Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami And The Facets of Contemporary Ballet

Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami dancers in “Chopin Variations” by choreographer Samuel Kurkjian. The company performs on Saturday, Nov. 16 at the Dennis C. Moss Cultural Arts Center, South Miami.  (Photo courtesy of Simon Soong, courtesy of Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami)

Since its founding in 2016, Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami has consistently spotlighted new ballets created by contemporary, cutting-edge choreographers in an art form that often showcases works created centuries ago.

The company’s Saturday, Nov. 16 program at the Dennis C. Moss Cultural Arts Center features three premieres: The Miami debut of Samuel Kurkjian’s “Chopin Variations,” the company premiere of “Something to Remember You By” by Chicago-based choreographer Stephanie Martinez, and “Surrender,” a poignant duet by Jerry Opdenaker.

The evening closes with a high-energy reprisal of “Imagined Notions” by Yanis Pikieris, DDTM’s artist-in-residence.

DDTM dancers perform, “Imagined Notions” by choreographer, Yanis Pikieris. (Photo courtesy of Simon Soong, courtesy of Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami)

“If I had to title the program I might name it ‘Facets’ because I think each work represents a different facet of what ballet has become in the 20th century and a hint at where it’s going,” explains Jennifer Kronenberg, who is co-artistic director of the company with husband Carlos Guerra.

Kurkjian’s “Chopin Variations” is the most traditional work in the forward-leaning program.  Set to the piano solos of Polish composer, Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849), the 14-minute work features DDTM dancers Emily Bromberg, Maikel Hernandez, Chloe Freytag, Mayrel Martinez, Selah Jane Oliver, Paulina Zambrana, Jessica Arechavaleta and Amelia Rouff.

Kurkjian joined Boston Ballet in 1968 serving as a principal dancer and the company’s first resident choreographer before teaching at the Walnut Hill School in Boston until his death in 2013.

“Chopin Variations” finds its way into the DDTM program through its relationship with Ballet Vero Beach.   Adam Schnell, founder and artistic director of BVB, attended the Walnut Hill School and was Kurkjian’s student.  Schnell cites the reason for the choreographer’s enduring relevance in his teacher’s musicality.

“Sam studied choreography with George Balanchine while on a Ford Foundation fellowship,” says Schnell referring to the legendary New York City Ballet artistic director and choreographer.  “They (Balanchine and Kurkjian) are very similar in the way they break down steps and energies and accents.”

Co-artistic director Guerra says that when he first saw Kurkjian’s piece it recalled his own time dancing “Allegro Brillante,” referring to the Balanchine masterwork.

“All my memories of dancing Balanchine works came flooding back.  For some of my dancers like Emily and Chloe,” he said referring to DDTM dancers, Emily Bromberg and Chloe Freytag, “this makes them so happy since they have also been Balanchine trained at Miami City Ballet.”

DDTM dancers Emily Bromberg and Maikel Hernandez dance “Chopin Variations” by choreographer, Samuel Kurkjian. (Photo courtesy of Simon Soong, courtesy of Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami)

A late addition to the November program is the DDTM debut of “Surrender,” a poignant duet set to the music of Mark O’Connor and choreographed by Jerry Opdenaker, artistic director and founder of Palm Beach County’s O Dance.

“(Jerry) was inspired by a painting by Nigel Van Wieck,” says Kronenberg. Van Wieck is a contemporary American realist artist whose paintings are frequently compared to those of Edward Hopper. “The painting is of a couple with the man standing in silhouette in the foreground and a woman sprawled in the background.”

The choreographer conceived the duet as a conversation between the two leading up to the moment captured in the painting and the ballet closes by recreating its scene.  Melissa Verdecia and Rafael Ruiz del Vizo will dance the work for the company.

The program also includes the company premiere of “Something to Remember You By.”  Martinez originally created “Something to Remember You By” for Tulsa Ballet II, the semi-professional company of Tulsa Ballet, which premiered the work in September 2021.  The ballet features twelve dancers – seven women and five men – and is set to music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Frédéric Chopin, Felix Mendelssohn and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

The inspiration for the piece was the choreographer’s grief over the loss of her mother.  “I almost canceled the commission with Tulsa Ballet II because it occurred just weeks after (her passing),” she explains.  “Then I decided that I am just going to do this because I need to.  I was deeply myself in that moment and wanted to celebrate what happens to a person when they are going through a stage of grief.”

Martinez has worked previously with Joffrey Ballet, Ballet Hispanico and Nashville Ballet, among others.  In 2020, she launched PARA.MAR Dance Theatre in Chicago, dedicated to amplifying diverse voices in contemporary ballet.

The November program closes with “Imagined Notions,” a 25-minute work in five movements set to music by Welsh composer, Karl Jenkins, and danced by the company.

DDTM dancers strike the final pose in “Imagined Notions” by choreographer, Yanis Pikieris. (Photo courtesy of Simon Soong, courtesy of Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami)

Last performed by DDTM in 2019 at the renowned Jacob’s Pillow dance festival in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, this high-energy piece was originally created by Pikieris in 2002 while he was with Miami’s Maximum Dance Company, which he co-founded in 1996 with David Palmer. The two are former Miami City Ballet dancers.

Both Kronenberg and Guerra say they connected viscerally with the piece as young dancers when they were beginning their careers with Miami City Ballet.

“I had just turned 18,” says Kronenberg,  “and I have very vivid memories of being starstruck by some of the principal soloists and dancers in the company.”

As those dancers retired from MCB, many of them found a new home in Maximum Dance.

“Maximum was just a bouquet of superstars to me, and I wanted to be like all of them,” added Kronenberg.

The choreographer himself notes how much the piece has grown since its 2019 premiere with DDTM.

“The piece has evolved over the time I’ve had to play with it, and I adapt it to the abilities of the performers I work with,” says Pikieris.  “The piece used to be a series of duets but now it’s more of a group piece.  It makes fun use of large black boxes at the beginning where the ladies sit and wait for the guys who are late.  When they arrive, the pure fun begins.”

WHAT: Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami’s “Fall Performance”

 WHERE: The Dennis C. Moss Cultural Arts Center Main Stage, 10950 SW 211 St., Miami

 WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday, November 16

 COST: $25, $35 and $45

 INFORMATION: (786) 573-5300 or www.mosscenter.org.

ArtburstMiami.com 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 www.artburstmiami.com.