Contact: Nicolle Ugarriza, Public Relations Manager (305) 929-7000, ext. 1602, [email protected] For Immediate Release Miami City Ballet Opens Its 2008-2009 Season at Arsht Center with the Company Premiere of George Balanchine’s Swan Lake Act II Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments and Twyla Tharp’s In The Upper Room also featured on the Bill Miami City Ballet’s Program I featuring Swan Lake Act. II, The Four Temperaments, and In the Upper Room will show at Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing of Miami-Dade (1300 Biscayne Blvd.) on Friday, October 17 at 8p.m.; Saturday, October 18 at 8p.m.; and Sunday, October 19 at 2p.m.. The Company Premiere of George Balanchine’s version of Swan Lake Act II opens Miami City Ballet’s season. In 1951, Balanchine choreographed his own version of the classical dance for the New York City Ballet, at that time only three years old. The Company needed a hit, and this Swan Lake Act II filled the bill, giving Maria Tallchief one of her most triumphant roles and remaining a staple of the repertory for many decades. Balanchine stripped it of its conventional mime sequences in order to emphasize and expand the role of the corps de ballet, incorporating the highly dramatic music Tchaikovsky had written for the end of the final act to create a thrilling finale. Over the succeeding years, he added, subtracted, modified – at one point, for instance, removing the famous four Cygnets and adding the Valse Bluette for twelve swan maidens – but his overall conception remained the same. Balanchine’s Swan Lake, although still a sublime vehicle for a ballerina, is less a highly romantic story than a meditation on love, loss, pure dance and, of course, the music of Tchaikovsky. Swan Lake Act II was staged for Miami City ballet by Maria Calegari a former principal dancer with New York City Ballet who now sets ballets for the George Balanchine Trust. Also showing on this program is Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments set to music by Hindemith. He created the ballet in 1946, for the opening program of Ballet Society, the forerunner of New York City Ballet. It is one of his earliest experimental works, fusing classical steps with a lean and angular style. The ballet is inspired by the medieval belief that human beings are made up of four different humors that determine a person's temperament. (MORE) One of contemporary choreographer Twyla Tharp’s most popular works , In the Upper Room, is also featured on this program. The dance is a one-act ballet filled with power, energy and speed. A kind of ballet and modern dance face-off, the work features some dancers on pointe and others in sneakers. Set to music by Philip Glass a cast of 13 performers dance through smoke and light and thrill audiences with what Tharp describes as “fierce, driving, and relentless moves” that “burn the retina.” A pre-performance talk by Edward Villella and/or his artistic staff will be conducted, free to the ticketed audience 55 minutes prior to curtain in the theater. Tickets are available at the Miami City Ballet Box Office, 2200 Liberty Avenue, Miami Beach, FL 33139, and range from $175-$19. The Box Office toll free number is (877) 929-7010 or go to www.miamicityballet.org. Tickets are also available through The Arsht Center Box Office (305) 949-6722 or 1-866-949-6722. “Rush” tickets (1/3 off the price of any available B, C and D seats) are available starting one and a half hours before each performance. Student discounts are available with proper identification on available B, C, and D seats in advance through Miami City Ballet’s Box Office or at the theater starting one and a half hours before the performance. Tickets are also available at all Ticketmaster outlets. Program I will also show at Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale on November 7-9 and at Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach on November 14-16. Programs are subject to change. Miami City Ballet performs in the Tri-County South Florida area: in Broward at Broward Center For Performing Arts, in Miami-Dade at Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, and in Palm Beach at Kravis Center For The Performing Arts. MCB is presented as the resident ballet company at the Naples Philharmonic Center in Naples, Florida. The Company also tours extensively. ### SPONSORED IN PART BY THE STATE OF FLORIDA, DEPARTMENT OF STATE, DIVISION OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS, THE FLORIDA ARTS COUNCIL, AND THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS. THIS PROJECT IS SUPPORTED IN PART BY AN AWARD FROM THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS, WHICH BELIEVES THAT A GREAT NATION DESERVES GREAT ART. FUNDING FOR THIS EVENT IS PROVIDED IN PART BY THE BROWARD COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AS RECOMMENDED BY THE BROWARD CULTURAL COUNCIL AND GREATER FORT LAUDERDALE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU. 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. MIAMI CITY BALLET HAS COMPLIED WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF CHAPTER 496, FLORIDA STATUTES, THE SOLICIATION OF CONTRIBUTIONS ACT. OUR REGISTRATION NUMBER IS CH1034. 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..