By: Orlando Taquechel

For ballet lovers and knowledgeable audiences (including critics, who are nothing more than specialized spectators), attending all performances provides true enjoyment in any season of a repertory ballet with a plot performed by a big company.

There are a handful of coveted roles where dancers can spend their entire careers dreaming of being called to rehearsal – the moment when a small selection of dancers is chosen to learn various ballet roles – usually by the choreographer or a repetiteur (a person with extensive knowledge of a particular ballet). When that role is Juliet set to John Cranko’s stunning choreography and Sergei Prokofiev’s timeless score, that desire and anticipation grow exponentially.

 On June 28, 1969, after a police raid at the Stonewall Inn, New York City’s gay community broke out in an uprising which became a catalyst for a modern gay rights movement and the beginnings of Pride month. 

As the country commemorates the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans, MCB wishes to celebrate the Black artists from past to present that have captivated us with their immense talent and courage. MCB dancer Luiz Silva asked his fellow dancers, “Who are the Black artists that inspire you?” Here they are listed below.

What is it like for a dancer to get up on stage…and sing?! Terrifying. Thrilling. Maybe a little bit of both.

“After all the fear,” says dancer Ellen Grocki,

Last year MCB dancer Julian Goodwin-Ferris enchanted audiences at Vizcaya Museum and Gardens with Realized Inner Voices, marking his first work as a choreographer. For this year’s To Florida, With Love outdoor performance series Julian returns with Alienating Assimilation, a simmering, contemplative piece for five dancers set to Béla Bartók’s “Violin Duo No. 21, New Year’s Song” and Sebastian Bach’s “Violin Partita No. 1 in B Minor.”