43 replies to this topic

[artspatron07]

bart, on May 25 2007, 03:26 PM, said:

Dutko does seem to be missing.  If indeed he has left, it's sad news, considering his excellent work -- dancing and choreographing  one of the better pieces at the "Our Show" performances last month.  With so many new dancers, I guess it's inevitable that some are leaving.

Any official, published news?

His name is no longer listed on MCB's Website  I guess that is confirmation.

Edited by bart, 30 May 2007 - 11:26 AM.
[snip!: hearsay]

[bart]

The MCB website now has posted Jeremy Cox's promotion to principal.  A well-schooled but very individual dancer who is often the most interesting performer on the stage.  Although not a danseur noble by look or temperament, Cox brings riveting kind of edginess, great stagecraft, and remarkable technique to everything he does.  

Congratulations to Mr. Cox! -- and to Eddie Villella for recognizing this very original artist.

Elsewhere on Ballet Talk, Hans has reviewed a student production of Swan Lake (Maryland) with Deanna Sea and Mikhail Ilyin as guest artists.  Ilyin is described as "a former principal dancer with the Miami City Ballet."  The review of both dancers' work is insightful, closely observed, and written with crystalline style.

Here's a Direct Llink to the Blog Entry

Also, if anyone at MCB is reading this, did you notice a little problem with the following entry for the admirable Callie Manning?

Quote

Callie Manning
Hummelstown, Pennsylvania
Trained with Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Summer Intensives at Kennedy Center, Pennsylvania Ballet, and SAB. Joined MCB as a Coryphée in 1999. Promoted to Soloist in 2005. Promoted to Soloist in 2007.

Maybe they mean "Principal Soloist"?  I hope so.  It would be much deserved.

[jps]

Bart,
I think you're going to like Joseph Philips, a  gifted SFB corps de ballet member,  who won  Gold Medals at the USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi (2002), the First Prague International Ballet Competition (2002), the Youth America Grand Prix, NY, (2002) and the Jury Prize at the International Ballet Competition in Helsinki, Finland (2001). This Spring, as you pointed out earlier,  he and Ashley Bouder danced together at  the Youth America Grand Prix 2007 Gala at City Center; he's partnered her before. His departure is a big loss for SFB, but he will have opportunities with MCB he didn't have in San Francisco. Congratulations to MCB and to Joseph Philips! (I chatted with him briefly before he left for Miami and told him I was looking forwrd to seeing him and the Miami City Ballet sooner than I would have seen him if he reamained at SFB. MCB is coming to Berkeley this October! I'm looking forward to seeing this company of which I have heard so much.

[bart]

So much of the above came in piecemeal, I thought it might be a good idea to put the entire roster as it appears on the MCB site as of this date.  50 dancers are listed, plus 5 School Apprentices.

Names without asterisks were promoted to this position from within the company.   Names with asterisks were hired at the given level.  Biographical information is missing for some of the new dancers.

Principals.
Tricia Albertson.  U.S.   (2006)
Mary Carmen Catoya.  Venezuela.  (1999)
Katia Carranza.  Mexico.   (2004)
Jeremy Cox.  U.S.   (2007)
Patricia Delgado.  U.S.  (2007)
Carlos Guerra.  Cuba.   (2003)
Jennifer Kronenberg.  U.S (2001)
Renato Penteado.  Brazil.  (2004)
Rolando Sarabia. *  Cuba (2007)
Deanna Seay.  U.S.   (1998)
Haiyan Wu. *  China.   (2003)

Principal Soloist
Jeanette Delgado.  U.S.   (2007)

Soloists
Didier Bramaz.  France.  (2001)
Isanusi Garcia-Rodriguez *  Cuba.  (2003-2005.  Re-hire: 2007)
Callie Manning.  U.S.  (2005)  Some confusion remains in the dates given in her biography.
Zherlin Ndudi. * Ukraine.  (2007)
Joseph Phillips. *  U.S.  (2007)
Daniel Sarabia. * Cuba (2007)
Marc Spielberger.  Germany (2007)
Andrea Spiridonakos.  U.S.  (2002)
Alex Wong.  Canada (2007)
Yan Zou. * China (2005

Corps de Ballet
Toshiro Abbley. *  U.S.  (2007)
Daniel Baker.  Australia.  (2007)
Maira Barriga. Japan.  (2007)
Kristin D'Addario. U.S.  (2005)
Alexandre Dufaur.  France.  (2002)
Leigh-Ann Esty.  U.S.  (2007)
Sara Esty.  U.S.  (2007)
Katie Gibson. *  U.S.  (2005)
Tiffany Hedman * .  U.S.  (2004)
Kyra Homeres.  U.S.  (2005)
Elizabeth Keller.  U.S.  (2005)
Ashley Knox.  U.S.  (2003)
Jennifer Lauren. * U.S.  (2007)
Neil Marshall *  U.S.  (2007)
Lisa Reneau * U. S. (2007)
Herberth Riascos * (2007)
Allynne Noelle.  U.S.  (2003)
Stephen Satterfield.  U.S.  (2005)
Amanda Weingarten.  U.S.  (2005)
Zoe Zien.  U.S.  (2005)

Coryphees
Michael Sean Breeden.  U.S.  (2007)

Company Apprentices
Bradley Dunlap.  U.S.  (2006)
Cindy Huang. (2007)
Ezra Hurwitz *  U.S.  (2006)
Elice McKinley. Australia.  (2006)
Chaz Meszaros.  U.S.  (2006)
Helen Ruiz (2007)
Chirstine Sciturro * (2007)

School Apprentices
Peter Doll (2007)
Gabriela Gonzalez (2007)
Rebecca King (2007)
Elizabeth Smedly (2007)
Amir Yogev (2006)

EDITED on 6/29 to reflect corrections made by artspatron07 in the post below.

