Miami City Ballet to Perform George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker in the Park
In the outdoor splendor of Downtown Doral Park, the innovative multimedia production uses animation, projection, video and live sequences.
Coming this December, Miami City Ballet presents George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker in the Park, live before an audience in the outdoor splendor of Downtown Doral Park. The innovative multimedia production which uses animation, projection, video and live sequences, also takes COVID-19 precautions into careful consideration. It prioritizes the health and safety of audiences, dancers, students and staff while delivering all the magic and joy of the beloved holiday classic.
The opening performance on December 18th will be a special and free production in salute of first responders and essential workers and followed by thirteen general audience performances from December 19th through December 31st. (Full schedule listed below.)
With indoor performances cancelled across the country, South Florida’s warm weather provided the nationally renowned MCB the unique opportunity to reimagine Balanchine’s cherished tale of winter wonderland in an outdoor setting to continue this holiday tradition for its communities – at a time when joy, comfort, healing, and inspiration through the arts are more vital than ever.
Lourdes Lopez, MCB Artistic Director, remarked that “George Balanchine’s Nutcracker is an iconic, time-honored, deeply cherished ballet that depicts the essence of winter – of families coming together, of challenges and dreams, of progress and accomplishment – and the music that Tchaikovsky wrote captures it perfectly. People look forward to seeing it time and time again. This year, in our 35th anniversary season, it takes on additional meaning in the face of this unforgiving virus. We have adapted this incredible story for an outdoor setting, while working to meet the health and safety needs of our audience, dancers, students and everyone involved in the production. It has been a profound and powerful journey to witness business, medical and government sectors join forces with a ballet company to bring joy and healing to their citizens, to keep our dreams alive, to be entertained, to hum the melodies we all know, and most of all, to dance.”
Guests will journey with Marie and her Prince through MCB’s original, Miami-inspired production that The Miami Herald called “jaw dropping,” “exceptional” and “a riot of colors,” through a combination of live performances alongside animated and video sequences projected on a giant screen – all while safely seated in socially distanced pods.
“We are incredibly grateful for the generous partnership and support from the Codina Family, Downtown Doral, the City of Doral, and our healthcare partner Baptist Health South Florida for helping us bring these performances to the community,” adds Tania Castroverde Moskalenko, MCB Executive Director.
“The Codina family is honored to be a part of bringing this Holiday tradition to Downtown Doral,” said Ana-Marie Codina Barlick, CEO of Codina Partners. “We have been supporters of Miami City Ballet, one of the Nation’s most respected ballet companies for many years, and we feel blessed to have this opportunity to partner with their visionary leader, Lourdes Lopez, on giving our community the much needed gift of joy at the end of a challenging year.”
For Tickets:
Opening performance on December 18th for essential workers is free, but tickets are required due to limited capacity. To claim free tickets, sign up to receive an email to be notified when tickets will be released.
Tickets for the general public (costing $120 to $285) go on sale Monday, October 26 at 1:00pm or by calling 305.929.7010. All tickets are sold as pods, a socially distanced section of lawn that holds a maximum of 4 people.
Downtown Doral Park is located at 8395 NW 53rd Street, Doral, Florida 33166. Gates open one hour prior to performance time
Exclusive Performance for first responders and essential workers:
Friday, December 18: 7:30pm
General Public Performances:
Saturday, December 19: 4pm & 8pm
Sunday, December 20: 4pm & 8pm
Tuesday, December 22: 7:30pm
Wednesday, December 23: 7:30pm
Thursday, December 24: 3:30pm
Saturday, December 26: 4pm & 8pm
Sunday, December 27: 4pm & 8pm
Wednesday, December 30: 7:30pm
Thursday, December 31: 4pm
** Rain Date: Tuesday, December 29,7:30pm
Brett Graff is SocialMiami.com’s managing editor and has been a journalist covering money, people and power for over 20 years. Graff contributes to national media outlets including Reuters, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, Maxim, and the PBS show, Nightly Business Report. A former U.S. government economist, her nationally syndicated column The Home Economist is first published in The Miami Herald and then on the Tribune Content Agency, where it’s available to over 400 publications nationwide. She is broadcast weekly on two iHeartRadio news shows and is the author of “Not Buying It: Stop Overspending & Start Raising Happier, Healthier, More Successful Kids,” a parenting guide for people who might be tempted to buy their children the very obstacles they’re trying to avoid.
