Event
Miami City Ballet
with the Naples Philharmonic
Miami City Ballet
Naples Philharmonic
Gary Sheldon, conductor
Balanchine/Gounod — Walpurgisnacht (Faust)
Tanowitz/Montgomery — New Work by Pam Tanowitz
Balanchine/Ravel — La valse
Presenting their signature blend of beloved Balanchine classics and a magnificent new work by one of this century’s finest choreographers, Miami City Ballet returns for a luminous evening of dance and music with the Naples Philharmonic.
The program opens with Balanchine’s Walpurgisnacht, a vibrant and celebration of Gounod’s music for the opera Faust that exudes joyous revelry, transporting the audience to a realm where the souls of the dead roam freely on the eve of May Day. Following this classic masterpiece is a new work by Pam Tanowitz, one of today’s most in-demand choreographers known for blending movement, music and space to challenge tradition while paying homage to the classics. The evening draws to a close with more than 30 dancers flooding the stage to perform Balanchine’s La valse, brimming with the dark romance and mystery of a disintegrating waltz set to a haunting score by Ravel.
Prelude at 6:30pm
Join members of Miami City Ballet’s artistic team before the performance for an insightful 30-minute prelude discussion about the program.
Miami City Ballet
Miami City Ballet
Described by The New York Times as “an exceptional troupe, by Balanchine standards, anywhere in the world,” Miami City Ballet (MCB) is led by Artistic Director Lourdes Lopez and is considered a leader in the field — nurturing new choreographic voices, creating innovative collaborations and opening new avenues of inclusivity within classical ballet.
Founded in 1985 by Miami philanthropist Toby Lerner Ansin and Founding Artistic Director and ballet legend Edward Villella, MCB is universally admired as one of the world’s preeminent interpreters of the choreography of George Balanchine. Its repertory of more than 100 ballets, including 12 world premieres, was built upon the Balanchine repertory, style and technique and then expanded to include beloved classical works of importance and exciting new choreography by contemporary and ground-breaking artists. MCB maintains annual seasons in Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Broward and Collier Counties, serving more than 132,000 patrons in South Florida through four diverse repertory programs; the treasured Christmas fairytale, George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®; and an expansive national touring program. MCB has toured extensively throughout the United States, Canada and Europe and its 2016 debut at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater was hailed by the national press as a resounding success. The New York Times’ Alastair Macaulay wrote: “Of all the ballet troupes who have visited the Koch in recent years, none looks so truly and completely a company.”
Naples Philharmonic
Naples Philharmonic
Founded in 1982, the Naples Philharmonic normally performs over 140 orchestral and chamber concerts, as well as opera and ballet, education, community and special event concerts from September through June each year.
Meet the Musicians
Alexander Shelley
Artistic and Music Director Meet Alexander
Jack Everly
Principal Pops Conductor Meet Jack
James Ehnes
Artistic Partner Meet James
Manuel López-Gómez
Associate Conductor Meet Manuel
Alvin Ho
Assistant Conductor Meet Alvin
Gary Sheldon
Gary Sheldon
Gary Sheldon returns for his 12th season as principal conductor for Miami City Ballet. He previously held positions with San Francisco Ballet, Atlanta Ballet and BalletMet. He has guest conducted for numerous ballet companies throughout the United States, Canada and Europe, as well as at the Aspen Music Festival, Fairy House Festival at Artpark, Grant Park Music Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, Meadow Brook Amphitheatre and Tanglewood Music Festival.
Sheldon was a prizewinner in the BBC’s Rupert Foundation Conducting Competition and the American Symphony Orchestra’s Leopold Stokowski Conducting Competition, and he recently won top prize for orchestral conducting in The American Prize in Conducting competition. Sheldon currently holds positions with the Lancaster Festival in Ohio (artistic director) and The Festival at Sandpoint in Idaho (principal conductor). He is a native of Bay Shore, New York, and a graduate of The Juilliard School and Institut de Hautes Études Musicales in Montreux, Switzerland.
