Miami City Ballet has two reasons to celebrate. It’s the company’s first full season performing before a live audience since the pandemic, and it’s Lourdes Lopez’s 10th anniversary season as MCB’s artistic director.
(Alexander Iziliaev)
Dancers Tricia Albertson and Rainer Krenstetter in a scene from the “Emeralds” movement in “Jewels,” set to music by French composer Gabriel Fauré. Krenstetter is leaving MCB at the end of this run.
On the heels of “Swan Lake,” MCB is approaching the middle of its 2021/22 season with performances of “Jewels” April 23 and 24 at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, followed by the “Prodigal Son” program April 29 through May 22 in Palm Beach, Miami and Broward counties.
If you didn’t see “Jewels” at the Adrienne Arsht Center at the very beginning of April, you still have a chance to catch it in Broward … and you must!
A Ballet That Sparkles Like Gems
“Jewels” is a three-act ballet created for New York City Ballet in 1967 by co-founder and founding choreographer George Balanchine. The plotless ballet uses three different composers – Fauré, Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky – to illustrate three different approaches to classical dancing: French, American and Russian.
“Jewels” has been called the first full-length abstract ballet. It has three related movements – “Emeralds,” “Rubies” and “Diamonds” – linked only by their jewel-colored costumes, and this MCB production features the original Barbara Karinska designs.
Balanchine has been quoted as saying that “the ballet had nothing to do with jewels. The dancers are just dressed like jewels.”
(Alexander Iziliaev)
Dancers Katia Carranza and Renato Peneado in “Rubies,” part of Balanchine’s pure dance triptych, that has dazzled audiences since Miami City Ballet premiered it in 1992.
Indeed, the costuming is as spectacular as the choreography, and together they transport you to another dimension. It’s one of my favorite ballets and a must-see every time there is an opportunity to do so.
This is a South Florida fan favorite, which will have been performed five times by MCB by the end of this run; nine times, if you count tours. The company’s dazzling presentation of the famed ballet helped catapult MCB to international acclaim. “Jewels” was last performed in 2017 after a ten-year hiatus.
The Broward run is extra special, because it will mark the final MCB performance by beloved principal dancer Rainer Krenstetter.
“I’ll still dance on various projects but I’m excited to pass on my knowledge to rising dancers as artistic director for a company in Tokyo as well as the Margot Fonteyn Ballet Academy in Arizona. It is not easy to say goodbye, but ... I look forward to saying farewell and dancing my heart out for our audiences during my final performances of Jewels,” said Krenstetter.
A Dramatic Dance Based on the Gospel of Luke
(Gary James)
Miami City Ballet principal dancer Alexander Peters in “Prodigal Son.”
Another frequent choice by MCB returning for a sixth time is “Prodigal Son.” Unfolding a biblical tale based on the parable in the Gospel of Luke, it tells the story of a rebellious son who leaves his family in search of life experiences and returns home to find his father’s forgiveness.
It features two legendary roles, the rebellious Son and the beautiful Siren. Their partnership culminates in what MCB describes as one of the most sensual pas de deux ever to be seen on stage.
One of the greatest ballet dancers of the 20th century, Ukrainian ballet dancer and choreographer Serge Lifar, premiered the role of the Son in Paris in 1929.
This also is a Balanchine ballet, but in contrast to “Jewels” it is based on an ancient story that emphasizes the theme of sin and redemption in dramatic form – but don’t let the serious theme fool you. Balanchine borrowed from the worlds of gymnastics and the circus with daring acrobatics and soaring leaps and feats of strength to bring this ballet to life.
The one-act ballet in three scenes hasn’t been performed for South Florida audiences by MCB since 2005, so “Prodigal Son” is expected to be new to many people.
Special Surprises
The “Prodigal Son” program also includes two pas de deux and a world premiere.
The “Herman Schmerman Pas de Deux” is performed in Gianni Versace-designed miniskirts and choreographed by William Forsythe, with music by Thom Willems. Expect it to be as playful and risqué as it is technically complex.
“After the Rain Pas de Deux” is a slow, soft, romantic duet danced in simple attire on a sparse stage, described as “a window into a relationship full of tenderness.” Watch for mesmerizing geometrical lifts by choreographer Christopher Wheeldon set to music by Arvo Pärt.
(The Atlanta Ballet)
Claudia Schreier
Although premiered by New York City Ballet in 2005, “After the Rain” has been incorporated into the repertory of 12 ballet companies around the world.
Lastly, the world premiere is a new commission by Claudia Schreier and filmmaker Adam Barish entitled ”The Source” that blends dance with technology. As Lourdes Lopez says in MCB’s website video, this last year “proved technology is not a disrupter, but an enabler.”
The score of “The Source” is comprised of multiple noteworthy musicians, including Riley Mulherkar, Frank Zappa, William Grant Still, Alexina Louie and Julius Eastman. Still is the first African American to have a symphony performed by a professional orchestra in the U.S.
Schreier has choreographed, directed and produced for dance, opera and film across the U.S. and internationally. She was named Choreographer in Residence at Atlanta Ballet in 2020. Her first work for that company, “First Impulse,” was named a “Standout Performance” of 2019 by Pointe magazine. Schreier has choreographed more than 40 works and has been commissioned by numerous dance companies and organizations.