalia Arja will never forget the Saturday night two years ago, after a final performance as the Firebird, when she got the news that she would be promoted to principal dancer of Miami City Ballet.

There is a reason Swan Lake has remained the world’s most beloved classical ballet for more than a century. It is an achingly beautiful fairytale told through unparalleled virtuosic choreography and Tchaikovsky’s indelible score that has long surpassed the test of time. It tells the story of young Prince Siegfried who falls in love with Princess Odette. Odette and her companions transform into swans under the spell cast by evil sorcerer Baron von Rothbart. Their days are spent gracefully gliding on a lake only to return to their human form at night. The only thing that can break the spell is true love and Rothbart will do anything in his power to stop it.

As timeless as love itself, Swan Lake has been enchanting audiences the world over for more than a century – ever since Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov restaged the work for the Imperial Mariinsky Theater in 1895.

Big Dreams Come True for Dancers at Miami City Ballet School