Dancing with Windmills

For the past 401 years, people have fawned over Miguel de Cervantes’s novel Don Quixote, but for the past hundred or so they’ve also enjoyed watching the tale of the senile Spaniard unfold in dance. This weekend the Miami City Ballet opens its 2006-2007 season with a full-length production based on the Petipa/Gorsky version, which many consider the finest. Marius Petipa first choreographed the ballet in 1869 to music by LĂ©on Minkus. Petipa later made a few changes, and then Alexsandr Gorsky completed extensive modifications in 1900. That adaptation became a staple of the Russian stage. Minor changes seem to be part of the tradition, and tonight’s staging is no exception, with costumes and sets on loan from the American Ballet Theatre. A live orchestra will perform Minkus’s score as more than 50 dancers participate at the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts Friday and Saturday at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Tickets range from $22 to $105. Call 305-929-7010, or visit www.miamicityballet.org.
Oct. 13-14