Thirteen is not usually a lucky number. But the 13th edition of the International Ballet Festival of Miami, which starts this week and runs through Sept. 14, looks like it will be a good one, with performances in two major new venues, an enticing range of contemporary and classical pieces by an international cast of dance companies, a show by teen winners of top international ballet competitions, a film series and more.

Even with a lagging economy and a city still more obsessed with bodies at the beach than at the barre, festival director Pedro Pablo Peña says they've come a long way from their first event, which had a $10,000 budget for a single night at Dade County Auditorium.

This year the festival, which now has a budget of nearly $250,000, will for the first time play the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach and the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts.

''All of this has to do with effort and work, but with art you have to make even more effort, particularly in our city,'' Peña says from the Little Havana offices of the Miami Hispanic Ballet, the umbrella organization for the festival. ``But I keep doing it.''

The festival's highlights are the gala performances at the Kravis, Arsht Center and the Fillmore Miami Beach, with companies from Europe, Latin America and the United States. As in other ballet festivals, cost limits the presentations mostly to duets. These include the usual classic pas de deux from Don Quixote, Swan Lake,and Le Corsaire, danced by members of troupes like the Stuttgart Ballet, formerly directed by famous choreographer John Cranko, the Houston Ballet and the Vienna State Opera Ballet.

But this year the more familiar tutu and tunic bravura is equalled by more adventurous repertory.

The Royal Ballet of Flanders is bringing acclaimed contemporary choreographer William Forsythe's In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, which recently played Lincoln Center. The Ballet Do Theatro Municipal Do Rio de Janeiro brings one of their most famous dancers, Cecelia Kerche, in Adam and Eve. Spain's Nacho Duato Compania Nacional de Danza, headed by one of Europe's best known choreographers, will make its first appearance in Miami in Cor Pedut, set to a Catalan song. England's Northern Ballet Theatre, which specializes in dramatic story ballets, is bringing Madame Butterfly, based on the famous opera. There are even two pieces from the Martha Graham Dance Company, the troupe founded by the godmother of modern dance.

There's more modern fare on other programs. On Friday, the festival kicks off with a free performance on Lincoln Road by Brazil's Companhia Nos De Danc¸a, in Camarata de la Danza, an outdoor ''action painting'' piece inspired by painter Jackson Pollock and set to music by Phillip Glass, in which dancers use their bodies to paint a giant canvas.

''I wanted to bring this because I thought it would be popular for the street, that it would be really interesting for people,'' Peña says. The Brazilian troupe will appear again at a contemporary dance performance Sunday at Miami Beach's Colony Theater with three other Latin American modern dance troupes: Miami's Brazarte, Puerto Rico's Andanza Contemporary Dance Company, and the Dominican Republic's Ballet Nacional Dominicano.

A dance film series at the Miami Beach Cinematheque starts Wednesday with Dance of My Heart, a documentary on the life of Cuban choreographer and teacher Alberto Alonso, best known for his ballet Carmen, who passed away last New Year's Eve; and continues Friday with Water Flowing Together, a documentary on famed New York City Ballet dancer Jock Soto, who will make an appearance.

One of the most appealing events of the festival is Saturday evening's show at the Manuel Artime Theater in Little Havana, which features teenage medalists, only 12 to 18 years old, who have won top international ballet competitions like the Youth America Grand Prix and the Prix de Lausanne.

Peña launched the youth showcase several years ago as a way to show off dancers who often go on to major companies, and to inspire the next generation of Miami dancers and audiences.

''It's important that the festival marks this phase for young people, so that they can come to the concert and get enthusiastic,'' he says. ``The dancers are all teenagers, but they're very talented, very lovely, and they're doing their best for ballet and for the love of dance.''

Join the discussion

Note: If this is your first time using our NEW commenting system, you will have to LOG OUT and then LOG BACK IN.

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.CommentBody@

@Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@