Ballet companies from Cincinnati to the Congo have descended upon our shores to eat, sleep, and breathe all things ballet at the International Ballet Festival of Miami, currently underway all over the city. (Well, maybe not eat -- those ballerinas are pretty skinny.) Because the dancers need a break now and then, the festival takes some of the action from the stage to the screen with the Ballet Film Festival of Miami, presented by the Miami Hispanic Ballet.
Though we love all things on pointe, well gladly pull a few grand jetés for the screening of Ballets Russes (September 2), a critically acclaimed documentary of the Russian exiles who fled to Monte Carlo and created the Ballets Russes company. With choreography by George Balanchine, music direction by Igor Stravinsky, and costumes designed by Coco Chanel, it became one of the most famed ballet companies of the Twentieth Century. Another film on the schedule is Constantin Nepokoitchitzky; points will be awarded to anyone who can pronounce that name correctly.
The festival begins August 25 at the Tower Theater (1508 SW Eighth St., Miami; 305-642-1264), and films will be screened at the Miami Beach Cinematheque. Visit www.miamihispanicballet.com.
Aug. 31-Sept. 3