Latest news with #Colombian-Belgian
South China Morning Post
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Your perfect week: what to do in Hong Kong, March 30-April 5
Conceived by Colombian-Belgian choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa , this balletic biopic of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo makes its Asian debut on April 4 with the Hong Kong Ballet. Premiered in 2020, the production explores themes of artistic subjectivity and female liberation within a surreal and colourful world of Mexican culture, with performances that blur the line between dance and painting in a swirl of skeletons, Mexican skirts and animals.
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Miami City Ballet's artistic director is leaving. What's next for her and the company?
Just a day after the Miami City Ballet announced its 40th anniversary season, Lourdes Lopez, only the second artistic director since the company was founded in 1985, announced she is stepping down at the end of the season. Speaking from her Coconut Grove home, Lopez says she first wanted to dispel rumors. 'I'm in totally great health. I have energy, vitality, all that. My family is great. My husband is great. My daughters are great, knock on wood.' Lopez, 66, who was hired by the Miami City Ballet in 2012 and officially became the artistic director in May 2013, had two years left on her contract and says her departure was not a decision she took lightly. However, she felt there was something more she could do for the arts in Miami. While her new vision is still in what she calls 'the hypothetical stage,' Lopez wants to be a centrifugal force in building a stronger collaborative infrastructure for all arts groups in Miami to work together. 'There's a vitality to Miami; it's an international city, and there are these pockets of neighborhoods. But there are also certain things within its infrastructure that make it difficult for the arts to truly flourish,' she says. She rattles off names of some of Miami's professional companies — Nu Deco, Miami New Drama, New World Symphony, Florida Grand Opera, and, of course, Miami City Ballet. 'They are producing some high-level quality work on our stages, really impressive programming,' but she concludes that everyone is fighting for the same audience. 'We have the same donors, the same boards. We're all sort of eating each other's lunch. Is there a way to pull our resources together and put all of that under one roof?' She cites an example of Florida Grand Opera presenting 'Carmen,' the first major production to be directed by its new general director Maria Todero in April and only weeks before Miami City Ballet presents its world premiere of Bizet's 'Carmen' by internationally known Colombian-Belgian choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. 'But what if, in a perfect world, or a different world it would be possible for both companies to work together — some kind of shared idea where we aren't competing against each other but working together?' She sums up her new vision: 'I want to figure out the arts in Miami.' Lopez was born in Cuba in 1958. Her parents defected from the island in 1959 and she and her sisters came to the United States two years later. When she was 11, she received a full scholarship to the School of American Ballet (SAB), the New York City Ballet's official school, splitting time between Miami and New York City. At 14, she devoted to full-time studies at SAB, and, at 16 she joined the corps de ballet at the New York City Ballet. She was with NYCB for more than two decades, interpreting many of George Balanchine's and Jerome Robbins's roles as a principal dancer. The role of artistic director for the Miami City Ballet was her first time managing a large organization, she says. There was 'an extraordinary board, group of dancers and artistic team that, when I arrived and I said, 'I have a vision of what the ballet school and the company might look like,' they didn't blink.' During her tenure, she curated groundbreaking programming, including the U.S. premiere of Alexei Ratmansky's 'Swan Lake' and expanded the company's repertory with world premieres including bringing a fresh look to Balanchine's 1962 narrative masterpiece, 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' for the company's 30th anniversary in 2016. She enlisted Miami-born award-winning artist Michele Oka Doner to redesign the ballet's set and re-design the costumes and Liberty City-born Oscar-winner Tarrell Alvin McCraney to guide the dancers through the dramaturgy. She also led the company through the pandemic and ensured that the holiday staple 'The Nutcracker' wouldn't miss its annual performance developing an outdoor COVID-19 safe 'George Balanchine's Nutcracker in the Park' in downtown Doral in 2020. Acknowledging her challenges, opportunities and successes in moving the Miami City Ballet forward, Lopez believes every organization comes to a place where change is necessary. 'After a while, all organizations need new leadership, a company needs new energy, a new way of looking at the dancers, a new way of looking at the community.' Jeff Davis, chair of MCB's board of trustees, in a prepared statement, said that the company has flourished under Lopez's leadership. 'MCB's Board of Directors recently adopted a strategic framework with valuable input from Lourdes. The plan outlines initiatives centered on three main objectives: elevating Miami's profile as a national arts and cultural leader; growing artists and arts enthusiast; and building an endowment for future sustainability. This strategic direction will help guide our search for the next artistic director.' The company has an annual operating budget of about $25 million. The board will begin the process of a search for a new artistic director although no timeline has been set, according to the company. is 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't miss a story at
Miami Herald
15-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Miami City Ballet's artistic director is leaving. What's next for her and the company?
