Latest news with #MiamiCityBallet
Los Angeles Times
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Swans, Gupta and ballet on makeshift stage: The Southern California dance superbloom
Los Angeles is neither a dance center nor a dance desert. We don't have much of a history of nourishing major ballet companies. We do have a plethora of smaller companies — modern, classical and international. You may have to look for it, but somewhere someone is always dancing hereabouts for you. I sampled three very different dance programs last weekend at three distinctive venues in three disparate cities and for three kinds of audiences. The range was enormous but the connections, illuminating. At the grand end of the scale, Miami City Ballet brought its recent production of 'Swan Lake' to Segerstrom Hall in Costa Mesa — beginning a run of varied versions of Tchaikovsky's beloved ballet this summer. It will be Boston Ballet's turn at the Music Center this weekend. San Francisco Ballet gets in the act too, dancing excerpts at the Hollywood Bowl as part of this year's Los Angeles Philharmonic 'Tchaikovsky Spectacular.' On a Television City soundstage in the Fairfax district, American Contemporary Ballet, a quintessential L.A. dance company that explores unusual sites around town, is presenting George Balanchine's modernist classic 'Serenade,' along with a new work by the company's founder, choreographer Lincoln Jones. Meanwhile, on Saturday night, violinist Vijay Gupta and dancer Yamini Kalluri mingled Bach and Indian Kuchipudi dance tradition at the 99-seat Sierra Madre Playhouse. Miami City Ballet has attracted attention for mounting what is being called a historically informed 'Swan Lake' by the noted Bolshoi-trained choreographer Alexei Ratmansky. He has done his best to re-create the 1895 production at the Mariinsky Theater in Ratmansky's hometown of St. Petersburg. Historically informed performance, or HIP, is a loaded term, and 'Swan Lake' is a loaded ballet. HIP came about when the early music movement discovered that trying to re-create, say, the way a Handel opera might have sounded in the 18th century by using period instruments with what was believed to be period practice techniques proved deadly boring. Eventually, the movement realized that using the old instruments in sprightly, imaginative and contemporary ways instead made the music sound newly vital, and even more so when the staging was startlingly up to date. Ratmansky's reconstructed 'Swan Lake' does much the opposite with modern instruments and old-fashioned ballet, and it got off to a disorienting start Sunday night. Tchaikovsky's introduction was played glowingly by the Pacific Symphony in a darkened hall meant to prepare us to enter a different world. But the modern orchestra and distractingly bright audience phones only served to remind us that it is 2025. The orchestras of the late 19th century had lighter, more spirited-sounding instruments, a quality that matched the choreography of the time. But when Sunday's curtain rose to archaic scenery, costumes, choreography and acting, it felt, in this context, like wandering into a tacky antique shop. That said, Ratmansky has a lot to offer. Going back to 1895 can, in fact, signal newness. There is no definitive version of 'Swan Lake.' Tchaikovsky revised it after the first 1877 version but died before finishing what became the somewhat standard version in 1895. Even so, choreographers, dancers, producers and even composers have added their two cents' worth. The ballet can end in triumph or tragedy. Siegfried and his swan-bride Odette may, individually or together, live or drown. 'Swan Lake' has become so familiar that modern embellishments become just a lot more baggage. In this sense, Ratmansky's back-to-the-future compromise with modernity is an excellent starting place for rethinking not just an iconic ballet but ballet itself and the origins of its singular beauty. The two swan acts display an unfussy delicacy. Cameron Catazaro, a dashing and athletic Siegfried, and Samantha Hope Galler, a sweetly innocent Odette and vivacious Odile, might have been stick figures magically wondrous once in motion. Meaning was found in Siegfried's impetuous leap and the Black Swan's studied 32 fouettés. All else was distraction. That is precisely the next step Balanchine took 40 years later, in 1935, with his 'Serenade,' which uses Tchaikovsky's 'Serenade for Strings,' written just after he composed 'Swan Lake.' In Balanchine's first ballet since arriving in the U.S. in 1933, the Russian-Georgian choreographer wanted to create a new kind of ballet for a new world — no story, just breathtaking design. Although ACB made no mention of the fact, Balanchine moved to L.A. in 1938, three years after the American premiere of 'Serenade,' to a house just a few blocks up Fairfax Avenue from Television City. In the few years he spent in Hollywood, he played a significant role in making dance for the movies that entranced the world. ACB, though, did seem to have movies on its mind in the darkened soundstage with the dancers lit as though in a black-and-white film. But with the audience on bleachers very close to the makeshift stage, the musicians unseen behind the seats and the dancers up close, there was also a stark intimacy that exposed the exacting effort in re-creating the beauty of Balanchine's steps. The effect was of being in the moment and, at the same time, going into the future. 