Vogue Spotlights New Production of Jerome Robbins’ N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz

MIAMI CITY BALLET STEPS INTO THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
AS A NEW SEASON TAKES SHAPE

(Miami Beach, FL – October 5, 2026) – Miami City Ballet (MCB) shines in the national spotlight as Artistic Director Gonzalo Garcia prepares to launch his first fully programmed season, with a major Vogue feature and appearances over the weekend on two prominent New York stages. In “Jerome Robbins’s Opus Jazz Gets a Miami Makeover,” Vogue writer Lilah Ramzi turns her attention to MCB’s upcoming company premiere of the iconic work and the new GapStudio costumes designed by Zac Posen for the production. The feature comes ahead of MCB’s October 16 season opening with American Rhythms, running October 16–25 in Miami and Fort Lauderdale. For more information, please visit www.MiamiCityBallet.org

The Vogue feature kicked off a weekend that also saw MCB return to New York City Center’s Fall for Dance Festival and appear Sunday at Works & Process at the Guggenheim, where Miami-born, Tony Award-winning choreographer and former MCB Principal Dancer Patricia Delgado offered a preview of Push the Buttons of the Civilized, her new work for MCB, ahead of its world premiere as part of American Rhythms.

In Vogue, Ramzi calls N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz “the first real glimpse of where [Garcia] intends to take the company.” The story explores his vision for MCB; the first authorized redesign of the ballet’s original stage costumes since its premiere nearly seven decades ago; and the ways Robbins’ quintessentially New York ballet is being reimagined for Miami. “This is when my vision really starts getting developed,” Garcia tells Vogue. “I wanted to pay tribute to the incredible legacy and DNA of the company, but I also wanted to find new voices—new choreographers, new designers, new revivals of ballets that have not been done.”

The Vogue feature also includes the exclusive premiere of a new two-minute film directed by filmmaker and former dancer Ezra Hurwitz and shot in Miami with Miami City Ballet dancers wearing Posen’s new costumes. Set against a spare white studio, the film distills movement from across Robbins’ N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz into a cinematic celebration of the ballet’s unmistakable attitude and what Hurwitz describes as its “mid-century swagger.”

“Opus Jazz lives in the real world, the way West Side Story is anchored in Manhattan,” Hurwitz tells Vogue. “At the same time, the dancers pull you into an almost parallel universe.”

For MCB’s company premiere, N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz takes on a distinctly Miami character. Vogue notes that Posen turned up the temperature on the production’s palette with saturated colors inspired in part by Miami’s heat, while his new GapStudio costumes bring contemporary streetwear including denim, hoodies, button-down shirts, relaxed trousers, and T-shirts to the ballet’s 16 dancers.

“Gap and this ballet speak the same language,” Posen tells Vogue. “Denim, jersey T-shirts, sweats, fleece, shirting—these are the American classics.”

Created in 1958, N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz broke with ballet convention from the start. There are no pointe shoes or tutus. Robbins instead put his young dancers in sneakers and street clothes, moving with a grounded physicality to Robert Prince’s jazz score. As Vogue puts it, the ballet was born of “New York cool,” but this fall, “in Miami, it’s about to get a little hotter.”

N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz is part of American Rhythms, the high-energy program launching Gonzalo Garcia’s first fully programmed season at Miami City Ballet. The program also features the world premiere of Push the Buttons of the Civilized by Patricia Delgado, created in collaboration with award-winning Miami artist Emily Estefan, and George Balanchine’s dazzling Allegro Brillante.

American Rhythms runs October 16–25, 2026, in Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Tickets are available now at MiamiCityBallet.org or by calling 305.929.7010.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE VOGUE FEATURE & WATCH THE FILM BY EZRA HURWITZ

ABOUT MIAMI CITY BALLET

Miami City Ballet is one of America’s premier ballet companies, recognized nationally and internationally for its artistic excellence, vibrant style, and innovative spirit. Founded in 1985 by Miami philanthropist Toby Lerner Ansin, the company has earned its place as a leader in the field, nurturing new choreographic voices, forging bold collaborations, and championing greater inclusivity in classical ballet. Its artistic leadership has included Founding Artistic Director Edward Villella (1985–2012), Lourdes Lopez (2012–2025), and current Artistic Director Gonzalo Garcia. Rooted in the legacy of George Balanchine while embracing a wide-ranging repertory of more than 100 works, Miami City Ballet performs for nearly 125,000 audience members annually across South Florida and on tour. The Miami City Ballet School annually serves over 1,500 students from around the world, and the company’s community engagement programs reach approximately 20,000 people each year, using the power of dance to inspire, educate, and connect. Miami City Ballet is based in Miami Beach at the Ophelia & Juan Js. Roca Center, designed by the internationally acclaimed architectural firm Arquitectonica.