Miami City Ballet is about to have its own experience with dancing with the stars. Former All-Star catcher Mike Piazza (who, you might recall, was a Florida Marlins once for approximately a week) will join the production Slaughter on Tenth Avenue on May 3.
The former New York Met, however, will not be pulling on tights. Instead, he'll appear in a non-dancing role as a gangster. He'll dress in 1920s garb, say a few lines, and watch the rest of the performance from a seat onstage.
Piazza's 6-year-old daughter, Nicoletta, is a student at the Miami City Ballet School, and MCB's artistic director, Lourdes Lopez, persuaded Piazza to take the part.
We're not going to accuse Lopez of jock-sniffing, but since she took over as artistic director, the ballet has attracted some major-league interest. In February, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James posed with MCB dancers for promotional material.