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

Cristina Planas Shannon Casey Kreps DeMaria (305) 663-3543 [email protected] [email protected]

50 DANCERS! FOUR COMPANY PREMIERES! LIVE ORCHESTRA RETURNS!

MIAMI CITY BALLET’S 25TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON OPENS WITH PROGRAM I FEATURING THE COMPANY PREMIERE OF JEROME ROBBINS’ FANFARE TO WELCOME BACK THE COMPANY’S LIVE ORCHESTRA.

EDWARD VILLELLA TO PERFORM IN FANFARE AS THE NARRATOR.

Program I also features ’s BUGAKU and THEME AND .

BROWARD CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS 201 SW Fifth Ave., Ft. Lauderdale November 12 at 8 p.m. ● November 13 at 2 p.m. & 8p.m. ● November 14 at 2 p.m.

Ft. Lauderdale, FL (Oct. 18, 2010) – MIAMI CITY BALLET opens its highly anticipated 25th Anniversary Season with the Company Premiere of Jerome Robbins’ Fanfare. Program I also features George Balanchine’s Bugaku and Theme and Variations. , MCB Founding Artistic Director and CEO, returns to the stage for every performance of Fanfare as the Narrator.

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Fanfare is choreographer Jerome Robbins’ bright and witty take on Benjamin Britten’s “The Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra.” Fanfare was specially chosen to open the Anniversary Season to welcome back, after a two-year hiatus, MCB’s live Opus One Orchestra under the baton of maestro Gary Sheldon. Fanfare first premiered on the night of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953. Each instrument in the orchestra is represented by dancers in this light- hearted ballet – the cast is divided into two groups and then sub-divided into individual instruments. The orchestra is put back together for the wonderfully entertaining finale.

Bugaku, inspired by a visit of the Japanese Gagaku musicians and dancers to New York, was commissioned by Balanchine in 1962 to have Mayuzumi compose a score using Western instrumentation. He then choreographed the ballet in the style suggested by the music. The ballet is in three movements, and includes a highly erotic pas de deux, which has been referred to as a nuptial rite.

Theme and Variations is classical ballet at its grandest with a large cast and lavish costumes, Balanchine’s tribute to Imperial Russian ballet and homage to Petipa. It’s set in a magnificent 19th century ballroom intended "to evoke that great period in classical dancing when Russian ballet flourished with the aid of Tchaikovsky's music," as Balanchine once wrote. Recognized as a Balanchine masterpiece, the dancing is elegant and joyous with bold leaps and sharp, crisp moves building to a thrilling finale for the cast of 26 dancers.

The Opus One Orchestra, under the baton of maestro Gary Sheldon, returns to MIAMI CITY BALLET to perform for all repertory programs, 42 to 56 musicians strong, supported by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, as part of its Knight Arts Challenge.

Audrey Love Charitable Foundation presents MIAMI CITY BALLET’S 25th Anniversary Season of dance. MIAMI CITY BALLET dedicates its 25th Anniversary Season to Founder Toby Lerner Ansin.

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Program I will be presented at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale November 12-14 and Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach November 19-21.

Ticket prices start at just $19 and are on sale Monday-Friday 10am-5pm at MCB’s Box Office, 2200 Liberty Avenue, Miami Beach (22nd St. one block west of Collins Ave.) or by phone at (305) 929-7010 or toll-free (877) 929-7010. Select your own seat online 24/7 at www.miamicityballet.org.

Tickets are also on sale at: Broward Center: (954) 462-0222 or 1-877-311-7469 (SHOW), Kravis Center: (561) 832-7469 (SHOW) or 1-800-572-8471 (1-800-KRAVIS)

“Rush” Tickets (1/3 off ticket prices) are available at the theatre box office one and a half hours before performances, subject to availability in select locations. Student Tickets are available in advance, subject to availability with ID, at MCB’s Box Office. Group Discounts (10 or more) are available by calling (305) 929-7001 or toll-free (877) 929-7001.

For complete information regarding ticket prices and performances, visit www.miamicityballet.org or call (305) 929-7010 or toll-free (877) 929-7010.

About Miami City Ballet Critically acclaimed by The New York Times, Miami City Ballet (MCB) was founded in 1985 by Artistic Director Edward Villella. The Company has 50 dancers, and a repertoire of 88 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 Company’s school: Miami City Ballet School.

Visit us at www.miamicityballet.org . You can also “like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

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