'Serenade' was preceded by the premiere of 'The Euterpides,' a short ballet with a score by Alma Deutscher. The 20-year-old British composer, pianist, violinist and conductor wrote her first opera, 'Cinderella,' which has been produced by Opera San José and elsewhere, at 10. 'The Euterpides' is her first ballet, and it offers its own brand of time travel. Each variation on a Viennese waltz tune for strings and piano represents one of the classical Greek muses. The score sounds as though it could have been written in Tchaikovsky's day, although Deutscher uses contemporary techniques to reveal each muse's character. 'Pneume,' the goddess of breath, gets an extra beat here and there, slightly skewing the rhythm. Jones relies on a dance vocabulary, evolved from Balanchine, for the five women, each of whom is a muse, as well as the male Mortal employed for a final pas de deux. History, here, ultimately overwhelms the new staging in a swank contemporary environment. Gupta makes the strongest conciliation between the then and the now in his brilliant 'When the Violin.' On the surface, he invites an intriguing cultural exchange by performing Bach's solo Violin Partita No. 2 and Sonata No. 3 with Kalluri exploring ways in which she can express mood or find rhythmic activity in selected movements. She wears modern dress and is so attuned to the music that the separation of cultures appears as readily bridgeable as that of historic periods. Well known in L.A., having joined the Phil in 2007 at age 19, Gupta has gone on to found Street Symphony, which serves homeless and incarcerated communities, and to become an inspirational TED talker. He is a recipient of a MacArthur fellowship and, since leaving the Phil, a regular performer around town in chamber programs and plays a Baroque violin in the L.A.-based music ensemble Tesserae. For 'When the Violin,' Gupta employs a modern instrument in a highly expressive contemporary style, holding notes and expanding time as though a sarabande might turn into a raga. He pauses to recite poetry, be it Sufi or Rilke. His tone is big, bold and gripping, especially in the wonderful acoustics of this small theater. The Bach pieces are tied together by composer Reena Esmail's affecting solo for 'When the Violin,' in which the worlds of Bach, Indian music and Kuchipudi dance all seem to come from the same deep sense of belonging together and belonging here and now. It took only a violinist and a dancer to show that no matter how enormous the range, the connections are, in such a dance, inevitable.
Los Angeles Times
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Miami City Ballet brings ‘Swan Lake' to Segerstrom
The origins of 'Swan Lake' are difficult to trace, though most audiences accept the story has roots in Russian and German folktales and most ballet companies base their productions on the 1895 revival of it. From June 20 to 22, Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa presents a particularly captivating version of it performed by Miami City Ballet. The ballet is choreographed by renowned dancemaker Alexei Ratmansky. He reconstructed this version of 'Swan Lake' using historical notations and archival material that dates back to that 1895 revival performed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov at Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, creating an 'historically informed' presentation of the iconic ballet. Miami City Ballet premiered this staging of 'Swan Lake' in 2022 under longtime artistic director Lourdes Lopez. 'Every major ballet company performs a version of 'Swan Lake' as it is truly considered the epitome of classical ballet,' Lopez said in a statement about the original run. 'Add Ratmansky's genius and being witness to the genuine love and dedication he put into restoring the ballet's original intent, we are simply honored and extremely excited for our audiences to experience the greatest of all classical ballets.' Ratmansky specializes in revising 19th- and early 20th-century ballet repertoire and Segerstrom Center has presented his versions of 'The Sleeping Beauty,' 'Whipped Cream' and 'Giselle' on its stage. 'Swan Lake' depicts themes of love, romance and betrayal while following the doomed love of Prince Siegfried and Princess Odette, as they thwart the evil Baron Von Rothbart, who has placed a curse on young women, making them swans by day and human by night. Ratmansky's version with the the Miami City Ballet premiered to much acclaim and executive director Juan José Escalante expressed his excitement about bringing the production to Costa Mesa in a statement. 'Miami City Ballet is honored to share Alexei Ratmansky's magnificent 'Swan Lake' with audiences beyond Florida for the first time since its creation in 2022,' said Escalante. 'This production has been a labor of love and performing it at the Segerstrom Center is a thrilling milestone for the company.' Founded in 1985 by Miami philanthropist Toby Lerner Ansin and headquartered in Miami Beach, Miami City Ballet is one of the country's most renowned dance companies, recognized for its artists' athleticism and vibrancy. The five performances this weekend will also feature support from Orange County's own Pacific Symphony, performing the music of Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Lopez, who established herself as a cultural figure at the New York City Ballet, ends her 13-year tenure at Miami City Ballet at the end of the current season, making this limited performance even more essential. 'Over the past 13 seasons with the company, I have watched our dancers grow artistically and technically and it is a thrill to see them take on this challenging ballet,' said Lopez. Miami City Ballet's 'Swan Lake' runs at Segerstrom Center for the Arts at 600 Town Center Dr, Costa Mesa June 20 to June 22. Tickets, which start at $55.37, are available at
