\u201cThe young woman performing was spectacular and had a special spark in her eyes,\u201d Baumgarten recalled.<\/p>\n
Rojo is now artistic director of San Francisco Ballet.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is those moments,\u201d Baumgarten said, \u201cthat make international festivals so valuable: sharing with immense talents, feeling the respect shown for our work around the world and following the paths of those who area (headed) toward magnificent lives careers.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Colombian principal dancer Jos\u00e9 Manuel Ghiso and his wife, Chilean principal dancer Natalia Berrios, the festival became an important part of their international careers. Ghiso first performed at the festival in 1999, Berrios made her debut in 2001. They returned together in 2011 and 2016 as a partnership from the Ballet de Santiago before dancing the \u201cOnegin\u201d pas de deux as their farewell festival performance in 2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs performers, the festival was a vitally important international platform for our professional careers, as it allowed us to remain relevant and hold our own alongside the invited international stars.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jennifer Kronenberg and Carlos Guerra also credit the festival with helping strengthen artistic relationships. The pair debuted at the festival in 2004 while principal dancers with Miami City Ballet and later returned representing their own company, Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami, which they founded in 2016.<\/p>\n
\u201cParticipating in the IBFM has been an immense honor for DDTM,\u201d Kronenberg said, adding that the opportunities to connect with artistic directors, choreographers and dancers from around the world has been invaluable.<\/p>\n
![\"Dancers](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1786319320_722_.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
(Photo by @patriciasphotography)<\/p>\n
Dancers in the Stars Gala of the 25th IBFM (2020), held without an audience due to restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. <\/p>\n
Since moving to the United States in 2016, Cuban dancer Mayrel Mart\u00ednez said she has performed at the festival on several occasions: first with the Cuban Classical Ballet of Miami and later representing DDTM.<\/p>\n
While there were career milestones, there was one experience that she said was memorable due to the extraordinary circumstances.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire festival was livestreamed\u2014with no audience in the theater\u2014and the feeling was very strange. Performing in an empty theater served as a reminder of just how much the audience is part of every performance, and that we dance not only to execute choreography but also to communicate and connect with others,\u201d Mart\u00ednez said.<\/p>\n
For Japanese dancer Remina Tanaka of the Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida (ABTF), participating in his first festival was especially unforgettable. \u201cIt took place in August 2021, just weeks before I officially began my first season with ABTF, so it was my first performance in Miami.\u201d<\/p>\n
A year later, he found himself sharing the program with dancers he had admired since he was a teen.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2022, I had the honor of meeting Martina Arduino and Marco Agostino, principal dancers with the Teatro alla Scala Ballet. They were two dancers I had admired since my teenage years\u2014watching their performances on YouTube and later on Instagram while dreaming of becoming a professional ballet dancer myself. Sharing the bill with them was an almost surreal experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
The IBFM also marked the first opportunity for freelance Cuban dancers Beatriz Garc\u00eda and Armando Bryson to perform in the United States after they emigrated in 2022; both say they are \u201cimmensely grateful\u201d to IBFM director Eriberto Jim\u00e9nez for what they describe as \u201ca genuine welcoming embrace.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Remina](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1786319320_146_.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
Remina Tanaka made his debut with the IBFM before officially beginning his first season with the Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida (ABTF). (Photo by @patriciasphotography)<\/p>\n
Among their favorite memories was dancing during a free performance on Lincoln Road, where passersby stopped to watch and later attended one of the festival\u2019s theater performances.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter one of the main theater performances, a group of people waited for us to say they had decided to come see the show after having watched us dance on the street.\u201d<\/p>\n
The festival has also created lasting memories for Venezuelan dancer Mary Carmen Catoya, who in 2023 both performed Vladimir Issaev\u2019s \u201cVertigo\u201d and accepted the festival\u2019s \u201cA Life for Dance\u201d award on behalf of the Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida founder while he recovered from COVID-19 in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe wonderful thing about a festival like this is that every company, choreographer and dancer brings a part of themselves to the stage,\u201d Catoya said.<\/p>\n
While dancers remain at the heart of the festival, an IBFM initiative also recognizes those who document and preserve the art form.<\/p>\n
Since 2007, the festival has presented its \u201cCriticism & Culture of Ballet\u201d Award to journalists and scholars whose work has advanced dance criticism and education. This year\u2019s recipient is Christine Jowers, founder and editor of the digital magazine \u201cThe Dance Enthusiast.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt a time when serious journalism faces enormous challenges,\u201d explains Jim\u00e9nez, \u201cthe immediacy of social media has transformed how information is consumed, making it more important than ever to recognize professionals committed to rigor, research, and quality in their work,\u201d festival founder and director Eriberto Jim\u00e9nez said.<\/p>\n
Previous recipients say the honor has helped raise their international profile.<\/p>\n
Uriel Garc\u00eda, director of La Casa de la Danza in Logro\u00f1o, La Rioja (Spain), who received the honor in 2024, said it has been a significant boost to outreach efforts.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis award is a tremendous tribute to the effort, perseverance, and love with which we at La Casa de la Danza in Logro\u00f1o work every day to preserve, promote, and elevate the art of dance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mexican journalist Rosario Manzanos\u2014a columnist for the newspaper Exc\u00e9lsior and a 2023 award recipient \u2014 said the award connected her with a lineage of respected dance critics she has long admired.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt still amazes me to have met the learned (New York Times critic) Clive Barnes and to have interviewed my friend Anna Kisselgoff (New York Times dance critic). So, it was with great joy that I reunited with my mentor Orlando Taquechel. It is deeply significant that, just like Clive and Anna, we have both received the same distinction from the IBFM,\u201d concludes Manzanos.<\/p>\n
Jim\u00e9nez believes those connections remain one of the festival\u2019s defining strengths.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter 31 years, we continue to believe that dance is a universal language capable of uniting cultures, inspiring new generations and enriching the lives of our community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
IF YOU GO<\/p>\n
What:\u00a0The 31st International Ballet Festival of Miami<\/p>\n
When\/Where: Contemporary Performances:\u00a08 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 6, Euclid Oval, Lincoln Road, 660 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach (free); 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7, Manuel Artime Theater, 900 SW 1st St., Miami; 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 8, Dennis C. Moss Cultural Arts Center, 10950 SW 211 St., Cutler Bay; 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 9, Amaturo Theater, Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW 5th Ave., Fort Lauderdale.<\/p>\n
Classical Ballet Performances:\u00a08 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 15, Grand Classical Gala, The Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater, 1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach; 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 16, Closing Gala of the Stars, The Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater, 1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach.<\/p>\n
Cost: Lincoln Road (free). $45, contemporary performances. $40 to $70, classical performances.<\/p>\n
Information: (786) 747-1877 and\u00a0internationalballetfestival.org<\/a><\/p>\n ArtburstMiami.com<\/a>\u00a0is a nonprofit media source for the arts featuring fresh and original stories by writers dedicated to theater, dance, visual arts, film, music and more. Don\u2019t miss a story at\u00a0www.artburstmiami.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 31st International Ballet Festival of Miami (IBFM) is in full swing on stages across South Florida. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":367118,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-367117","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\/367117","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=367117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367117\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/367118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=367117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=367117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=367117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}