A night of dinner, a show, a ballet, a new film, a series of short plays, and a walk in the fresh Miami outdoors, followed by good conversation about new, diverse, relevant work- ah, vacation. Miami is a premiere city for the arts in all disciplines and dance, theater and film lead the way.
Throughout the city, the many, many venues, raise their curtain, dim their lights, and celebrate art and culture every single weekend of the year. The only problem you’ll have is deciding which tickets to buy first.
The longest burning star in the local, and international dance world, is the premier Miami City Ballet. Since 1985 the Miami City Ballet has staged beautiful renditions of George Balanchine, mentor to Edward Villella former New York City Ballet principal and founder of the Miami City Ballet, among other including full length staple classical ballets and has a repertoire of over ninety ballets to date. The Miami City Ballet calls the Ophelia and Juan Js Roca Center on Miami Beach home, a 63,000 square foot custom-built facility believed to be the second ground-up construction for a ballet company in America.
Even longer running is the Momentum Dance Company who has put on the Miami Dance Festival since 2002 and runs ongoing educational residencies at schools and programs around the city. The company and festival focus mostly on modern dance, but also include dance films, master classes, workshops, artist talks and performances in traditional dance and the six week festival takes place in venues around the city from libraries to theaters. Local companies present full-length works to bring all parts of the community together through dance.
AFRO-CUBAN DANCE
Another organization that produces a festival to showcase their work is IFE-ILE, a non-profit dedicated to promotion and cultivation of Afro-Cuban culture and folklore. The foremost Afro-Cuban dance company in the United States, IFE-ILE has been helping develop a cross-cultural understanding and education through dance, music performances, lectures, and their festival for over eleven years. The IFE Afro-Cuban Dance Festival is held yearly in the late summer at the Little Haiti Cultural Arts Center.
Miami is brimming with local dance talent in all disciplines.
Dance NOW! Has a mission to develop “contemporary modern dance-theater that articulates the international cultural life of South Florida, reflecting the regions multi-ethnicity.”
Ballet Flamenco La Rosa, also known as La Rosa Flamenco Theater is a flamenco company who produces pure flamenco and cutting-edge collaborations.
Tigertail Productions presents high-quality contemporary dance from local, national and international choreographers during their regular October through April season.
Miami has even attracted dance companies to relocate here, where they’ve experienced both expansion of their business and creative growth- such as the Brazz Dance Theater. Brazz Dance Theater is a contemporary dance company who seeks fresh, innovative content on a global outlook on life