FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Roberto Santiago Public Relations City Ballet (305) 929-7000, ext 1602 [email protected]

MAJOR LEAGUE SUPERSTAR MIKE PIAZZA THE GREATEST HITTING OF ALL TIME STEPS UP TO THE PLATE ON MAY 3 TO APPEAR IN MIAMI CITY BALLET’S PERFORMANCE OF SLAUGHTER ON TENTH AVENUE

Miami, FL (April 2, 2013): Legendary player, Mike Piazza, known as the greatest hitting catcher of all time, will trade the ballpark for the Ziff Ballet Opera House on Friday evening, May 3, 2013. Piazza will make his ballet debut as the Gangster in Miami City Ballet’s production of George Balanchine’s Slaughter on Tenth Avenue at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Miami.

Piazza will not be dancing, leaping or catching ballerinas. But he will be sporting a 1920’s-era gangster costume, throwing out a few lines Al Capone-style and then sitting back and watching the stage come alive with dazzling dance routines, a gorgeous Strip Tease Girl, a tap-dancing Hoofer and the colorful Ladies of the Ballet.

It was Piazza’s six-year old daughter, Nicoletta, a student at Miami City Ballet School, and MCB’s Artistic Director Lourdes Lopez, who, together prevailed upon him to pinch as the Gangster in Slaughter on Tenth Avenue for this May 3, one-night only, guest appearance. Although this is not Piazza’s first acting experience – he’s been a spokesman for Pert Shampoo and appeared in the TV sitcom Married with Children and the movie Two Weeks Notice – he never imagined that he would appear on stage as a cast member in a ballet production.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun seeing the reaction of my two little girls,” said Piazza, who played for the Florida Marlins, the and is the author of The New York Times best-selling memoir, Long Shot (Simon & Schuster, 2013). “My oldest daughter is a student at Miami City Ballet School and for her to have the opportunity to see Daddy on stage is my little gift. I’m looking forward to it.”

Piazza goes into rehearsal with Miami City Ballet dancers the week of April 14 under the direction of Balanchine repetiteur Philip Neal, who is staging Slaughter on Tenth Avenue and has taught five of the male dancers their amazing tap dancing routines.

“I am truly excited to welcome a baseball legend like Mike Piazza into the ballet's studios,” said Neal, a former principal dancer with New York City Ballet who also serves as Miami City Ballet’s Palm Beach Liaison. “The worlds of sports and arts both require a tremendous amount of discipline and dedication and I'm pleased to partake in this collaborative effort.”

Piazza’s one-night only performance as the Gangster in Slaughter on Tenth Avenue takes place Friday evening, May 3, 2013 at 8 pm at the Ziff Ballet Opera House/Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Miami. Purchase your tickets today by calling Miami City Ballet Box Office at (305) 929-7010, toll-free (877) 929-7010 or online at www.miamicityballet.org. Group Discounts (10 or more) are available by calling (305) 929- 7001. Tickets are from $20 to $175.

Mike Piazza, a former Major League Baseball player, is widely regarded as the greatest hitting catcher of all time. A 16-year veteran, Piazza played for five different teams, made 12 All-Star Game appearances and earned a record 10 Silver Slugger Awards. With a lifetime batting average of .308, Piazza slugged 427 home runs and holds the all time record – 396 -- for most home runs by a catcher. Since retiring in 2007, Mike has become a full-time Miami resident, residing here with his wife Alicia and their two daughters, Nicoletta and Paulina.

Slaughter on Tenth Avenue was created as part of Richard Rodgers’ and Lorenz Hart’s 1936 smash hit musical, On Your Toes (Balanchine’s first Broadway collaboration). In 1968, Balanchine expanded the dance portion of the musical into a stand-alone ballet – complete with the Gangster in the audience (Mike Piazza), talking parts and tap dancing – all decidedly Broadway in character.