New York Times
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Gonzalo Garcia Appointed Artistic Director of Miami City Ballet
Miami City Ballet has named Gonzalo Garcia as its artistic director, the company announced on Monday, starting on Aug. 11. Miami City Ballet, now celebrating its 40th anniversary season, has had only two artistic leaders: Its founding artistic director, Edward Villella, the celebrated New York City Ballet principal; and Lourdes Lopez, who resigned in February, two years before her contract expired. Jeff Davis, chair of the Miami City Ballet board, said of Garcia in a statement: 'His international credentials are matched by his genuine devotion to mentoring dancers and engaging audiences. Gonzalo brings with him deep relationships with many of the world's most prominent choreographers' and 'is uniquely poised to steer the company and school toward their next level of excellence.' Garcia, 45, a former principal dancer at New York City Ballet and at San Francisco Ballet, said that Miami City Ballet and its values 'speak very deeply to who I am and my life story — coming to the stage when I was 15 years old as an immigrant and becoming a principal dancer in major companies.' Becoming an artistic director has always been a dream, Garcia said. 'To help the world of dance get bigger and broader and reach a bigger audience,' he said, adding, 'I have always wanted to to do that in my life — to stay connected even when I couldn't dance. I always wanted to shape new generations, find dance makers all around the world.' He said he planned on preserving Miami City Ballet's legacy of performing works by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, whose repertory he has danced for many years, especially at New York City Ballet. 'Those are the roots of the company, but it's not the only part,' he said, adding that Miami has a history of commissioning dances by major choreographers, including Twyla Tharp, Alexei Ratmansky and Justin Peck. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Miami Herald
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Miami City Ballet plays to win with a ‘Carmen' for our time
Carmen, that beguiling Andalusian beauty created by a 19th-century French writer and afterwards made legendary by artists of different nationalities—in opera, dance, and film—continues to fascinate. Now another opportunity to experience her enduring magnetism enters the fold as Miami City Ballet premieres a new version conceived by high-profile Colombian-Belgian choreographer Annabelle Lopez-Ochoa. The evening-length 'Carmen' opens at the Arsht Center on Friday through Sunday, before moving to Fort Lauderdale's Broward Center for two performances Saturday, May 3 and Sunday, May 4. When MCB artistic director Lourdes Lopez reached out to Lopez-Ochoa a year and a half ago about revisiting this standard (the company staged two different versions of the ballet many seasons ago), the choreographer eagerly agreed to the project. 'Of all the repertory pieces in the classical ballet canon, this has always been on my bucket list,' says Lopez-Ochoa. 'I had even pitched it to another company some time before Lourdes made the offer.' In part what drew Lopez-Ochoa was Georges Bizet's score for his 1875 opera 'Carmen,' which she considers a trove of golden hits. But this was also a great opportunity for her to keep on exploring Hispanic themes through narrative dance. 'As a Latina, the older I get, the more I want to be in contact with this culture,' confesses the Antwerp-born-and-trained artist, and the daughter of a Colombian engineer and a Belgian nurse. 'My parents spoke Spanish as their secret language. Back then, when they played Mexican rancheras at home, I'd be mortified. What if the neighbors heard that? It wasn't until I was 30 that I set out to be fluent in Spanish. Now I feel very much myself when I speak the language, and I love Latin music.' In over two decades of prolific dance making for companies around the globe, the soon-to-be 52-year-old became fascinated with telling stories of eminent Latin figures including artists Frida Kahlo and Fernando Botero and First Lady of Argentina Eva Perón. Now the fictional world of 'Carmen' has opened up new ground for her to play in, backed up by her long-trusted dramaturge, Nancy Meckler. 'Every time I go into the studio,' confesses the artist, 'I feel again like that eleven-year-old who first wanted to choreograph.' Back To The Beginnings A meticulous planner, Lopez-Ochoa immediately plunged into research for 'Carmen,' going back to the character's origins in the 1845 story by Prosper de Merimée (1803-1870). Identified with the Romantic movement, this early practitioner of the novella and the travelog, also devoted to cultural archaeology, poured all his passions into what became his best-known work. He titled it after its most picturesque—though actually not central—character. With a contemporary sensibility and a creative desire to pursue innovative stagecraft, Lopez-Ochoa soon realized, upon reading the story, that she needed to make changes to the literary artifact. 'Why was this called Carmen if the tragedy is Don José's?' she asks, given how the narrative is skewed toward the young soldier who, spellbound by the unfaithful Carmen, veers into criminality. 