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Miami City Ballet

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Miami City Ballet is an American ballet company based in Miami Beach, Florida, led by artistic director Lourdes Lopez.

Miami City Ballet
General information
NameMiami City Ballet
Year founded1986; 38 years ago (1986)
FounderToby Lerner Ansin
Founding artistic directorEdward Villella
Principal venueOphelia & Juan Js. Roca Center
2200 Liberty Avenue, Miami Beach, FL 33139
Websitewww.miamicityballet.org
Artistic staff
Artistic DirectorLourdes Lopez
Ballet MastersRoma Sosenko (Principal), Joan Latham, Arnold Quintane
Principal ConductorGary Sheldon
Other
Official schoolMiami City Ballet School
Exterior view of the Miami City Ballet studios (2008)

MCB was founded in 1985 by Toby Lerner Ansin, a Miami philanthropist.[1] Ansin and the founding board hired Edward Villella,[2] former New York City Ballet principal dancer to be the founding artistic director.[3]

A bulk of the company's repertoire is made up of the work of George Balanchine, though the company also performs works by Jerome Robbins, Martha Graham, José Limón, Twyla Tharp, Trey McIntyre, Mark Morris, Jimmy Gamonet, who was the company's founding Resident Choreographer and Ballet Master from 1986 to 1999, Christopher Wheeldon, Justin Peck, and others, in addition to traditional full-length works including "Giselle," "Don Quixote," and "Swan Lake."[4][5][6]

In 2012, Lourdes Lopez was chosen to replace founding artistic director Edward Villella. Much like Villella, Lopez was a soloist and principal dancer at NYCB. Lopez is greatly influenced by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins.[7][8]

Miami City Ballet features an international ensemble of over 50 dancers. The company has an active repertoire of 88 ballets, including 9 world premiers, and performs over 75 times annually. Miami City Ballet serves as the resident ballet company in theaters in the Fort Lauderdale, Miami, and West Palm Beach areas. In addition, the company regularly tours both domestically and internationally. Its North American appearances include the Kennedy Center, the 1996 Olympic Arts Festival, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, the Los Angeles Music Center, Spoleto Festival USA, Harris Theater (Chicago), the New York City Center, and the Lincoln Center;[9] while theaters and festivals in Europe, Central America, and South America have hosted the company.[10][11][12]

Along with the ballet company, Miami City Ballet hosts a ballet school for students aging between 3 and 18. The school is split into three divisions: Children's division (ages 3 to 7), Student division (ages 8 to 13), and Pre-Professional division (ages 14 to 18).[13] Students must audition to be placed in a division. Like the company, the school focuses on the Balanchine method (or Balanchine technique). MCB school students have the opportunity to perform in the yearly Nutcracker performance that the Miami City Ballet company puts together, and there are a number of intensive summer programs that students are eligible to attend.[13]

Miami City Ballet (2019) - Miami Beach

Dancers

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As of February 2024, the Miami City Ballet Dancers are:[14]

Principals

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Name Nationality Training Joined MCB Promoted to Principal Other Companies
Nathalia Arja  Brazil Escola de Dance Alica Arja
Miami City Ballet School 		2011 2020 Compania de Ballet do Rio de Janeiro
Dawn Atkins  United States The School of Richmond Ballet
Boston Ballet School 		2021 2022 Boston Ballet
Katia Carranza  Mexico Escuela Superior de Musica de Danza de Monterrey 1998, 2017 2004, 2017 Ballet de Monterrey
Renan Cerdeiro  Brazil Escola de Danca Alice Arja
Miami City Ballet School 		2010 2013
Hannah Fischer  United States Canada's National Ballet School 2020 2023 The National Ballet of Canada
Samantha Hope Galler The Ballet Academy, Inc.
Boston Ballet School
Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet
Boston Conservatory 		2014 2022 Alabama Ballet
Ashley Knox Ann Parsley's School of Dance
The Rochester School of Dance
School of American Ballet
Miami City Ballet School 		2003 2021
Jennifer Lauren Royal Academy of Dance
Alabama Ballet Pre-Apprentice Program 		2007 2017 Alabama Ballet
Steven Loch Ballet Conservatory (Texas)
Harid Conservatory
Pacific Northwest Ballet School 		2021 N/A, Joined as Principal Pacific Northwest Ballet
Yulia Moskalenko  Ukraine Kyiv State Ballet College 2022 N/A, joined as Principal National Opera of Ukraine
Stanislav Olshanskyi Kyiv State Choreographic School 2022 N/A, Joined as Principal National Opera of Ukraine
Alexander Peters  United States Allegheny Ballet Academy
School of American Ballet
Royal Danish Ballet 		2017 2019 Kansas City Ballet
Pennsylvania Ballet
Chase Swatosh Retter's Academy of Dance
Joffrey Ballet School
School of American Ballet 		2010 2023

