The ballerinas and male dancers came from Paris, London, and New York, and from companies as diverse as the Martha Graham Dance Company, the Joffrey Ballet, the Royal Ballet Company of London, the American Ballet Theatre (ABT), and the Paris Opera Ballet. Many of them were the principal dancers of their companies, like superstar Natalia Osipova, the prima ballerina of the Royal Ballet, and Christine Shevchenko, the principal dancer of the ABT. Together, they performed for two days in the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Miami.
The extraordinary production at the end of December was the culmination of two years of work by the Ballet Support Foundation and its founder Lola Abigail Koch, a Russian émigré who launched the non-profit organization during the pandemic. “All the dancers were in difficult situations; they didn’t have the opportunity to perform or take classes – and not only professional dancers but dancers in school,” says Koch. “I did a ballet competition, I did workshops, I did intensive programs – all through Zoom. I wanted to do one performance project that was postponed and postponed, and that’s what grew into the gala at the Arsht Center.”
That event attracted an audience of more than 4,000 over two nights and was such a success the Foundation is now planning similar programs in Italy this summer and in Japan next November, with a ballet film festival in New York in October.
So, why Miami for the first gala? “Everyone asks me this question because people know I live in New York,” says Koch, who moved to NYC in 2009 following a career with the Bolshoi ballet company in Moscow. “In New York, there are so many wonderful ballet events happening, in Miami not so many,” says Koch. “We wanted to bring this to Miami because they need more.” Koch is the first to compliment the Miami City Ballet (MCB) – her dancers rehearsed in their studio on Miami Beach – but says that while the MCB is a consummate company for classical ballet, she wanted to showcase contemporary work as well. Regardless, the performance brought attention to Miami’s ballet scene.
Two of the modern works were by Israeli choreographer Rami Be’er (who attended the gala) and performed by the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company. “It was important to help the dancers from Israel, where they could not rehearse. My urgency is to help dancers in hard situations, to give them the opportunity to perform.” Like other dancers, the Israel troupe rehearsed before arriving in Miami – in their case, on route in Italy; others practiced in their home cities of London, Paris, and New York, prior to final group rehearsals in Miami.
Among the guests at the gala was the consul general of Japan in Miami, Kazuhiro Nakai. Japan, it turns out, has a long tradition of appreciating ballet. “The Japanese audiences know the ballet well, the choreographers, the dancers, and the programs – and are big fans,” says Koch. The consul general encouraged the BSF to perform in Osaka.
Other guests included Anka Palitz, the Palm Beach philanthropist and former top Revlon executive honored at the gala. “Many of our donations come in amounts like $500 or $1,500. But Anka is a major supporter. It’s very expensive to produce [these dances],” says Koch, who plans to make the international gala in Miami an annual event.
