Nonetheless, Garcia said that he hopes to honor the Balanchine DNA of Miami City Ballet. Moreover, he understands Balanchine’s legacy: as a former principal dancer at San Francisco Ballet under Helgi Tomasson, himself a former dancer with New York City Ballet, Garcia transferred to NYCB and later served as repertory director for NYCB upon retiring. “Balanchine and Robbins have always been part of the conversation in Miami City Ballet but also in my life as an artist,” said Garcia. During his pre-curtain speech on the Saturday October 17 evening performance at the Adrienne Arsht Performing Arts Center in Miami, he explained the significance of bringing back “Allegro Brilliante,” which the company performed in its inaugural program in 1986 under the directorship of Edward Villella. 

“American Rhythms” is also Altman’s first program with the company since taking on the executive director role this past June. Altman hopes that Miami City Ballet’s presentation will inspire more companies to rediscover the work. He envisions MCB touring more in the future and said he would love more audiences to see the unique interpretation of the work. But Miami remains a rich place for the company to thrive in the twenty-first century. “We have a thriving ecosystem in Miami where people are always ready for the next new thing,” he said. 

Remarking on the opening performance, Garcia reflected, “seeing it live last night, I was 100% sure that we did the right thing. There was a young audience last night in Miami which I was very happy to see. I talked to a lot of them, and for a lot of them, their favorite piece of the evening was ‘Opus Jazz.’” He added, “a lot of the time, they were surprised when I told them it was created in 1958 because for them it felt like the most modern piece.”