Miami City Ballet’s penultimate concert, branded “Spring Mix,” begins to tie the bow on the company’s season, and this particular year’s Mix is perhaps the best night of ballet that I have ever witnessed in all my years covering the art form. On opening night of Friday, March 28, at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami, the company showcased their incredible prowess by performing four masterpieces from four master choreographers: Ratmansky, Limón, Balanchine, and Robbins. In an opening speech, Artistic Director Lourdes Lopez made a speech that each masterpiece spoke to a festering wound of this country in its current political turmoil. These choreographers are minorities, with communities and passions and resiliences, and with their art, they prove that this world is a better place because they exist(ed). I have never seen a company make such a statement, and her words provided a foundation for inclusivity. Brava.
The first piece of the night was by-far my favorite: Ratmansky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition.” This ballet contained ten dancers, and it emulated famous Wassily Kandinsky paintings. In an ever-changing background of shapes and intersecting lines, the dancers performed to a sole pianist (Francisco Rennó) with costumes that mirrored that abstract images behind them, designed by Adeline André. The contemporary work, set in 2018 originally on the New York City Ballet, was produced by a Ukrainian choreographer; one whose country is in the throes of war. The piece was even set on Miami City Ballet by Amar Ramasar from NYCB. All of these aspects create a rich piece of historical importance, but why I am so drawn to this one is because of its ekphrastic nature. The physical translation of the artwork, coupled by the Mussorgsky score, into the dances that the audience sees is an unshaking statement of how art transcends language into the body. We see the choreographer’s interpretation in an ephemeral form as the infinite image of Kandinsky juxtaposes the finite space in Ratmasky’s footwork. From confrontation to love and acceptance, the ballet is rich with context and resilience. The final image to end: the Ukrainian flag.
During the second part of the concert, the company performed “Chaconne,” Limón’s ballet that couples a solo male ballerina and a solo violinist. Having the violinist stationary but very much in the front for all to see, the solo dancer executes physical prowess that encapsulates the relationship between music and dance, all while telling the story of a Mexican choreographer. The art form has ties not only to Europe and Russia, but the entirety of the world. This ballet was coupled with a classic Balanchine pas de deux (duet), scored by the unparalleled Tchaikovsky. This second piece featured a full performance by the Miami City Ballet Orchestra, and it was outstanding how this relationship between musician and dancer mirrors the emotions of the piece.
To end the concert, Miami City Ballet presented “Glass Pieces” by Jerome Robbins, a Jewish choreographer from New York City. A full company piece, styled in front of a grid paper like backdrop, had three movements, and each was more impressive than the last. In a personal favorite of this ballet, a line of dancers walked from stage right to left, creating an unending line of silhouettes as dancers. From experience, I know how utterly impossible orchestrating walking intersecting can be, so to see a countless number of ballerinas doing it over and over, I was convinced from an early moment that the company pulled out a no-holds-barred night of perfection. I would almost say that the thing I could do less of in the company is another piece by Balanchine, but every single time they do it, we are reminded why he is held in such esteem.
