{"id":285412,"date":"2026-05-26T23:51:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T23:51:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/285412\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T23:51:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T23:51:09","slug":"miami-city-ballet-orchestra-shines-at-sanctuary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/285412\/","title":{"rendered":"Miami City Ballet orchestra shines at Sanctuary"},"content":{"rendered":"

While the title of Miami City Ballet\u2019s upcoming concert, \u201cBallet Classics Under the Stars,\u201d may suggest an outdoor performance beneath the night sky, the star power will come from the stage at the Sanctuary of the Arts in Coral Gables, where the musicians of the Miami City Ballet orchestra will be in the spotlight.<\/p>\n

Organized by longtime Miami City Ballet music director Gary Sheldon, the concert offers audiences a rare chance to focus on the orchestra as featured performers rather than accompanists to dance. While ballet remains woven throughout the evening, Sheldon says the program is equally about showcasing the musicians\u2019 artistry.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will be ballet selections, of course, but this is really an opportunity for audiences to hear the orchestra live in a different way,\u201d Sheldon says.<\/p>\n

The concert will include several dance-centered works, including the balcony scene from \u201cRomeo and Juliet,\u201d featuring music by Sergei Prokofiev and choreography by Rafi Maldonado-Lopez and Alice Arja for the young dancers of the Sanctuary of the Arts Choreographic Ensemble. Miami City Ballet dancers Nathalia Arja and Rui Cruz will also perform Pontus Lidberg\u2019s \u201cDaybreak\u201d with the music of \u201cAdagio for Strings\u201d by Samuel Barber.<\/p>\n

\u201cDancers who have made their careers at MCB,\u201d Sheldon notes.<\/p>\n

\"Miami Miami City Ballet principal dancer Nathalia Arja takes the stage as a guest artist for the upcoming performance, \u201cBallet Classics Under the Stars,\u201d at the Sanctuary of the Arts. (Photo courtesy of Miami City Ballet) <\/p>\n

But the evening\u2019s primary focus is on the orchestra itself \u2014 something Sheldon says he has wanted audiences to experience more directly for years.<\/p>\n

Throughout his 16 seasons conducting for Miami City Ballet, Sheldon has developed a musical approach rooted in collaboration with choreographers and dancers. Conducting for ballet, he explains, differs greatly from leading a symphony orchestra because the music must respond to movement as much as to the score.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor a dance performance, I have to study and honor not only the composer, but also the choreographer, the dancers and the company\u2019s artistic director,\u201d Sheldon says. \u201cIt\u2019s a shared experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sheldon says he regularly attends rehearsals and ballet classes to better understand how movement affects musical interpretation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need to understand what the body can do in motion . . . and the most important thing is timing. Sometimes, being sensitive to the dancers\u2019 moods, it\u2019s helpful to give them a moment to breathe, because this is a living, breathing art,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\"Company Company rehearsal pianist since 1999, Francisco Renn\u00f3 takes the stage to perform Tchaikovsky\u2019s \u201cPiano Concerto No. 3\u201d during the Miami City Ballet orchestra\u2019s \u201cBallet Classics Under the Stars\u201d at the Sanctuary of the Arts. (Photo courtesy of Miami City Ballet) <\/p>\n

Sheldon\u2019s understanding of the music is essential to the productions. Sheldon recalls working with acclaimed choreographer Alexei Ratmansky during Miami City Ballet\u2019s \u201cSwan Lake.\u201d In one scene involving Odette pleading with hunters not to shoot the swans, Sheldon noticed a musical passage by Tchaikovsky had been removed.<\/p>\n

After playing the passage on piano for Ratmansky, the choreographer decided to restore it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a truly extraordinary melodic modulation, the kind only Tchaikovsky could have composed,\u201d Sheldon says, adding that the restored section gave greater emotional authority to the ballerina.<\/p>\n

Sheldon\u2019s path to ballet conducting began at The Juilliard School in New York, where he studied orchestral conducting and percussion before focusing on entirely conducting at the Institut de Hautes \u00c9tudes Musicales (Institute for Advanced Musical Studies) in Montreux, Switzerland. One of Sheldon\u2019s first ballet conducting jobs came at age 20 with the St. Louis Civic Ballet.<\/p>\n