[artspatron07]

Actually bart, Michael was the only company apprentice who was promoted to coryphee. A coryphee is ranked higher in Miami than a company apprentice. The rest that you mentioned remain company apprentices, and Cindy Huang and Helen Ruiz join the company as company apprentices. Christie Sciturro was promoted from student apprentice to company apprentice this year.

[bart]

Thanks for those corrections, artspatron07.  I was working from the list I printed out from the website and did not notice that there was a different heading -- "Company Apprentices" -- at the very bottom of one of the pages.  

I made the corrections to the original list and added a note explaining your contribution.  Thanks again.

There does seem to be a remarkable number of new, newly promoted, and returning dancers.  Not to mention some familiar faces that are gone.  That will add to the challenges -- and fascination -- of the new season.  I'm glad I'll get to see multiple performances of each program.  

[Figurante]

All of the bios are up for all the new dancers in Miami City Ballet for this coming season..... still waiting on the head shots... but I'm sure it will be any day now... especially since Rolando Sarabia's is already up

http://miamicityballet.org/

[Figurante]

Has Isanusi Garcia Rodriguez has been promoted to a Principal Soloist? His name has been moved up to this rank on the website... there is not official published information from any press...

He rejoined Miami City Ballet for this coming season as a soloist...  Here is his bio from the website:

Isanusi Garcia Rodriguez
Havana, Cuba
Trained at the National School of the Arts in Havana and the Academy of Ballet and Jazz in Brazil.  Danced with Carolina Ballet, Ballet National de Cuba, Torino Ballet and the National Ballet of Caracas  Rejoined MCB as a Soloist in 2007. \

Anyone have any information?


Miamicityballet.org

[Helene]

We assume that company websites are correct in the list of rankings, unless changes are retracted.  It's a toss-up whether the website or a press release is issued first, but in our experience, the bios are usually the last to be updated.

[bart]

Thanks for that news, Figurante.  "Principal Soloist" certainly seems more appropriate to his unique dramatic qualities and his usefulness to the company before he left temporarily.  MCB now has a surfeit of impressive males at or near the top.     Quite a reversal from last season.  

[bart]

In an earlier post, Holly Fusco reported on the hiring of Toshiro Abbley as a new member of the corps.  There's still no photo, but there is a YouTube link to his very young dancer's performance at the 2006 Performing Arts Spotlight Awards at the Music Centger of the LA County Performing Arts Center.  (Paste in:   Toshiro Abbley Performance #1.)  

Abbley won the "Great Hope Prize" at the USAIBC, and you can see why the people at MCB might have been anxious to get the chance to develop his potential.

P.S.  Can anyone tell me what's the variation he is performing?  It has an ancient Egypt look to it.

[pj]

It's the Bronze Idol variation from La Bayadere.

[bart]

   Thanks, pj.  That deserves a second blushing smilie:  

I think I'm used to a different look:  smaller dancer, faster movement.

[Figurante]

Here is a great article on Joseph Phillips, the coined "Golden Boy" of ballet, who has now joined MCB this season.

http://news.enquirer...T/70806016/1025

[bart]

Thanks, Figurante.  The article goes into the history between Phillips and Villella/MCB.

Quote

Phillips’ choice of Balanchine’s “Tarantellaâ€� for the Gala “is a great opportunity to work on a piece like this with Edward Villella,â€� Phillips says in a rich South Carolina drawl. He’s partnering for the first time with New York City Ballet’s Ana Sophia Scheller. Phillips invited her to join him after seeing a City Ballet program and knowing he needed a partner steeped in Balanchine tradition.

They are spending this week working under Villella’s tutelage and Phillips wouldn’t mind if the sessions put ideas in Villella’s mind about casting later this season.

At the beginning of his career, Phillips turned down an offer to join Miami City Ballet after Villella saw him in competition. Phillips chose San Francisco Ballet instead.   When he decided it was “a great ballet but not right for me,â€� he called Villella and asked if he was still interested.

Phillips, freshly arrived in Miami, isn’t thinking beyond the upcoming season. “I want them to get to know me. I just want to dance more and more and more and make my name known along with the company.â€�

It's great that MCB is attracting this kind of male talent -- and ambition.   I hope the company is the kind of fit -- and offers the opportunities -- that Philips seems to be looking for.  

This, along with the arrival of the Sarabias, Ndudi, Rodriguez and some of the other new men, promises a highly charged and very interesting season.  

The casting for "Jewels" should tell us something.   Any thoughts about that from you MCB watchers?