From modern to ballet from Afro-Caribbean to flamenco to classical and everything in-between, Miami Dances returns for a second year in May, bringing a three-day dance event celebrating multi-genre and multi-cultural dance performances as well as masterclasses taught by top-tier professionals.
Hosted by Miami Dance Hub, the event kicks off Sunday, May 5 with masterclasses at Sanctuary of the Arts in Coral Gables, followed by two performances on Friday, May 10 and Saturday, May 11 at Sandrell Rivers Theater in Miami.
Created as a way to open access for people to experience and celebrate multiple genres of dance and transmit the love of dance to new generations, the event also includes an outreach and education component for students.
Dancers Remina Tanaka and Kirsty Walker of Arts Ballet Theater of Florida. (Photo by Patriciasphotography)
“This is an opportunity to showcase the range and depth of the Florida dance communities,” says Cameron Basden, artistic director of Miami Dance Hub and producer of Miami Dances. “There is an abundance and variety of dance here in South Florida and this is an opportunity for audiences to come and experience a bit of everything.”
Dance companies include: Ballet Flamenco La Rosa, Aeon De La Cruz and Nicole Pedraza, Chachi Perez and Carne Viva Dance Theatre, Dance NOW! Miami, Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami, Emily Ricca, and Pioneer Winter Collective, Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida, Ballet Vero Beach, Clarita Filgueiras, Karen Peterson and Dancers, Randolph Ward, RTW Dance and Syncopate Collective and solo artist Reshma Anwar.
Syncopate Collective
Realizing there was a vacuum in the performing arts season and no culminating performance that celebrated dance in South Florida, Basden looked to fill the niche.
Karen Peterson and Dancers. (Photo courtesy of Karen Peterson and Dancers)
“I wanted to showcase and celebrate all the dance genres and to connect with people of all ages and in different locales,” she says, noting that venues have been added to reach more communities.
“It’s the culmination of the dance season and we’ve put all the companies in one place at one time so that people who weren’t able to experience dance in another fashion, can come here and experience it all,” she says.
From left, Ballet Flamenco's Maria Mercedes Perez, Milagros Ventura and Mayelu Perez (Photo by Jenny Abreu)
Dance, she says, can have a transformative quality on one’s life.
“Many people don’t realize where dance can take them, if they allow themselves to be taken,” she says. “Dance can affect your life and open your eyes to the possibilities of life – it’s a wonderful opportunity and a wonderful adventure.”
Basden notes that all the performances are family-friendly and open to the public at $15 per performance.
Ballet Vero Beach will be one of the company's featured in "Miami Dances." (Photo courtesy Ballet Vero Beach)
The ballet masterclass will be taught by former Dance Theatre of Harlem’s principal dancer, Christina Johnson, also a founding member of Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and John Harnage, 32, a Miami native, will come to Miami from New York City, where he lives and is part of the Paul Taylor Dance Company, to teach the Modern Dance class.
Between the two masterclasses, Rafi Maldonado, managing director for Sanctuary of the Arts and founder of Inter-American Choreographic Institute (ICI), and “Men Who Dance,” will lead a discussion and question and answer session with the artists and host a book signing with Johnson, who is featured in two recently released books.
Clarita Filgueiras (Flamenco) (Photo by Maria Roldan)
Harnage studied dance at the Miami City Ballet School, New World School of the Arts, and is a graduate of The Juilliard School. He performed and taught with Jessica Lang Dance for four years before joining the Paul Taylor Dance Company in 2018, (ironically, the same year Paul Taylor died at the age of 88).
“I’m very excited to return to Miami for the Masterclass,” says Harnage by phone from New York. “Miami is where I developed my love for dance and received my training. This is my first opportunity to give back to my community.”
He will teach the class in the style of Paul Taylor, who was influenced by Martha Graham, with an emphasis on movement.
Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami featuring Maikel Hernandez, Miranda Montes de Oca and Pedro Aldana. (Photo by Simon Soong)
Although Harnage had a professional career before joining the Paul Taylor Dance Company, he says it wasn’t until he joined and incorporated Paul Taylor’s signature style into his own, that it all came together and he came into his own as a dancer.
