Ballet
Profile of a Great Ballet: La Valse
George Balanchine’s La Valse has been a staple of Miami City Ballet’s repertoire for years. Not only have we performed this excellent work all across South Florida, we waltzed on the Parisian stage where the music premiered in 1920. Since performing this ballet in a beautiful theater with such history, this Balanchine work has become incredibly close to our hearts. I recently decided to delve more into the story and premise in order to have a more complete understanding of Balanchine’s vision. He choose to create a plot within this 30 minute work, but as is often the case with Balanchine choreography, the story is complex and open for...
Read MoreA Book For Every Aspiring Dancer: ‘Girl In Motion’
Those of you who spend quite a bit of time in the online dance community have probably heard that former Miami City Ballet Dancer, Miriam Wenger-Landis, has just come out with her second novel, Breaking Pointe (which was given it’s name long before the CW television show premiered). In honor of the release of her second book, Ms. Wenger-Landis has agreed to two interviews for TENDUS, one on each of her publications. Girl in Motion the prequel to Breaking Pointe, follows young aspiring ballet dancer, Anna, as she makes the transition from her home town to the world of competitive ballet schools. Anna encounters many ups and downs in her two years at the School...
Read MoreProfile of a Great Ballet: Coppélia
Coppélia first premiered May 25, 1870 at the Théâtre Impérial de l’Opéra in Paris. This classic ballet in three acts was originally choreographed by Arthur Saint-Léon and set to a score by Léo Delibes. The plot follows a story by E.T.A. Hoffmann: The curtain opens on an European town as an old man, Dr. Coppélius hobbles out of his house. The town is mystified by this elderly citizen, as no one really knows exactly what he does. A beautiful young woman is sitting on the balcony of his house reading a book. As he looks up at her with delight, he renters his home. Our story’s heroine, Swanhilda, now enters. Dancing around the stage in search...
Read MoreA Look Into The Future
Professional ballet dancers live for ballets that challenge them, excite them, and promote them to grow as artists. There is nothing quite like preparing for, and conquering meaningful works. Last weekend’s shows were exceptionally special for the company, as well as for me. Having the opportunity to take part in a World Premier is a very unique experience, but our newest ballet is something extra special. Liam Scarlett’s Viscera premiered at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami on Friday January 6th to resounding applause and a standing ovation. Though this piece was inspired by the movement qualities of Miami City Ballet...
Read MoreNutcracker’s Contribution To The Art Form
The other day I found a fascinating article from “D Magazine” out of Dallas. The author, Peter Simek, posed an interesting question with the title: Is the Nutcracker Saving Ballet, Or Killing It? Mr. Simek quotes Ben Stevenson, Artistic Director of Texas Ballet Theater, as he describes the financial reasons for companies’ continuing to put on productions of The Nutcracker year after year. Simek says, “a company’s season will make or break based on The Nutcracker.” American companies all count on the fact that this traditional holiday show will pack the house and rake in the money. So would companies continue to put Nutcracker...
Read MoreMasterpieces From Two Perspectives: Twyla Tharp’s In The Upper Room
To celebrate Twyla Tharp’s In The Upper Room, I spoke with Miami City Ballet Principal dancers Patricia and Jeanette Delgado about dancing Twyla Tharp’s In The Upper Room. Patricia is a part of Upper Room’s “Ballet People” and Jeanette is a “Stomper”. In this video blog produced for Miami City Ballet, the girls chat about how they see this ballet from their different experiences. © Miami City Ballet
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