Cultural Preview: Miami City Ballet

Miami City Ballet (305-929-7010) is pulling out all the stops for its thirtieth season. By pairing works by such masters as George Balanchine and Twyla Tharp with pieces by contemporary choreographic giants like Justin Peck and Liam Scarlett, MCB has built a textured schedule of standards and premieres—all of which will come to the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach.

   “Program One” arrives November 13-15 and includes Balanchine’s Swan Lake, Scarlett’s Viscera, and Fancy Free, the Jerome Robbins and Leonard Bernstein World War II ballet that inspired the musical On The Town. MCB returns January 29-31 for “Program Two,” featuring Balanchine’s La Source, Peter Martin’s Barber Violin Concerto, and Tharp’s In The Upper Room, which is set to a postmodern score by Philip Glass and presented in commemoration of Tharp’s fiftieth year as a choreographer.

   The truly thrilling—not to mention innovative—content arrives in the latter half of the season. “Program Three” comprises two company premieres: Peck’s Year of the Rabbit (set to music by Sufjan Stevens) and Paul Taylor’s Sunset, featuring the eerie sounds of Edward Elgar. Palm Beachers can catch these ballets, as well as Balanchine’s Bourrée Fantasque, February 26-28. MCB finishes out the season April 1-3 with the Balanchine ballet A Midsummer Night’s Dream reimagined for a South Florida audience. The piece will still be set to music by Felix Mendelssohn but also will feature costumes and a set design by Michelle Oka Doner and dramatic direction by playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney. Six vocalists and 24 children will join MCB dancers in weaving together a compelling interpretation of this Shakespearean story.