Not only did our dancers have to sharpen their acting skills for the premiere of West Side Story Suite, but they also had to learn SING! Yes, ballerinas singing! Watch the latest video in our Triple Threat series to find out if our dancers can actually carry a tune.
Catch Program III: Triple Threat at the Broward Center (Feb. 21-23) or Kravis Center (Feb. 28-Mar. 2).
LOVE was in the air during our Valentine’s Day opening of Program III: Triple Threat at the Arsht Center this past weekend. Despite heightened nerves, the dancers confronted their fears of acting and singing onstage, casting a love spell on the audience and critics alike! “Fierce and fresh, Miami City Ballet claimed the vibrant territory of musical theater for its own Friday night with the company debut of West Side Story Suite,” wrote The Miami Herald. We can’t wait to do it all again at the Broward Center this weekend, and to capture it all on Instagram is JET lady — aka dancer Jennifer Lauren! Follow her at #JenLaurenMCBphotos.
The process of preparing for West Side Story Suite has been entirely unique, presenting a several new challenges for our dancers. Not only must they master the jazzy, Broadway style of Jerome Robbins’ choreography, but they also must learn to act and sing in front of a live audience! Each week before the Company opens in a new theater, look out for a new video featuring our dancers’ pursuit to become true Triple Threats!
Read more about our West Side Story Suite premiere in The Miami Herald and learn about Balanchine’s Episodes — another new work in Program III — in our blog post from dancer Jovani Furlan.
For more information and tickets on on Program III: Triple Threat click here!
Program III: Triple Threat is finally here! Since the moment our dancers, staff, donors and audience members learned that we would be performing West Side Story Suite, we have not be able to contain our excitement. This ballet is pushing the artistic boundaries of both our dancers and audiences and we cannot wait to see what happens when the curtain rises this Valentine’s Day! Here to capture our dancers making their final preparations before the big premiere on Instagram is Principal Soloist Callie Manning. Follow her at #CallieMCBPhotos.
Jovani Furlan
When the curtain opens on Program III: Triple Threat next week, Miami City Ballet will become one of only two dance companies and the only American company to perform the Paul Taylor solo in Balanchine’s Episodes since New York City Ballet in 1986. Peter Frame — the last dancer to have performed this role and répétiteur for the solo at MCB — referred to it as a “lost work of art.” Now, 27 years later, dancer Jovani Furlan will be one of only a handful of dancers to perform this role. Here, he tells all about this rare and exciting opportunity.
What makes our third program of the season a Triple Threat? Find out in our latest video featuring Artistic Director Lourdes Lopez and see the program performed live. Click here to learn more!
26-year old Justin Peck is the artist behind our most recent commission Chutes and Ladders. Find out how this California kid is climbing the ranks at New York City Ballet and into the spotlight, as one of today’s up-and-coming choreographers. Catch his work performed live during Program II: See the Music.
Helen Ruiz
We are rapidly approaching our final performances of Program II: See the Music at the Kravis Center this weekend. Half-way through the season, we are in the middle of the artistic journey that Lourdes Lopez has planned. We have celebrated a joyous opening with Program I: First Ventures and are now relishing in the music of four distinct ballets that breathe new meaning into Balanchine’s famous words — see the music, hear the dance! Corps de ballet dancer Helen Ruiz will be taking over our Instagram feed to give you a behind-the-scenes look at our dancers preparing in the studio for their performance and onstage at the Kravis Center. Make sure to follow Helen at #HelenMCBphotos to go behind the ballets and see the music on Instagram!
Not many apprentices get the opportunity to perform a leading role in their first year with a professional ballet company. However, during Program II: See the Music, one of MCB’s newest members had that chance! Leanna Rinaldi writes about her experience learning and performing Nacho Duato’s Jardí Tancat below.
After a relaxing, long weekend, we are back in performance mode as we prepare for the opening of Program II: See the Music at the Broward Center in Ft. Lauderdale this Friday. Our Miami debut had audiences and critics raving about the performance. The New York Times wrote, “The evening’s greatest pleasure was the most familiar. Dancing Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco, the Miami dancers showed the company’s exceptional way of revealing the three-dimensionality of dance, contrasting open and closed positions with marvelous boldness.” We can’t wait to see our Broward audience’s reaction this weekend.