Miami City Ballet (MCB) has announced the full slate of programming for the trailblazing company’s 2023/2024 home season. Taking up residence once more across three South Florida venues, the season pays homage to dance history and the monumental legacy of George Balanchine, while also highlighting the choreographic genius of some of today’s most gifted choreographers and the promise of tomorrow’s brightest stars. Audience favorites aren’t left out of the mix either, featuring the return of George Balanchine’s The NutcrackerⓇ and the in-demand Swan Lake from Alexei Ratmansky. Tickets, flex passes and season subscriptions are available at miamicityballet.org/subscriptions.
MCB opens the season with a milestone in dance history – George Balanchine’s first original ballet created in the United States, Serenade. Set to a lush, emotionally rich score by his frequent musical inspiration Tchaikovsky, this cherished work is the pinnacle of Balanchine’s ability to transform everyday inspiration into tremendously expressive art. Joining the first program of the season are Twyla Tharp’s exhilarating exploration of movement in all its challenging modalities, In the Upper Room. From boxing to ballet, yoga to all-out sprints, dancers must push through the full spectrum of movement and the intricate timing inherent in Philip Glass’ commissioned score. Rounding out Program One is a world premiere work from Bessie Award-winning artist Jamar Roberts, former Resident Choreographer of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
The winter brings a healthy dose of both beloved classics and world premiere works from the most promising young choreographic talent in South Florida. The company continues its mastery of the Balanchine catalog with the seasonal favorite George Balanchine’s The NutcrackerⓇ, delighting audiences for four weeks throughout December. The second mixed program of the season and the first of 2024 is highlighted by two pieces originally created for the New York City Ballet (NYCB) and now part of MCB’s own repertoire. The company’s mounting of Balanchine and Jerome Robbins’ Firebird — the only production of this version to exist outside of NYCB — returns for the first time since its 2020 sold-out world premiere, bringing the magic and dazzling display of talent for which MCB is known. Concerto DSCH, originally created for NYCB by Alexei Ratmansky in 2008, puts on full display the dancers’ mastery of classical technique and contemporary sensibility. World premieres from Miami native and Miami City Ballet School alum Margarita Armas and rising star Durante Verzola round out a thrilling winter of dance.
The great works of Balanchine continue as a throughline for the season into the spring, in a program of his own work paired with choreographers who were later influenced by his mastery of the form. The 1957 tour de force Agon heads the triple bill, with mesmerizing movement set to the groundbreaking Stravinsky score. Alonzo King’s Following the Subtle Current Upstream follows, exploring how we can return to joy. The final world premiere of the season, a new work from Brazilian born, Miami-based Ricardo Amarante, delivers the fiery passion of tomorrow’s dance world in spades.
Closing out MCB’s 2023/2024 season is the highly anticipated return of Alexei Ratmansky’s Swan Lake. Playing to sold-out audiences and to rave critical reviews from around the world during its American premiere in MCB’s 2021/2022 season, this polished gem sees fifty of the company’s phenomenally talented artists lovingly reinterpret the timeless tale for a modern audience. With Tchaikovsky’s splendid score played by a live orchestra, prepare to be swept away once again by the new, definitive version of an enchanting classic.
For tickets and more information, visit www.miamicityballet.org.
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