Miami City Ballet Announces Canada Tour

Miami Beach, FL — Miami City Ballet (MCB) dancers spend their days rehearsing in sunlit studios surrounded by swaying palm trees. But this winter, our (somewhat weather-spoiled) dancers will dig out their winter coats and boots as they travel to Canada for some special performances.

First stop is Vancouver, British Columbia in February at the Queen Elizabeth Theater as part of Ballet BC’s 2014-2015 season and then in March MCB performs in Ottawa, Ontario as part of the National Arts Centre’s 2014-15 dance season. The performances mark the company’s Vancouver premiere and its second time performing in Ottawa (MCB performed at The National Arts Centre in 2003). This is the first time the company has toured since 2011 and its first tour under artistic director Lourdes Lopez.

MCB is one of the United States’ most cherished ballet companies, critically acclaimed for their signature style of ballet – marked with a fiery attack to technique, spontaneous musicality and joyous energy.

Headquartered in the heart of Miami Beach, MCB is known for its cultural diversity, boasting a strong Latin American presence with dancers coming from such countries as Cuba, Brazil, Venezuela and Colombia, among others.

Ms. Lopez says, “Miami City Ballet greatly wishes to expand its reach on the international stage. We are thrilled and grateful to Ballet BC and the National Arts Centre for presenting us in their programming this season, and to have an opportunity to perform at such prestigious venues outside of our home theaters.” She continues, “Mostly, I am looking forward to the company performing stellar ballet of remarkable artistry before our Canadian friends.”

Michael Scolamiero, MCB executive director adds, “Touring is vital to building the profile of any ballet company. Miami City Ballet’s international reputation was developed through invitations to perform outside its home base of South Florida, and these opportunities in Canada offer MCB yet another showcase for our remarkable Company and for our dancers to perform before new audiences.”

Ballet BC will present a full program of masterworks by George Balanchine February 19 – 21 with performances of Serenade, Symphony in Three Movements and Ballo della Regina. The New York Times calls MCB, “one of the world’s leading exponents of choreography by George Balanchine.” The performances here will exquisitely showcase the strength and beauty of its dancers and are the perfect introduction to the company for Vancouver audiences.

Serenade is Balanchine’s first masterpiece created in America, having premiered in 1935. Set to Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings in C, Op. 48, the iconic work is beloved by dance fans worldwide and is a staple of MCB’s repertoire. Ballo della Regina, set to music from Verdi’s opera Don Carlos, is comprised of virtuosic variations that beautifully showcase the technical prowess of MCB dancers. Symphony in Three Movements, set to Stravinsky, highlights some of the most dynamic dance patterns in the neoclassical paradigm.

Tickets for Ballet BC’s presentation of “Balanchine” by Miami City Ballet are on sale now. For more information visit balletbc.com. Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster at 1-855-985-2797 (855-985-ARTS) or online at ticketmaster.ca.

National Arts Centre welcomes MCB back to its stage March 5 – 7 with two Canadian premieres – Alexei Ratmansky’s cinematic Symphonic Dances and Richard Alston’s sultry Carmen. Balanchine’s cheery Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux rounds out the program.

Ratmansky, proclaimed by the New Yorker as, “the man who is remaking ballet,” choreographed Symphonic Dances specifically for MCB dancers. It is a dramatic and visually stunning ballet set to Sergei Rachmaninoff’s final important work — his large-scale Symphonic Dances, Op. 45. Carmen, choreographed by the acclaimed British choreographer Richard Alston, is a smoldering, flamenco-fueled, 50-minute adaptation of the classic saga of passion and betrayal performed to the music of Rodion Shchedrin’s Carmen Suite. While Alston is known for his contemporary choreography, Carmen is a classical ballet featuring elaborate costumes juxtaposed by a modern, minimalist set design.

Performances will feature the National Arts Centre Orchestra. Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux, set to the “lost music” from Swan Lake, Act III, features eight and a half minutes of Balanchine’s signature traits: his surprises, his complexities, his challenging quirks and combinations.

Tickets for National Arts Centre’s presentation of Miami City Ballet are on sale September 2, 2014. For more information or to purchase tickets visit http://nac-cna.ca or call Ticketmaster at 1-888-991-2787.

Attachments