Miami City Ballet is an American ballet company based in Miami Beach, Florida, led by artistic director Gonzalo Garcia.
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| Miami City Ballet | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Name | Miami City Ballet |
| Year founded | 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 |
| 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 |
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]
