Miami City Ballet Gets New Funding

Miami City Ballet announced on Friday that it had lined up $6.5 million in new support as it prepares to celebrate its 30th anniversary next season with a national tour and a new production of George Balanchine’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” with a dash of Florida flavor.

The gifts, which are being made by foundations, board members and individuals, will be “transformative” for the company, Lourdes Lopez, its artistic director, said in a statement.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation pledged to contribute $2.5 million over three years; the Ford Foundation pledged $1.5 million over the same time frame, which the ballet’s board agreed to match, and Claudia and Steven Perles donated $1 million for the company to mount the new production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

The Balanchine ballet has a special resonance in Miami: the role of Oberon was originally danced by Edward Villella, the New York City Ballet principal dancer who went on to become the founding artistic director of Miami City Ballet.

The troupe said that the new “Midsummer” production, which will close the season (and run from March 18 through April 10, 2016) would be “re-imagined as a reflection of the South Florida region” by artists with ties to Miami: Michele Oka Doner, who is designing its costumes and sets, and the playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney, who will serve as dramaturge.

The company plans to perform next season in New York, Chicago and Minneapolis, and said that its tour plans would be announced later this spring.

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