TRANSFORMATIVE TURN: Miami City Ballet Enters Its Shining Moment Under the Direction of Lourdes Lopez

Miami City Ballet might only carry Miami in its name, but the company actually serves South Florida's tri-county area: Miami-Dade, Broward, and Pam Beach, as well as Collier County (Naples) on Florida's West Coast. That's a lot of ground to cover for one classical ballet company, which comes with a lot of responsibility to such expansive and diverse communities. Even so, Miami City Ballet has not only survived, but in the last two seasons has begun to thrive like never before.

For the last few seasons, Miami City Ballet (MCB) has been in a period of transition, a transformation if you will, and a seamless one at that. A transformation that has been unsurprisingly effective in reinventing the company and catapulting it to the world-class ballet company that it has always been on the verge of becoming. The arrival of Lourdes Lopez in 2012, as well as a complete overhaul of the company's branding and business model, has reinvigorated an organization that only about five years ago was beginning to be a blur to Miami audiences. Not that MCB was ever going to fade away, that would be inconceivable in a city that's finally starting to make breakthroughs in its cultural renaissance and vying for that world-class city title, but it seems as if Miami's arts companies have to scream emergency before real changes are made internally that will allow these organizations to not only stay alive, but flourish.

There is a renewed and exhilarating energy when watching MCB's programs this season, having been in the audience for three of their last four. For a long time, nothing about the programming excited or felt as if one would have a new experience in the theater. Yes, there were company and world premiers, elite dancing, and wonderful choreographers, but it became flat and predictable. Some of the problem possibly stemmed from having the responsibility, as the only ballet company in South Florida, of catering to such large and diverse communities of ample tastes while simultaneously trying to stay true to the paradigms of what a Balanchine Company should be.

MCB was founded as a Balanchine Company and Lopez has made it clear that will not change (Brava for that!), but in today's arts landscape audiences demand more. There has to be a marriage of the classic, the new, and the innovative. This is especially true in Miami, where fickle fans turn on their sports teams and stars from one game to the next. Loyalty is not a virtue of this community; when audiences dislike something they start pulling away without hesitation. Therefore, arts organizations in Miami not only need to reinvent themselves constantly, but do so with creativity and in a sustainable way. This is what Lourdes Lopez has done so well at Miami City ballet. Without stripping away the essence of what MCB represents, Lopez has infused the company with balance; balance of repertoire, style, choreography, and a complete re-imagining of how to stay true to the fundamental nature of the company without becoming conventional. After all, Lopez is the perfect representation of both Miami and MCB, a Miami raised Cuban-American Balanchine ballerina returning to the place that began her formation as a dancer. Nonetheless, the success of Lopez first few seasons extends far beyond that of who she is and what she represents to Miami, it's about a vision for how the company fits into the Miami that is unfolding, and more importantly, about the audience.

There were valiant attempts throughout the Villella years to infuse some variety into the repertoire; attempting to stage classical full length ballets and such, but they were unsuccessful in generating any real, lasting excitement and impact for various reasons. In part, those attempts came from a place of needing to please versus really knowing your audiences and wanting to evolve. Ultimately though, Miami wasn't in the culturally adolescent place it is now, it wasn't ready. Audiences come in all flavors, some only want the classics (Don Quixote, Swan Lake, Coppelia, etc.) and others want contemporary pieces, but how to find a happy medium while choosing work that will also appeal to the diverse makeup of South Florida? Lopez appears to have found the formula, a mix of repertoire that encompasses all of the needs of South Florida audiences into each season. Although Lopez hasn't lived in Miami for most of her life, she understands the culture of this city and that although the current cultural renaissance is changing it in beautiful and exciting ways, knowing your audience is the most important factor in planning a season. Not to say that any arts company should only play into what the audience wants to see; it's about observation, evaluation, and knowing where and how to challenge your audience. That is when the breakthrough happens!

So far, Lopez has given us a musical theater gem in Jerome Robbins West Side Story Suite (singing included), the rarely performed company premiere of Episodes by George Balanchine in collaboration with Martha Graham, full length classic (and Miami favorite) Don Quixote, John Cranko's Romeo and Juliet, the highly anticipated American premiere of Richard Alston's Carmen, and the company premiere of Twyla Tharps's Sweet Fields. And these are just the highlights! Next up is Heatscape, a piece inspired by Miami's Wynwood Walls by ballet's new favorite choreographer Justin Peck, with original art design by visual artist Shepard Fairey. The piece is an ode to Miami, where street art and ballet collide through music, visual art, and movement.

So, Miami City Ballet and Lourdes Lopez have a big responsibility to four counties and millions of South Floridians, they've totally got this! Lopez has the vision to live up to the hype and far exceed any expectations of her capacity to transform the company and catapult it to Miami's new cultural standards. In this new renaissance Miami is staging, MCB is becoming a model of what our cultural organizations can really do, especially after tough times.

The 2015 - 16 season will celebrate MCB's 30th anniversary with masterworks from the company's George Balanchine foundation along with the choreographic voices of Twyla Tharp, Paul Taylor, Justin Peck and Liam Scarlett. The season adds four new works to the company repertory, including an unprecedented new production of George Balanchines' A Midsummer Night's Dream, re-imagined as a reflection of the South Florida region by two international artists with ties to Miami. No doubt can we expect a brilliant season, full of exceptional programming, wonderful dancing, and much more.

Miami City Ballets' Passion and Grace featuring George Balanchine's Allegro Brillante, Twyla Tharp's Sweet Fields, and Richard Alston's Carmen plays the Broward Center for the Performing Arts March 20 - 22. For more information visit www.miamicityballet.org or the Box Office at 305-929-7010

Heatscape by Justin Peck premieres in Program IV: Points of Departure, along with George Balanchine's Raymonda Variations and Jerome Robbins' The Concert on March 27, 2015 at the Kravis Center. Complete Performance Dates: March 27 - 29 at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts; April 10 - 12 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade; April 17 - 19 at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. For more information and tickets visit www.miamicityballet.org or the Box Office at 305-929-7010

Photo Credit: Miami City Ballet dancers Jeanette Delgado and Jovani Furlan in Carmen © by Richard Alston, Photo © Alberto Oviedo

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