The storyline centers on the Hoofer, Phil Dolan III, the youngest member of a vaudeville act. His parents made Phil give up the stage to become a music teacher, but he cannot resist the lure of dance. When a struggling Russian ballet company comes to town, Phil contacts the promoter and submits a bizarre ballet he has secretly written called Slaughter on Tenth Avenue. The promoter decides that this very American work could help the company. As rehearsals begin, Phil becomes smitten with the prima ballerina, Vera, whose partner, Morosine, can’t master the offbeat steps and jazz rhythms of this new dance. Phil’s identity as the choreographer emerges when he literally must jump in as the lead dancer – which so angers Morosine that he hires a Gangster (Mike Piazza) to sit in a stage box on opening night and shoot Phil as the dancing stops. Luckily, the plot is revealed when Vera manages to get a warning note to Phil while he is dancing and this saves his life.

The Opus One Orchestra, under the direction of Principal Conductor Gary Sheldon, returns once again, thanks to a generous grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation as part of its Knight Arts Challenge.

Miami City Ballet’s Program IV: Broadway and Ballet, which opens with Jerome Robbins’ Dances at a Gathering and closes with Slaughter on Tenth Avenue will be presented at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach, Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale and the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami. Tickets are now on sale by calling the Miami City Ballet Box Office at (305) 929-7010, toll-free (877) 929-7010 or online at www.miamicityballet.org.

PROGRAM IV: Broadway and Ballet

Dances at a Gathering (Robbins/Chopin) Slaughter on Tenth Avenue (Balanchine/Rodgers)

Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, West Palm Beach (Dreyfoos Hall) Friday, April 5 at 8 pm Saturday, April 6 at 2 pm & 8 pm Sunday, April 7 at 1 pm

Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Fort Lauderdale (Au-Rene Theater) Friday, April 26 at 8 pm Saturday, April 27 at 2 pm & 8 pm Sunday, April 28 at 2 pm

Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Miami (Ziff Ballet Opera House) Friday, May 3 at 8 pm Saturday, May 4 at 8 pm Sunday, May 5 at 2 pm

Miami City Ballet Home Theater Addresses:

Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts Ziff Ballet Opera House 1300 Biscayne Blvd. Miami, FL 33132 Box office: (305) 949-6722

Broward Center for the Performing Arts Au-Rene Theater 201 S.W. Fifth Avenue Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312 Box office: (954) 462-0222

Kravis Center for the Performing Arts Alexander W. Dreyfoos, Jr. Concert Hall 701 Okeechobee Boulevard West Palm Beach, FL 33401 Box office: (561) 832-7469

Photos of the Program IV ballets are available upon request. Please call Roberto Santiago at (305) 929-7000, ext. 1602, or email [email protected]

About Miami City Ballet Critically acclaimed by The New York Times, MCB is led by Artistic Director Lourdes Lopez. The Company has more than 40 dancers, and a repertoire of over 90 ballets which they perform in the four home counties of Broward, Miami- Dade, Palm Beach and Collier, and around the world. MCB maintains its headquarters in Miami Beach in a facility designed by renowned architectural firm Arquitectonica. The facility houses rehearsal studios and administrative offices as well as the Miami City Ballet School.

For more information on Miami City Ballet or to purchase tickets, call 305.929.7010, toll- free 877-929-7010 or visit www.miamicityballet.org. You can also join us on Facebook, follow the Company on Twitter and subscribe to the MCB Blog.

SPECIAL THANKS TO FUNDING ARTS NETWORK AND FUNDING ART BROWARD FOR THEIR CONTINUED SUPPORT. SPONSORED IN PART BY THE STATE OF FLORIDA, DEPARTMENT OF STATE, DIVISION OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS, AND THE FLORIDA COUNCIL ON ARTS AND CULTURE. FUNDING FOR THIS ORGANIZATION IS PROVIDED IN PART BY THE BROWARD COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AS RECOMMENDED BY THE BROWARD CULTURAL COUNCIL. MCB PROGRAMMING IS MADE POSSIBLE WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS AND THE CULTURAL AFFAIRS COUNCIL, THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY MAYOR AND BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, CULTURAL AFFAIRS PROGRAM, CULTURAL ARTS COUNCIL. A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE (800) 435-7352 WITHIN THE STATE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. MCB REGISTRATION NUMBER: CH1034.

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