By Dale King
South Florida dancers of every ilk — sidelined for more than a year by a show-stopping coronavirus pandemic — have been polishing their skills, dance shoes and ballet slippers, anticipating a mass return of live performances to stages from Miami to Jupiter in the very near future.
Miami City Ballet (MCB) has confidently announced its 2021-22 “Sunshine in Motion” dance season at its three home performance stages at the Arsht, Broward and Kravis centers. COVID safety protocols will be observed, and a special ticket guarantee program is in place.
“We cannot wait to greet our audiences with a warm, sunshine-filled welcome back to our home theaters,” said Artistic Director Lourdes Lopez, entering her 10th year as the troupe’s leader. “As we embark on our 36th anniversary and I step into my 10th season, we are thrilled to present a schedule filled with stories of childhood dreams and fantasy, of transcendent love, hope and courage, of distant places and times and of complete human forgiveness.”
MCB used the internet one last time to open its season Oct. 14 with an online premiere of George Balanchine’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Live performance comes back in December. The schedule for the coming season includes:
The Nutcracker (Balanchine / Tchaikovsky). At the Broward Center Dec. 10-12; Arsht Center Dec. 16-26 and Kravis Center Dec. 29-30.
Swan Lake (Ratmansky / Tchaikovsky). At the Arsht Center Feb. 11-13, 2022; Kravis Center Feb. 19-20 and Broward Center Feb. 26-17.
Jewels (Balanchine / Fauré / Stravinsky / Tchaikovsky). Kravis Center, March 18-20; Arsht Center, April 1-3; Broward Center, April 23-24.
Prodigal Son (Balanchine / Prokofiev). At Kravis Center April 29-May 1, Arsht Center May 6-8 and Broward Center May 21-22.
For information, call 305-929-7010 or toll-free 877-929-7010. Online, log onto miamicityballet.org/subscribe.
Ballet Palm Beach is also coming back, said Colleen Smith, founding artistic and executive director. “We are more than thrilled to be able to bring in-person performances back in this unique period. We believe the community is yearning to return to live productions.”
All three BPB show will be produced at The Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach, with COVID health and safety protocols emphasized.
The Nutcracker will again be performed in the 2,195-seat Dreyfoos Hall on Dec. 4 and 5. The holiday classic is a coming-of-age story of Marie, who receives a mysterious gift on Christmas Eve. Adventures ensue as Tchaikovsky’s score draws Marie into a terrifying battle with the Mouse King, through a mystical snowstorm and to the Kingdom of the Sugar Plum Fairy.
Ballet Palm Beach will also perform Adolphe Adam’s Giselle in the Kravis Center’s Rinker Playhouse March 4-6.
It will also continue its tradition of community outreach this season with special performances of Queen Esther at various community venues March 16 and 17. The troupe will then take the production to Croatia in June 2022 as part of its Ballet Ambassadors international outreach program.
For questions about any shows, contact Ballet Palm Beach at 561-630-8235.
Boca Ballet Theatre will be back on its toes for the holiday season with its annual production of The Nutcracker, showcasing choreography by Co-Artistic Director Dan Guin and a talented cast of dancers, including professional guest artists from around the world.
The show is scheduled Nov. 26 at 7:30 p.m.; Nov. 27 at 2 and 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 28 at 2 p.m. at Olympic Heights Performing Arts Theater, 20101 Lyons Road, Boca Raton.
Coming next year is Spring Curation, a mixed-repertory program of classic and modern dance, set for May 7 and 8 at Olympic Heights. Next summer will bring Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty, in two performances at Spanish River High School in Boca (July 30 and 31).
For information, visit www.bocaballet.org or call 561-995-0709.
Returning to the stage after a COVID hiatus will be Boca Raton’s professional dance school, the Harid Conservatory. The school presents two performances a year that feature some of the finest young dancers in the country. One of its most anticipated traditions is the spring concert, when the graduating seniors step forward to announce their next moves, which often are initial jobs with prestigious dance companies worldwide.
This year, the Harid dancers will present an abridged version of Act II of The Nutcracker on Dec. 18 and 19 at Spanish River High School’s de Hoernle Theatre, 5100 Jog Road in Boca Raton.
The spring concert performances are set for May 27-29; in the past this has included the premiere of a new dance for the students created by the Canadian choreographer Mark Godden. Those performances also will be at Spanish River High.
For tickets and more information, call 561-997-2677 or visit harid.edu.
Also, the Kravis Center’s PEAK Series of performances, including dance programs, returns to deliver performances that focus on ethnic diversity, provocative and impactful themes.
The schedule includes:
Dec. 10, 8 p.m., the Hip-Hop Nutcracker in the Alexander W. Dreyfoos Concert Hall.
Jan. 8 – 9, 2022, Eisenhower Dance Detroit performs F-E-E-L at the Rinker Playhouse.
Jan. 25-27, 2022, Malpaso Dance Company, a leading Cuban troupe, at the Rinker Playhouse.
Feb. 11-13, 2022, Philadanco, a Philadelphia-based company that explores African-American dance traditions, unveils multiple new works to celebrate its 50th anniversary.
April 2, 2022, 8 p.m., Complexions Contemporary Ballet, the New York-based troupe that stresses multiculturalism and barrier-breaking, at he Rinker Playhouse.
For tickets, call the box office at 561-832-7469 M-F, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or email: boxoffice@kravis.org.
Palm Beach State College in Lake Worth Beach is back in the dance business starting early in 2022 with the return of its Friday and Saturday Modern Dance Series for its 35th anniversary season.
This series regularly draws near-capacity attendance both nights. All productions begin at 8 p.m. in the Duncan Theatre on the Lake Worth Beach campus.
The regular season includes:
Parsons Dance, Jan. 14 and 15, featuring a contemporary American dance company renowned for its athletic ensemble work.
Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, Feb. 4 and 5. The ensemble, on its 51st anniversary tour, is a cultural ambassador. The show includes a new work, The Four Journeys, conceived by Amalia Viviana Basanta Hernandez, artistic director of Ballet Folklorico de Mexico.
Pilobolus is back March 4 and 5 with a program called The Big Five-Oh! The company that secured an iconic place in American culture in the early 1970s is still wowing audiences with its mix of wit, sensuality and stunning physical acumen.
Martha Graham Dance visits March 26 and 26. The program will feature the 75th anniversary tour performance of company founder Martha Graham’s masterwork, Appalachian Spring, with its familiar Aaron Copland score.
For all theatre related inquiries, visit theatreservices@palmbeachstate.edu
Finally, the Festival of the Arts Boca will include ballet in its annual production.
On March 6 it will present “A Night at the Ballet,” featuring dancers from the American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet and others. They’ll perform excerpts from Don Quixote, Swan Lake and Romeo and Juliet as well as contemporary works including “She’s a Rainbow” by the Rolling Stones.
For tickets, call the box office at 561-571-5270.