'And I didn't like the way Carmen was presented,' says Lopez-Ochoa. 'She's a gypsy who's a thief. And there's all this talk about her curves and cleavage.' Turned off by such ethnic stereotyping and objectifying of women, Lopez-Ochoa further felt distanced by conventional dance versions of the tale, which served as vehicles for particular ballerinas. French choreographer Roland Petit's staging from 1949, for example, spiced up the flavor of Seville with Paris-cabaret sexiness, showing off the sultry gifts of his wife Zizi Jeanmaire in the lead. Cuban choreographer Alberto Alonso came up with a one-act, expressionistic treatment—passions at a peak, Spanish elements saturated in ritual—which premiered at Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre in 1967, scandalizing Soviet authorities with its libertine fervor and the unorthodox instrumentation and rhythmic compression of Bizet's musical themes in a suite by Rodion Shchedrin. He'd written the score to gift to his wife, prima ballerina Maya Plisetskaya, who possessed it with verve through Alonso's choreography. 'But Carmen is an archetype,' points out Lopez-Ochoa. 'So, I kept asking myself who she would be these days.' Then a friend directed her to the real-life story of Molly Bloom, who ran afoul of the law for organizing underground poker games after her Olympic dreams were ruined by a skiing injury. Lopez-Ochoa watched a 2017 film based on Bloom's 2014 memoir, Aaron Sorkin's 'Molly's Game,' and it opened the way for her Carmen to get a backstory. 'Molly's father was very much an authoritarian,' explains Lopez-Ochoa. 'He tells her she got into trouble because she wanted to have power over powerful men. And I thought, 'Hah! That is my Carmen.' ' Stepping Into Carmen's Shoes Having read de Merimée's original novella—and danced in the corps for a stage version at Boston Ballet—MCB principal Dawn Atkins built her portrayal of Carmen (paired with the dramatically authoritative Stanislav Olshanskyi as Don José and Brooks Landegger, cool-guy crisp as his rival, Escamillo) attuned to the contrasts in the movie. 'Molly's very strong and calculating,' says Atkins. 'Rarely does she fall victim to her circumstances because she's always a step ahead. I also see that in Annabelle's Carmen.' Endowing the character with evolving agency, the choreographer set her ballet in the world of casinos, where—despite pursuit by FBI agents—Carmen reigns by the second act. 'Here you have dice and cards—the cards of fate, as she is gambling with her life and what is and isn't legal,' says Lopez-Ochoa. This plays into the choreographer's embrace of symbolism—beloved since childhood, when postcards of the surrealistic paintings of Dalí and Magritte fired her imagination. 'There's always room for visual poetry,' she insists. That, along with a flamenco vibe, enlivens the design (Christopher Ash for set and lighting and Mark Eric for costumes). Large dice are movable props for the dancers to pound, sit and stand on; they unfurl fans like exclamations; red roses held on their lips seem to bloom like desires. All the while they bustle about as a sort of Greek chorus. Lopez-Ochoa brought in her established musical collaborator, Juan Pablo Acosta to arrange the opera's treasured melodies and provide original music. She says, 'I asked him to do anything he wanted as long as it sounded like Bizet. He's Colombian and has a band known for bachata, so it's wonderful for dance that he's very good at rhythms.' Ready For a Challenge A figure designated as Fate here shadows Carmen, sweeping the floor with a ruffled train and sporting a skull mask, the golden horns of a bull at the end of his arms. For MCB principal soloist Cameron Catazaro, personifying this character, especially when partnering his lead ballerina (Atkins), has been an intriguing challenge. 'Acting on stage is one of my favorite things, but here with my hands and face covered, I depend on the rest of my body to make this creature look more vital. And I have to be super aware of where I'm stepping so as not to get tangled.' In a different cast, he'll dance Don José (opposite Hannah Fischer's Carmen), expanding dramatic reach as his obsessive love turns lethal. 'Even here there are so many special moves,' he says, 'like different hand grips I would've never imagined.' This opportunity for artistic growth and the thrill of originating such impactful roles makes him feel privileged. Atkins likewise recognizes this career capstone. 'The last scene especially is quite powerful,' she says. 'I have to exhale when I step off at the end because of what happens in the storyline. I find it all very emotional and hope that also resonates with the audience.' If you go: WHAT: Miami City Ballet's 'Carmen' WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 25 and 26; 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, April 26 and 27 WHERE: Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCES: Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 3; 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, May 3 and 4 COST: $25-$225, depending on show time and venue. INFORMATION: 305-929-7010 or is a nonprofit media source for the arts featuring fresh and original stories by writers dedicated to theater, dance, visual arts, film, music, and more. Don't miss a story at
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Miami City Ballet's artistic director is leaving. What's next for her and the company?