Just a day after the Miami City Ballet announced its 40th anniversary season, Lourdes Lopez, only the second artistic director since the company was founded in 1985, announced she is stepping down at the end of the season. Speaking from her Coconut Grove home, Lopez says she first wanted to dispel rumors. 'I'm in totally great health. I have energy, vitality, all that. My family is great. My husband is great. My daughters are great, knock on wood.' Lopez, 66, who was hired by the Miami City Ballet in 2012 and officially became the artistic director in May 2013, had two years left on her contract and says her departure was not a decision she took lightly. However, she felt there was something more she could do for the arts in Miami. While her new vision is still in what she calls 'the hypothetical stage,' Lopez wants to be a centrifugal force in building a stronger collaborative infrastructure for all arts groups in Miami to work together. 'There's a vitality to Miami; it's an international city, and there are these pockets of neighborhoods. But there are also certain things within its infrastructure that make it difficult for the arts to truly flourish,' she says. She rattles off names of some of Miami's professional companies — Nu Deco, Miami New Drama, New World Symphony, Florida Grand Opera, and, of course, Miami City Ballet. 'They are producing some high-level quality work on our stages, really impressive programming,' but she concludes that everyone is fighting for the same audience. 'We have the same donors, the same boards. We're all sort of eating each other's lunch. Is there a way to pull our resources together and put all of that under one roof?' She cites an example of Florida Grand Opera presenting 'Carmen,' the first major production to be directed by its new general director Maria Todero in April and only weeks before Miami City Ballet presents its world premiere of Bizet's 'Carmen' by internationally known Colombian-Belgian choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. 'But what if, in a perfect world, or a different world it would be possible for both companies to work together — some kind of shared idea where we aren't competing against each other but working together?' She sums up her new vision: 'I want to figure out the arts in Miami.' Early years Lopez was born in Cuba in 1958. Her parents defected from the island in 1959 and she and her sisters came to the United States two years later. When she was 11, she received a full scholarship to the School of American Ballet (SAB), the New York City Ballet's official school, splitting time between Miami and New York City. At 14, she devoted to full-time studies at SAB, and, at 16 she joined the corps de ballet at the New York City Ballet. She was with NYCB for more than two decades, interpreting many of George Balanchine's and Jerome Robbins's roles as a principal dancer. Tenure with Miami City Ballet The role of artistic director for the Miami City Ballet was her first time managing a large organization, she says. There was 'an extraordinary board, group of dancers and artistic team that, when I arrived and I said, 'I have a vision of what the ballet school and the company might look like,' they didn't blink.' During her tenure, she curated groundbreaking programming, including the U.S. premiere of Alexei Ratmansky's 'Swan Lake' and expanded the company's repertory with world premieres including bringing a fresh look to Balanchine's 1962 narrative masterpiece, 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' for the company's 30th anniversary in 2016. She enlisted Miami-born award-winning artist Michele Oka Doner to redesign the ballet's set and re-design the costumes and Liberty City-born Oscar-winner Tarrell Alvin McCraney to guide the dancers through the dramaturgy. She also led the company through the pandemic and ensured that the holiday staple 'The Nutcracker' wouldn't miss its annual performance developing an outdoor COVID-19 safe 'George Balanchine's Nutcracker in the Park' in downtown Doral in 2020. Looking ahead Acknowledging her challenges, opportunities and successes in moving the Miami City Ballet forward, Lopez believes every organization comes to a place where change is necessary. 'After a while, all organizations need new leadership, a company needs new energy, a new way of looking at the dancers, a new way of looking at the community.' Jeff Davis, chair of MCB's board of trustees, in a prepared statement, said that the company has flourished under Lopez's leadership. 'MCB's Board of Directors recently adopted a strategic framework with valuable input from Lourdes. The plan outlines initiatives centered on three main objectives: elevating Miami's profile as a national arts and cultural leader; growing artists and arts enthusiast; and building an endowment for future sustainability. This strategic direction will help guide our search for the next artistic director.' The company has an annual operating budget of about $25 million. The board will begin the process of a search for a new artistic director although no timeline has been set, according to the company. is 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't miss a story at
New York Times
13-02-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Miami City Ballet's Artistic Leader to Step Down After 13 Years
Lourdes Lopez, the longtime artistic director of Miami City Ballet, who championed new ballets and helped to elevate the company's artistic profile, will step down from her post at the end of this season, two years before her contract expires, the company announced on Wednesday. Lopez, 66, who joined the company in 2012 and was originally scheduled to leave at the end of the 2026-27 season, said she was departing early because she had grown passionate about another project: exploring ways for Miami arts institutions to collaborate more closely. 'This has nothing to do with Miami City Ballet,' she said in an interview. 'This is really about Lourdes.' The departure of Lopez, a high-profile cultural figure who rose to fame dancing under George Balanchine at New York City Ballet, came as a surprise to Miami City Ballet's dancers, staff and some board members. While Lopez said she had been thinking about a change for more than a year, she did not make a final decision until Monday, and the news was hastily announced on Wednesday. She said she was ready for a new challenge. 'I have a lot of energy, I have ideas, I have vitality, I have urgency,' she said. 'Balanchine taught us you do it now, or you don't do it.' Jeff Davis, the chair of Miami City Ballet's board, said the company, with a budget of about $25 million, hoped to name a successor to Lopez before the start of the 2025-26 season in October. The board recently outlined a series of goals, including expanding the company's audiences and building its endowment, which is valued at about $4 million, relatively small for a company of its size. Lopez had helped raise artistic standards at the organization, Davis said. 'Her legacy is wanting to have a high-quality product that inspires a diverse crowd,' he said. During her tenure Lopez championed contemporary choreographers, and added important works to the repertory, including Alexei Ratmansky's 'Swan Lake,' which had its North American premiere in Miami in 2022 to positive reviews. In April, the company will present the world premiere of 'Carmen' by the Colombian-Belgian choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. Lopez also faced challenges. She helped guide Miami City Ballet through the uncertainty of the pandemic, when the company lost millions in anticipated ticket revenue. And she was at the helm last year when tensions erupted over a proposal by a group of dancers to form a union. The American Guild of Musical Artists, the union supporting the dancers, at one point accused Miami City Ballet's leaders of leading an 'aggressive, coordinated union-busting campaign.' The dancers ultimately voted not to unionize. Lopez said that in her next chapter she would work to help promote the Miami cultural scene. Too often, she said, arts groups are competing against each other. She noted that the week before Miami City Ballet's 'Carmen' in April, Florida Grand Opera is performing its own 'Carmen' at the same theater. In a time of financial uncertainty for many arts groups, Lopez said it was important to bring institutions together 'underneath one roof.' 'If you look into the future, what do you create that really protects, that cushions, the arts here in Miami?' she said. 'That's what I'm trying to figure out.'
