As the newly appointed artistic director of Miami City Ballet, Gonzalo Garcia has stepped into the role of a select few. There are only a handful of top ballet companies in the country, and of them, Miami City Ballet comes with its own unique circumstances. The repertoire is ambitious, requiring its relatively small troupe of dancers—43 professionals and five apprentices—to tackle a range of dance, from classics by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, to more modern choreographers such as Justin Peck and Alexei Ratmansky. (This, compared to, say, New York City Ballet, which currently has close to 100 dancers on its roster.) In any given season, Miami City Ballet performs in various locations throughout South Florida—including West Palm Beach, at the Kravis Center—as opposed to residing in one home theater, necessitating complicated set, costume, and lighting logistics.
And while Miami’s diverse population comes with great opportunity, it also presents unique challenges. “What works in Paris and New York, or in Los Angeles, is not what might work here,” Garcia says. “There are so many layers. The more time I spent in Florida, in Miami, I realized it’s divided; there are pockets; and depending on where you are, what people want to see might also change. We’ve got to find the process of growing together, of what will be artistically challenging for our artists, but also, at the same time, people who come to see us need to be interested in the conversation, and I want them to be part of [it].”
Gonzalo Garcia, Artistic Director
This fall marks the 40th anniversary of Miami City Ballet, founded in 1985 by Miami philanthropist Toby Lerner Ansin and the legendary male dancer, Edward Villella. To celebrate the milestone, the company has planned a dynamic program, beginning with contemporary works by Justin Peck (including a dance set to music by Sufjan Stevens), and culminating with a new piece by Alexei Ratmansky, as well as a staging of Carmen. While Garcia has been deeply involved in every aspect, the season was confirmed before he came on board. His first fully realized vision for the company will be 2026–2027.
For now, his focus is on learning all the various aspects related to his new position. “There are so many things to take in,” he says. “There is the artistic aspect, which is really amazing because it’s always been a high-caliber company, full of beautiful artists and dancers. And I know the history quite well. My husband was a dancer here for eight years. I feel very connected to the repertoire. That, in some ways, is the easy part. That comes naturally. Then there’s the part of getting to know all the departments, marketing, development. It’s a lot to digest. But super exciting.” A former principal dancer at San Francisco Ballet and New York City Ballet, Garcia retired from performing in 2022. That year, he became Repertory Director at NYCB, coaching dancers in ballets, and joined the faculty of the company’s renowned School of American Ballet. That experience, in particular, has made him appreciate the value of training students, and has made growing Miami City Ballet’s school one of Garcia’s top priorities. “I want to make sure the bridge between the company and the school is a fluid one, that we can hire dancers from our own school. You grow up mentoring those kids. And I want our school to be international in the sense that, I wish I could hire 20 kids at the end of the year, but that’s not a reality. So, you have to prepare kids that carry your stamp, who are well-rounded artists who are prepared to work for any other company in the world.”
This is an excerpt from PALMER Vol.9. To read the full story, click here to purchase the issue.