Lauren Fadeley, Renato Penteado and Miami City Ballet dancers in the 2018-2019 season's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Choreography by George Balanchine. The George Balanchine Trust. (Photo courtesy of Alexander Iziliaev/Miami City Ballet)
Miami City Ballet returns to the Ziff Ballet Opera House at the Arsht Center in Miami with its enchanting reimagining of the ballet "A Midsummer Night's Dream," choreographed by George Balanchine and set to the music of Felix Mendelssohn, to open its season on Friday, Oct. 18, with performances on Saturday, Oct. 19, and Sunday, Oct. 20.
In 1962, Balanchine created his version for the New York City Ballet. Edward Villella, the founding artistic director of Miami City Ballet, danced the role of Oberon in the NYCB production. MCB premiered its "Midsummer Night’s Dream" for its 30th anniversary season in 2016, then brought it back in a 2019 revival. It is truly an original, using Balanchine’s choreography, with artistic director Lourdes Lopez tapping Miami native and renowned artist Michele Oka Doner to create the set and costumes. The production is further elevated by projection designer Wendall K. Harrington, a 2024 Tony Award Honoree for Excellence in Theater.
Miami City Ballet premiered "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in 2016 and opens its season this year at the Arsht Center in Miami Friday, Oct. 18 and at the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, Nov. 3. Above, dancers from the 2018-2019 season production. Choreography by George Balanchine. The George Balanchine Trust. (Photo by Alexander Iziliaev/Miami City Ballet)
Oka Doner’s sets are inspired by the Florida coast, turning the stage into a floating motif of coral and seagrass populated by manatees, seahorses, and underwater life, evoking the heart of South Florida’s treasured marine ecosystems while remaining true to Shakespeare and Balanchine. This reimagined version features a cast of more than 50 dancers and six vocalists.
Oka Doner, in an interview with Miami City Ballet, described the thrill of creating "Midsummer's" sense of place, having grown up in the Chase Avenue area of Miami Beach.
“I’m sitting here at Miami City Ballet, across the street from the old Miami Beach Public Library. Who I am really is centered exactly where I’m sitting. I could walk to my home where I was born, where my grandfather lived, and where I was educated,” she says. “It was wonderful to return and turn a ballet that was centered in a forest in Athens into something that wanted to be in the court of Miami.”
Artist Michele Oka Doner's costume design for the character Helena, a painted, beaded, and appliqued creation representing marine shapes and surfaces for Miami City Ballet's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." (Photo courtesy of Michele Oka Doner)
She recalls how, when first embarking on the project, she took Lopez to the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine Biology, specifically its Invertebrate Museum. “There were 90,000 jars with over a million specimens of what’s in the water that none of us really see. It’s either algae or bits and pieces. From that stew, I created the visuals, and it was wonderful. Lourdes met Dr. Nancy Voss, for whom the museum is now named, and that was such a great beginning.”
Oka Doner's costume designs find inspiration in the flora and fauna of South Florida’s marine life. Puck’s costume is inspired by gold sargassum seaweed, while Hippolyta’s bow is made from Buddha Belly Bamboo. “To see the dancer jump with this golden-looking fringe is just always beautiful,” Oka Doner says of her Puck design. And Hippolyta’s bow: “It’s white gold leaf, and it’s alive.” She also takes delight in her creations of the seahorses. “When you see them come leaping across the stage, it’s so happily absurd to see seahorses dancing, but so joyful, and it fits.”
Sargassum seaweed lends its golden look to Puck's pearled costume of soft leather and organza, adding beauty to his mischief in a costume design by Michele Oka Doner. (Photo courtesy of Michele Oka Doner)
For the set designs, South Dade County’s Coral Castle, a part of Miami’s mythic landscape, inspires Act II, reimagined from a vintage photograph of the Castle taken by Hans Hannau in the early 1940s. The opening image of the ballet is the Port of Miami underwater in a photo from 2014.
On Saturday, Oct. 19, at 1 p.m., Miami City Ballet Artists Director Arantxa Ochoa will present a free 15-minute dance adventure before the matinee performance. Included with the afternoon matinee ticket, children attending will listen to the music and learn movements alongside some of the younger “sea-creature” dancers.
Pre-performance talks at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 19, and at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 20, feature experts from the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science inside the Peacock Foundation Studio. These talks offer an insightful conversation about the Florida coastline, which inspired MCB’s production.
Attendees are also encouraged to arrive early and explore the hidden wonders of the sea in an immersive installation by MAD Arts Museum in Dania Beach, featured in the Arsht Center’s Peacock Room. The installation includes projections and interactive LED displays that echo the Florida ecosystem.
WHAT: Miami City Ballet’s "A Midsummer Night’s Dream"
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18; 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19; and 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 20
WHERE: Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami
ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCES: Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2; 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 3
COST: Prices range from $40 to $270 depending on show time and venue
INFORMATION: 305-929-7010 or miamicityballet.org
