Dance

Explore musical heritage through contemporary performance with Miami-based dance company Zest Collective. Experience "Afro Blue", a dynamic tribute to 20th-century Black musicians blending jazz standards and historical depth, and dive into "The Fountain", a vibrant homage to the legacy of pioneering female opera singers and the spiritual richness of Negro Spirituals. Presented by Miami Light Project, Miami Theater Center and Culture Shock Miami, these triumphant works celebrate the enduring impact of influential musical figures, offering an unforgettable journey through history.

Colombian-Belgian dance maker Annabelle Lopez Ochoa draws from every facet of her heritage and training for the debut of her latest evening-length work, Carmen. Having danced for over a decade in European companies, created pieces for more than 70 dance companies, and found stunning success with nine narrative ballets, Ochoa is primed to reinterpret the classic opéra comique for a modern Miami dance audience. Rodin Shchedrin’s colorful score, based on Bizet’s opera Carmen, receives a fresh update thanks to the addition of newly commissioned music from Colombian-born composer Juan Pablo Acosta, bringing Latin flair to one of the most popular operas ever written. A story bursting with love, seduction, jealousy, and tragedy, revolving around the power of its fiery namesake heroine, has been seen around the world in nearly every medium of the performing arts for a century and a half. Ochoa imbues the enduring piece with sensuality and spirit as only she can, delivering the heat of southern Spain to today’s South Florida audiences.

Robbins energizes the season’s bill with a postmodern and classical mashup. Glass Pieces drives ever forward in the electrifying rhythm of metropolitan life while navigating the shifting patterns of the intoxicating Philip Glass score. The enduring legacy of José Limón and his native Mexico are never seen in all their glory more so than in Chaconne, the remarkable solo originally danced by its creator. Set to an emotion-laden J.S. Bach work for violin, Limón captures the power of control and the freedom of expression in equal measure. The company premiere of Alexei Ratmansky’s Pictures at an Exhibition completes the triple bill, with 10 dancers exploring the full range of motion and emotion. Danced to Modest Mussorgsky’s famed eponymous score in front of Wassily Kandinksky’s Color Study Squares with Concentric Circles by artists adorned in designer duds by Adeline Andre, this abstract ballet is the essence of a feast for the senses.

We continue our dedication as the preeminent interpreter of the Balanchine repertory by staging two of the legendary choreographer’s works in one bill. Taking his own famous quote “Ballet is woman” to heart, Balanchine’s Walpurgisnacht Ballet, originally created for the opera Faust, sees two dozen vibrant women storm the stage in full display of their virtuosity. On the 20th anniversary of adding Balanchine’s La Valse to the company repertoire, more than 30 dancers again take on the romance and dark mystery of a disintegrating waltz set to a haunting Maurice Ravel score. The boundary-pushing Pam Tanowitz completes the trio of pieces with a world premiere work. Her signature intentional unpredictability, whimsical complexity, and natural drama draws from the rules of master creators while subtly redefining the tradition of dance.

This winter, the Land of Sweets lands squarely in Miami for a festive holiday spectacle that always delights. Journey once more with over 100 dancers into the fantastical world of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®, replete with signature choreography set to the iconic Tchaikovsky score. With stunning stagecraft, magnificent costumes, and a spectacular live orchestra, get whisked away by the joy of the Sugarplum Fairy and the wonder of graceful snowflakes gracing the stages of sunny South Florida. With eye-popping scenic elements that expertly mix grandeur and warmth, the imagination, marvels, and spirit of childhood come alive right before your eyes. For an extra-special holiday experience the family is sure to treasure, become part of the merriment with pre-show festivities that set the stage for the most magical time of year.

Premiered as part of the company’s 30th anniversary, this inventive reimagining of Balanchine’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream—his first original full-length story ballet created in America—transports the mystical woodland lovers of Shakespeare’s comedic masterpiece to the spellbinding underwater world of the Florida coast. With Michele Oka Doner’s transformative costumes and sets, the kingdom of magical fairies becomes a floating motif of coral and seagrass populated by manatees, seahorses, and more underwater life, evoking the heart of South Florida’s treasured marine ecosystems. Mendelssohn’s mesmerizing score sets the stage for mischief, merriment, and mismatched romances, embodied in equal measures of whimsy and dazzling prowess by a breathtaking company of dancers. Take a dip into the familiar story of feuding Titania and Oberon, a quartet of hapless romantics, and the fiendish Puck, retold in the setting of the port of Miami.

Afro Blue is Gentry Isaiah George’s latest installment from his series ‘Roots & Rhythms,’ designed to commemorate Black Musicians of the 20th century. Renditions of the Jazz standard Afro-Blue recorded by American Jazz Vocalist Abbey Lincoln and Cuban Percussionist Mongo Santamaria are the centerpieces for the new work. Harmonizing biography, social history, music, and performance, George’s Zest Collective dance troupe celebrates the beauty and triumph of musical pioneers whose songs rang out despite the dark history of oppression. Zest Collective founder Gentry George is a graduate from the Juilliard School and began dancing with Ailey II and later with the Dance Theatre of Harlem. A Level 1 YoungArts award recipient, featured on HBO's 'Masterclass,' he is also currently a professor at Miami Dade College’s New World School of the Arts. This piece was commissioned by Miami Light Project for the 2023 Here and Now. This performance is presented free to the public as part of the Rhythm Foundation and City of Miami Beach's Arts in the Parks series. The show will be approximately an hour long.

• The Nutcracker: Celebrate the holiday season with this magical classic, set to Tchaikovsky’s iconic score. Join us for a heartwarming and enchanting performance that brings to life a world of snowflakes, sugarplums, and magical dolls, perfect for audiences of all ages.

The Daniel Lewis Dance Sampler showcases South Florida’s most dynamic companies and choreographers on one stage. The highly anticipated program features a curated group of nine works from six companies. The evening of short pieces and excerpts launches the season of dance in South Florida, with one performance only on Saturday, October 5, at 8:00 pm, at Miami's New World School of the Arts Dance Theater. Don’t miss this powerful season preview in its fourteenth season in Miami— this year also celebrating the 80th birthday of International Dance luminary Dr. Daniel Lewis. The Sampler highlights the artistry, excitement and diversity of Florida’s cultural landscape in a spectacular showcase of dance, from ballet to contemporary, modern to flamenco. Featured companies include Arts Ballet Theatre, Ballet Flamenco La Rosa, Dance NOW! Miami, Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami, New World School of the Arts and Zest Collective.

Join us for an evening of new short-form work representing a broad cross section of the most exciting and diverse talent in Miami’s field of emerging performance artists. Don’t miss the latest from this year’s cohort: Arielle Francois, Junior Domingos, Lisa Kusanagi and Osmani Tellez, and Our Human Years!