Before arriving in Miami in 2010 at the invitation of then-artistic director Edward Villella, Sheldon spent six seasons as principal guest conductor with the San Francisco Ballet.<\/p>\n

His debut season with Miami City Ballet carried a personal resonance. Villella programmed Jerome Robbins\u2019s ballet \u201cFanfare,\u201d set to Benjamin Britten\u2019s \u201cThe Young Person\u2019s Guide to the Orchestra,\u201d a piece Sheldon had conducted years earlier during his St. Louis debut.<\/p>\n

Now, Sheldon sees \u201cBallet Classics Under the Stars\u201d as another milestone.<\/p>\n

\"Rui Rui Cruz rehearsing at Miami City Ballet studios for George Balanchine\u2019s \u201cJewels.\u201d The MCB dancer will perform in \u201cBallet Classics Under the Stars,\u201d at the Sanctuary of the Arts. (Photo courtesy of Miami City Ballet) <\/p>\n

He credits Mike Eidson, former president of Miami City Ballet\u2019s board and current president of the Sanctuary of the Arts board, for helping create the opportunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne extraordinary aspect of our orchestra is its profound commitment to the highest values of musical performance,\u201d Sheldon says. \u201cSo dedicated to the ballet company\u2019s repertoire, the musicians never cease to strive for excellence, even when they are not the center of attention. But the time has now come for the public to enjoy their talents live.\u201d<\/p>\n

The concert repertoire reflects Miami City Ballet\u2019s history while also going beyond it. Among the featured works is Tchaikovsky\u2019s \u201cPiano Concerto No. 3,\u201d famously choreographed by George Balanchine as \u201cAllegro Brillante.\u201d Brazilian pianist Francisco Renn\u00f3, who has served as the company pianist for the Miami City Ballet since 1999, will perform the piece.<\/p>\n

\"Concertmaster Concertmaster and violinist Mei Mei Luo steps into the solo spotlight on violin for Pablo Sarasate\u2019s \u201cFantasy on Carmen\u201d during the Miami City Ballet orchestra\u2019s upcoming performance, \u201cBallet Classics Under the Stars,\u201d at the Sanctuary of the Arts. (Photo courtesy of Delray String Quartet) <\/p>\n

Concertmaster Mei Mei Luo will be featured in Pablo Sarasate\u2019s \u201cFantasy on Carmen,\u201d inspired by Bizet\u2019s opera and a new reinterpretation of the classic story by choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, which had its world premiere last season.<\/p>\n

Additional selections include a polonaise from Tchaikovsky\u2019s \u201cThe Sleeping Beauty\u201d and Borodin\u2019s \u201cPolovtsian Dances\u201d from \u201cPrince Igor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sheldon says education and accessibility are also central to the evening. Throughout the concert, he plans to speak directly to audiences about the music and its connection to ballet.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always try to build bridges,\u201d Sheldon says. \u201cPeople who may not know ballet very well can discover Miami City Ballet through the music. And ballet lovers can hear the orchestra in a completely different and perhaps enlightening way.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you go:<\/p>\n

WHAT: \u201cBallet Classics Under the Stars\u201d featuring the Miami City Ballet orchestra<\/p>\n

WHERE: Sanctuary of the Arts, 410 Andalusia Ave., Coral Gables WHEN: 7:30 p.m., Friday, May 29 and Saturday, May 30; 4 p.m. Sunday, May 31<\/p>\n

COST: $58 and $73<\/p>\n

INFORMATION: (786) 362-5132 and Sanctuary of the Arts<\/p>\n

ArtburstMiami.com is a nonprofit source of theater, dance, visual arts, music and performing arts news. Sign up for our newsletter and never miss a story.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While the title of Miami City Ballet\u2019s upcoming concert, \u201cBallet Classics Under the Stars,\u201d may suggest an outdoor…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":285413,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-285412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=285412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285412\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/285413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=285412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=285412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=285412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}