Miami City Ballet is an Americanballet company based inMiami Beach,Florida, led by artistic directorLourdes Lopez.
| Miami City Ballet | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Name | Miami City Ballet |
| Year founded | 1986; 39 years ago (1986) |
| Founder | Toby Lerner Ansin |
| Founding artistic director | Edward Villella |
| Principal venue | Ophelia & Juan Js. Roca Center 2200 Liberty Avenue, Miami Beach, FL 33139 |
| Website | www |
| Artistic staff | |
| Artistic Director | Lourdes Lopez |
| Ballet Masters | Roma Sosenko (Principal), Joan Latham, Arnold Quintane |
| Principal Conductor | Gary Sheldon |
| Other | |
| Official school | Miami City Ballet School |
MCB was founded in 1985 byToby Lerner Ansin, a Miami philanthropist.[1] Ansin and the founding board hiredEdward Villella,[2] formerNew 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 ofGeorge Balanchine, though the company also performs works byJerome 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 includingGiselle,Don Quixote, andSwan 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 atNYCB. 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 theKennedy Center, the1996 Olympic Arts Festival,Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, theLos Angeles Music Center,Spoleto Festival USA,Harris Theater (Chicago), theNew York City Center, and theLincoln 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 theBalanchine method (orBalanchine 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]
As of February 2024, the Miami City Ballet Dancers are:[14]
| 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 | ||
| 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 |
| 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 |
| International | |
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| National | |