Soloists

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Name Nationality Training Joined MCB Promoted to Soloist Soloist Rank
Jordan-Elizabeth Long  United States Southwest Virginia Ballet 2014 N/A, Joined as Soloist Principal Soloist
Taylor Naturkas Crooked Tree Arts Center School of Ballet
Miami City Ballet School 		2020 2022 Principal Soloist
Damian Zamorano  Cuba Provincial School of Ballet "Alejo Carpentier"
Escuela Nacional De Danza Clasica y Contemporanea
Miami City Ballet School 		2013 2021 Principal Soloist
Adrienne Carter  United States Impact Dance of Atlanta
Miami City Ballet School 		2010 2022 Soloist
Cameron Catazaro School of Canton Ballet
Ballet Academy East
Miami City Ballet School 		2019 2023 Soloist
Satoki Habuchi  Japan Naomi Funatsuki Ballet Studio
Tazuru Ichiyanagi Ballet School
Miami City Ballet School 		2017 2024 Soloist
Brooks Landegger  United States School of American Ballet 2022 2024 Soloist
Ariel Rose Ballet Academy East
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School 		2013 2022 Soloist
Nicole Stalker Cheryl Lee Studio of Dance
The Chautauqua Institute
The Rock School for Dance Education 		2008 2023 Soloist

References

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  1. ^ The Miami Herald Wednesday, May 21, 1997, Page 1 D, Living & Arts Section, A Woman of Vision
  2. ^ Myers, Barbara. "Moving Art at the Miami City Ballet" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 22, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  3. ^ Times, George Volsky and Special To the New York (October 16, 1986). "DEBUT SET FOR VILLELLA'S MIAMI BALLET". The New York Times.
  4. ^ "MCB Repertoire". Miami City Ballet. Retrieved February 18, 2009.
  5. ^ Craine, Debra; Mackrell, Judith (2010). The Oxford Dictionary of Dance (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199563449.
  6. ^ Murray, Donna. "Review: Miami City Ballet shows it understands 'Modern Masters' in West Palm Beach show". Palm Beach Daily News. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  7. ^ Wakin, Daniel (April 2, 2012). "Lourdes Lopez Named New Director of Miami City Ballet". The New York Times. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
  8. ^ "Lourdes Lopez:A Lifetime in the Ballet | Inspicio". Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  9. ^ "Miami company makes its mark on the jaded NY crowd". International Herald Tribune. Associated Press. January 28, 2009. Archived from the original on February 5, 2009. Retrieved February 18, 2009.
  10. ^ "Miami City Ballet: About Us". Miami City Ballet. Archived from the original on April 2, 2014. Retrieved February 18, 2009.
  11. ^ Catton, Pia (April 16, 2016). "Miami City Ballet's Night in New York". The Wall Street Journal. p. 1. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  12. ^ "Miami City Ballet". City of Miami Beach. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  13. ^ a b "Miami City Ballet School". miamicityballet.org.
  14. ^ "Meet Our Dancers".
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