Last month, MCB was excited to hit the road for the first of several national tour engagements taking place this season. The Company performed at three events during the 9th annual Chicago Dancing Festival, beginning with George Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante on Aug. 27 at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance. The Company also performed Twyla Tharp’s Sweet Fields on August 29 at the Jay Pritzker Pavillion in Millennium Park.
Teen Vogue produced a new documentary “Strictly Ballet 2” offering an inside look at the lives of teen dancers.
The show follows six ballet dancers from Cuba, Brazil, Russia and Clearwater, Florida at the Miami City Ballet School.
“I always thought a ballet class was the most democratic place in the world because you walk in and you are judged not by your race or gender or social economic position,” Lourdes Lopez, artistic director Miami City Ballet. “You are judged by your talent and your judged by your effort that you put in.”
Miami City Ballet might only carry Miami in its name, but the company actually serves South Florida’s tri-county area: Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach, as well as Collier County (Naples) on Florida’s West Coast. That’s a lot of ground to cover for one classical ballet company, which comes with a lot of responsibility to such expansive and diverse communities. Even so, Miami City Ballet has not only survived, but in the last two seasons has begun to thrive like never before.
MIAMI BEACH, FL – (March 18, 2015) – Miami City Ballet, in partnership with Miami-Dade County Public Schools and the office of the Superintendent of Schools Alberto M. Carvalho, announces the launch of Ballet Bus, a year-round dance scholarship program reaching deep into the Miami-Dade County community to provide arts education and access to students from all backgrounds. The pilot year of the program will target 17 children from District Title I Schools with both talent and need – and provide a long-term investment in each child.
Artistic Director Lourdes Lopez’s vision for Miami City Ballet was apparent in the tasteful programming of Saturday’s performance at the Kravis Center, with the de rigueur Balanchine work leading off the evening followed by two company premieres.
Lopez who has been “shopping” for new works that would flatter and challenge the company, has been successful. For Program III: Passion and Grace, she brought a rarely seen contemporary work by avant-garde choreographer Tywla Tharp and a sleek contemporary take on the tale of Carmen by British choreographer Richard Alston. Like Balanchine, both of these dance-makers are known for their extremely musical choreography.
The program, ruled by the Delgado sisters, Patricia and Jeanette, with a welcomed sprinkling of new faces doing lead roles, was appealing, well-balanced and well-danced. The company looked strong and confident. The Opus One Orchestra played with gusto and aplomb and the production values were polished and refined.
Réputé pour ses danseurs surentraînés, rompus aux chorégraphies de George Balanchine, le Miami City Ballet (MCB) revient en force à Ottawa dans un triple programme après plus d’une décennie d’absence.
«Encourager le changement», c’est la raison que Cathy Levy, productrice en danse du CNA nous avait donnée pour justifier ce retour en scène canadienne, dès demain soir et jusqu’à samedi.
L’histoire de sa nouvelle directrice Lourdes Lopez, à la barre du MCB depuis 2012, c’est avant tout celle d’une réussite à part entière dans le monde de la danse. Née à LaHavane, elle n’a pas deux ans quand la révolution cubaine éclate. «Nous sommes arrivés à Miami avec mes proches en tant qu’immigrants, sans argent, rappelle-t-elle. Les États-Unis nous ont permis de repartir de l’avant et de progresser.»
This month our dancers left behind the warm South Florida weather and headed to Vancouver, British Columbia for a weekend of special performances. Hosted by Ballet BC, the Company presented a full program of masterworks by George Balanchine with performances of Serenade, Symphony in Three Movements and Ballo della Regina. The performances, which received rave reviews, marked the company’s debut in Vancouver.
Miami City Ballet hosted an exclusive members-only Meet and Greet cocktail event for upper level Artist’s Circle donors, all 50 MCB dancers, and Artistic Director Lourdes Lopez. Sponsored by Frank & Gabriele Armstrong, the event was a champagne-filled soiree on the private balcony of MCB headquarters.
A high-intensity drama about spirited Spaniards seems like such a good fit for Miami City Ballet, you’d think company artistic director Lourdes Lopez ran out looking for Carmen. But in a way it was Carmen that came to her.
As the centerpiece of MCB’s third program of the season, this story ballet by contemporary British choreographer Richard Alston has all the elements to give it prominence in the troupe’s repertoire. And, luckily for the choreographer, MCB has the craft and personalities from corps to principals — with force, speed, flair — to offer Carmen interpretive luxury in its first artistic home in America.
Dance lovers! Miami City Ballet is coming to town for the first time ever! Presented by Ballet BC, the renowned company will grace the QE stage for four performances only on February 19 to 21.
We’ve got a great interview with Miami City Ballet’s Artistic Director, Lourdes Lopez. Lopez brings a nearly 40-year career in dance, television, teaching and arts management.
As a Soloist and Principal Dancer with New York City Ballet, she danced for two legends of the art form, George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. She co-founded Morphoses with Christopher Wheeldon in 2007 — a New York-based dance company aiming to revitalize dance through innovative collaborations with important artists from the worlds of music, visual arts, design, film and fashion; and by inviting younger and broader audiences to engage in and actively experience dance.