Harnage always knew he wanted to be a dancer. He remembers attending a performance of Miami City Ballet’s "The Nutcracker" with his grandmother as a child and unable to sit still in his seat, got up to dance in the aisles.
Paul Taylor, he says, emphasizes the humanity of each dancer and is characterized by the emphasis on each dancer’s humanity on stage. “We engage and interact on stage and with the audience,” Harnage says. “It’s an opportunity to present who you are and to be yourself – only more so.”
Emily Ricca She has taught for Florida Dance Theatre, Vero Classical Ballet, Florida Arts and Dance Company, Indian River Charter High School and Miami City Ballet School.
“It’s beautiful and empowering to share of yourself,” he says.
For the students coming to his Masterclass, Harnage says he hopes they reinvigorate their love and joy for movement and embrace their sense of power coming from the earth and their back to propel them “anywhere.”
Another Miami native, Chachi Perez, 24, founder of Carne Viva Dance Theatre, says, “I’m very excited to be asked to participate.”
Perez, who self-identifies as “queer” and uses “she/they” as her pronouns, draws on her background as a queer, LatinX and Cuban-American. She fuses Afro-Caribbean dance (“vibrant and colorful”) with modern dance, influenced by La técnica cubana, or Cuban contemporary dance.
She met her “creative companion,” percussionist, David Velazco, (“a match made in heaven”) in Michelle Grant-Murray’s dance class at Miami-Dade College where she says, their “energies collided.”
After graduating from The University of The Arts in Philadelphia in 2021, under the direction of Donna Faye Burchfield, she returned to Miami, got in touch with Velazco and said, “let's make some magic.”
Dance Now! Miami will participate in "Miami Dances." (Photo by Simon Soong)
In 2021, they formed Carne Viva Dance Theatre along with a friend, Jennifer Rivera, and her younger sister, Sam Perez.
Dance, she says, was her outlet for life and played a pivotal role in helping her come to terms with her identity as a queer, LatinX, Cuban-American.
“Dance is always there for me,” she says. “It chose me - but I didn't resist.”
Although it took courage to found her own dance troupe at a young age, Perez says she feels enriched by dance and thankful to have its influence in her life.
Pioneer Winter's "Birds of Paradise" featuring dancers Clarence Brooks and Jessica Gilmore. (Photo courtesy of Pioneer Winter Dance)
“It’s shifted me in many ways that I'm thankful for,” she says. “Everything has been worth it.”
Carne Viva will perform an excerpt of their evening length dance piece, currently in development, entitled, “Dame la Receta,” or, “Give me the Recipe,” referring to the recipe for life.
Born from personal life experience, Perez says she loves when people can see themselves in her stories and take something away.
“I'm coming full circle,” she says. “For me, Miami is where it all started.”
If You Go:
What:
Miami Dances Multi-Genre, Multi-Cultural Dance Performances And MasterclassesWhen:
Masterclasses take place Sunday, May 5 and the two performances Friday, May 10 and Saturday, May 11. Each evening begins at 6:30 p.m. with a pre-show performance in the theatre lobby featuring a solo dance artist. The 7 p.m. performances will culminate with a post-show panel discussion and Q&A with artistic directors and/or artists from the performance.
- The Friday, May 10 pre-show solo dance artist is Junior Domingos. The 7 p.m. performance features Ballet Flamenco La Rosa, Aeon De La Cruz and Nicole Pedraza, Chachi Perez and Carne Viva Dance Theatre, Dance NOW! Miami, Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami, Emily Ricca, and Pioneer Winter Collective.
- The Saturday, May 11 pre-show solo artist is Reshma Anwar. The 7 p.m. performance features Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida, Ballet Vero Beach, Clarita Filgueiras, Karen Peterson and Dancers, Randolph Ward, RTW Dance and Syncopate Collective.
Where:
The two performances will take place at Sandrell Rivers Theater, 6103 NW 7th Ave, Miami. Free parking.Masterclasses will be held at the Sanctuary of the Arts, 410 Andalusia Ave, Coral Gables, 33314. Tickets: $15 for each class can be purchased in advance online or tickets can be purchased at the door for $20 per class. The discussion and Q&A, and the book signing are free of charge.
Tickets:
Performance tickets are $15.Information:
For a schedule and to purchase tickets visit bit.ly/miamidances.
