Miami City Ballet

Non-profit organization in the USA

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

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.miamicityballet.org
Artistic staff
Artistic Director| Gonzalo Garcia
Ballet Masters| Roma Sosenko (Principal), Joan Latham, Arnold Quintane
Principal Conductor| Gary Sheldon
Other
Official school| Miami 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] Gonzalo Garcia was named the artistic director in 2025 after Lopez announced that the 2024-25 season would be her last with the company.[9]

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;[10] while theaters and festivals in Europe, Central America, and South America have hosted the company.[11][12][13]

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).[14] 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.[14]

Miami City Ballet (2019) – Miami Beach

## Dancers

[edit]

As of February 2024, the Miami City Ballet Dancers are:[15]

### Principals

[edit]

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  |

### Soloists

[edit]

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

### Corps de ballet

[edit]

* SarahAnne Perel

### Former dancers

[edit]

* Patricia Delgado
* Jovani Furlan
* Jennifer Lauren
* Kathryn Morgan
* Daniel Sarabia
* Rolando Sarabia

## References

[edit]

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. ^ George Volsky (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. ^ "Meet Miami City Ballet's new artistic director, the third in the company's history".
10. ^ "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.
11. ^ "Miami City Ballet: About Us". Miami City Ballet. Archived from the original on April 2, 2014. Retrieved February 18, 2009.
12. ^ Catton, Pia (April 16, 2016). "Miami City Ballet's Night in New York". The Wall Street Journal. p. 1. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
13. ^ "Miami City Ballet". City of Miami Beach. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
14. ^ a b "Miami City Ballet School". miamicityballet.org.
15. ^ "Meet Our Dancers".

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* Archival footage of Balanchine's Square Dance performed by Miami City Ballet in 1989 at Jacob's Pillow
* Archival footage of Christopher Wheeldon's Polyphonia performed by Miami City Ballet in 2017 at Jacob's Pillow

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