Just a day after the Miami City Ballet announced its 40th anniversary season, Lourdes Lopez, only the second artistic director since the company was founded in 1985, announced she is stepping down at the end of the season. Speaking from her Coconut Grove home, Lopez says she first wanted to dispel rumors. 'I'm in totally great health. I have energy, vitality, all that. My family is great. My husband is great. My daughters are great, knock on wood.' Lopez, 66, who was hired by the Miami City Ballet in 2012 and officially became the artistic director in May 2013, had two years left on her contract and says her departure was not a decision she took lightly. However, she felt there was something more she could do for the arts in Miami. While her new vision is still in what she calls 'the hypothetical stage,' Lopez wants to be a centrifugal force in building a stronger collaborative infrastructure for all arts groups in Miami to work together. 'There's a vitality to Miami; it's an international city, and there are these pockets of neighborhoods. But there are also certain things within its infrastructure that make it difficult for the arts to truly flourish,' she says. She rattles off names of some of Miami's professional companies — Nu Deco, Miami New Drama, New World Symphony, Florida Grand Opera, and, of course, Miami City Ballet. 'They are producing some high-level quality work on our stages, really impressive programming,' but she concludes that everyone is fighting for the same audience. 'We have the same donors, the same boards. We're all sort of eating each other's lunch. Is there a way to pull our resources together and put all of that under one roof?' She cites an example of Florida Grand Opera presenting 'Carmen,' the first major production to be directed by its new general director Maria Todero in April and only weeks before Miami City Ballet presents its world premiere of Bizet's 'Carmen' by internationally known Colombian-Belgian choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. 'But what if, in a perfect world, or a different world it would be possible for both companies to work together — some kind of shared idea where we aren't competing against each other but working together?' She sums up her new vision: 'I want to figure out the arts in Miami.' Lopez was born in Cuba in 1958. Her parents defected from the island in 1959 and she and her sisters came to the United States two years later. When she was 11, she received a full scholarship to the School of American Ballet (SAB), the New York City Ballet's official school, splitting time between Miami and New York City. At 14, she devoted to full-time studies at SAB, and, at 16 she joined the corps de ballet at the New York City Ballet. She was with NYCB for more than two decades, interpreting many of George Balanchine's and Jerome Robbins's roles as a principal dancer. The role of artistic director for the Miami City Ballet was her first time managing a large organization, she says. There was 'an extraordinary board, group of dancers and artistic team that, when I arrived and I said, 'I have a vision of what the ballet school and the company might look like,' they didn't blink.' During her tenure, she curated groundbreaking programming, including the U.S. premiere of Alexei Ratmansky's 'Swan Lake' and expanded the company's repertory with world premieres including bringing a fresh look to Balanchine's 1962 narrative masterpiece, 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' for the company's 30th anniversary in 2016. She enlisted Miami-born award-winning artist Michele Oka Doner to redesign the ballet's set and re-design the costumes and Liberty City-born Oscar-winner Tarrell Alvin McCraney to guide the dancers through the dramaturgy. She also led the company through the pandemic and ensured that the holiday staple 'The Nutcracker' wouldn't miss its annual performance developing an outdoor COVID-19 safe 'George Balanchine's Nutcracker in the Park' in downtown Doral in 2020. Acknowledging her challenges, opportunities and successes in moving the Miami City Ballet forward, Lopez believes every organization comes to a place where change is necessary. 'After a while, all organizations need new leadership, a company needs new energy, a new way of looking at the dancers, a new way of looking at the community.' Jeff Davis, chair of MCB's board of trustees, in a prepared statement, said that the company has flourished under Lopez's leadership. 'MCB's Board of Directors recently adopted a strategic framework with valuable input from Lourdes. The plan outlines initiatives centered on three main objectives: elevating Miami's profile as a national arts and cultural leader; growing artists and arts enthusiast; and building an endowment for future sustainability. This strategic direction will help guide our search for the next artistic director.' The company has an annual operating budget of about $25 million. The board will begin the process of a search for a new artistic director although no timeline has been set, according to the company. is a nonprofit media source for the arts featuring fresh and original stories by writers dedicated to theater, dance, visual arts, film, music and more. Don't miss a story at
