Visceral Reaction: Behind The Scenes At The Miami City Ballet

Principal dancer Jeanette Delgado performing Viscera for the Miami City Ballet. Photo's Courtesy Of Miami City Ballet

BY ALYSSA FISHER

The empty theater looked like home to the Miami City Ballet dancers, who, in a sea of multicolored warm-ups and leotards, instantly dropped their bags and took their places at the portable barres on the stage. The chatter dissipated as the legendary Edward Villella, Founding Artistic Director of MCB, demonstrated the first routine. Focused on a fixed point in front of them, the dancers gracefully stretched their lean limbs in perfectly turned-out tendus, pointing their strong, unbelievably arched feet. Once the barres were removed, they only got more comfortable, chasséing fluidly across the floor. While they were all beautiful, it was shocking to think that in just a few hours, these tired dancers cozying up in legwarmers, socks and crochet knits would be performing the most buzzed about piece in the ballet world.

On February 3, 2012, Miami City Ballet performed Program II of their season, which included three extraordinary works. A diverse set of ballets, Principal dancer and Cooper City Resident Renato Penteado thought they were a very good choice for a program.

“Tonight will go from neoclassical modern to romantic to very elegant,” the Brazilian native said. “This is one of the best programs we’ve had. It’s really for all ages.”

Penteado has been dancing for quite some time, beginning in San Paulo when he was around seven years old. He joined MCB as a member of the corps in 1999, but five years ago, he decided he’d rather live a quiet, suburban life with his wife, Roma, Principal Ballet Mistress, and their golden retriever, Cruiser.

Having danced for as long as he has, Penteado has performed in countless ballets, including In The Night and Ballet Imperial, the last two pieces of the night. While he enjoys each performance, he was excited to have had the opportunity to do a brand new ballet, particularly one as special as Liam Scarlett’s Viscera.

“It’s always nice to do a new ballet and have something to work toward,” Penteado said. “It’s a different feeling. You really grow as an artist.”

Learning Viscera was certainly an experience as it incorporated a particular style Penteado and his fellow company members have never done before. Villella noticed undeniable talent when he first met Scarlett, a member of Britain’s Royal Ballet Corp de Ballet and the youngest choreographer ever to have been commissioned by the company to create a new ballet for its main stage. Villella saw the work, Asphodel Meadows, in London and promptly invited him to create a new piece for Miami – his first American commission.

“After I saw his work, I said ‘wow, who is the choreographer of that?’” he said. “I was told it was his first main stage effort. I couldn’t believe someone at 24 could be that accomplished.”

Villella was glowing as he described the excitement he felt by finding such a rare talent.

“Usually, when you see a young individual who has talent, you get excited naturally, and the first thing you think is wow, you are watching potential,” he said. “But instead of potential, this guy arrives and makes a fully realized work. There’s no potential there. IT is there.”

Villella found Scarlett to be a “delightful human being” while working with him. Villella gave him three weeks to create Viscera, but he instead finished it in two, using the last one for polishing. He played a role in each part of the creation, from designing the costumes and determining the lighting to casting the roles. Viscera was completely his and he knew exactly what he wanted from it.

Choreographer Liam Scarlett at a rehearsal of his ballet Viscera.

To accompany his piece, Scarlett used Piano Concerto No. 1, a challenging score for orchestra and piano by the renowned American composer Lowell Liebermann. No one in the company had heard of this composer, not even the pianist or conductor. When questioned how he found the score, Scarlett explained he had been listening to it for five years.

“After that I got a further understanding of his mindset: a serious individual who knows what it takes to do a fully choreographed, realized, excellent work,” Villella said.

When Viscera premiered, Villella invited him to do another work for next year, which thrilled the MCB dancers. Principal dancer Jeanette Delgado, whom Scarlett dubbed his muse, enjoyed the process of working with him.

“It was so cool watching him move,” she said. “He is just so engaging. We didn’t know the flow or order of the piece right away, so he was so encouraging and focused.”

Both Delgado and Penteado were shocked while rehearsing for the first time on stage.

“It’s actually very dark on stage,” Penteado said. “You really have to feel the music internally. It’s all from the inside out.”

The lighting plays a major role in Scarlett’s piece, which has no story, but rather taps into raw emotion. Viscera is a complex and urgent ballet, specifically created to reflect what he sees as MCB’s outstanding dance qualities of radiant energy, passion and musicality. It is beautifully structured, meticulously crafted and gut-wrenching.

“The darkness gets you outside of your head,” Delgado said. “Your body is going to extremes. The music is very intense; it doesn’t stop.”

Villella calls Viscera a terrific work and believes Scarlett is a one-of-a-kind talent.

“I love his musicality, his points of departure, the way he knows how to use stillness against vital movement,” Villella said. “He knows how to make fervent visually arresting gestures. Talent is so rare anywhere, but in the world of choreography, it is that much more rare. I would say that in the last 100 years, the really great choreographers are about a dozen or so.”

To the dancers, working with Scarlett was a treat, as well, especially because they were so close in age.

“He gets into the studio and he’s just so focused,” Delgado said. “I felt like I was in the studio with someone who was 20 years older than he is. He’s got a lot of maturity when it comes to his work. It is really cool, because he has so much room left to grow and a huge career ahead of him.”

After class, the dancers prepared for rehearsal, shaking themselves into character and practicing off to the side of the stage. The lights dimmed, creating the dramatic effect Villella and the dancers raved about. Marking various steps, the dancers, still dressed in comfy warm-ups, gave an awe-inspiring performance. Watching mistakes get corrected, it was strange to know that Viscera could get even better. From the rehearsal alone, it was evident Scarlett would find fans in South Florida, all who are anxious to see what other extraordinary masterpieces he will bring us next.

Students get a discount! For tickets to see Coppelia, Program IV, visit http://www.miamicityballet.org/Program_IV.php.

Discount Ticket prices are as follows: $25 for the B section, $15 for the C section and $10 for the D section.