Miami Motel Stories Team Returns With Wynwood Stories in April

Juggerknot Theater Company is back again with another iteration of its popular Miami Motel Stories series. Only this time, there’s no motel. Juggerknot’s Executive Artistic Director, Tanya Bravo, explains that its next production will tell the story of one of Miami’s most swiftly developed neighborhoods: Wynwood. Since there’s no physical…

Confessions of a Cocaine Cowboy Could Take Rakontur to the Big Time

When filmmaker Billy Corben was putting together the 2006 crime documentary “Cocaine Cowboys,” he came across an epic document. It was a deposition from Jorge “Rivi” Ayala, a former hitman for Miami drug queen Griselda Blanco. At a whopping 1,300 pages, Ayala’s testimony walked authorities through the bloodshed of…

Miami Needs to Talk About Mental Health

When I tell you I moved down to Miami for the weather, I really mean I moved to South Florida to escape my depression. I’m not alone. Many people believe the Magic City, with its brilliant sunsets and never-ending attractions, will redeem them from darkness. The…

In Dov, a Young Basketball Player Bares His Soul Onstage

Izzi LieberPerson talks to the beat of his own basketball. Through hours of rehearsal, the 13-year-old rarely stops dribbling, the punch of ball against floor reverberating throughout the intimate studio next to Miami Theater Center. Even when he’s not performing — when he’s talking, or laughing, or just passing the time…

Miami City Ballet Draws Inspiration and Experience From Wynwood

Alfredo Garcia, associate executive director of the Miami City Ballet, wants his students to be ready for life after school. “These are young men and women who have dedicated their lives to dance and are trying to obtain gainful employment after they leave our school,” Garcia said about the challenge…

Carmen Pelaez’s Stage Play Fake Explores Art and Truth

For actress and playwright Carmen Pelaez, inspiration comes from real-life work experience. “I was working in the art world and I would deal with all these people on eBay selling obvious fakes,” she explains, recalling the beginnings of her latest play, “Fake.” “They were doing it very poorly and being…

Brigid Baker Commemorates Victims of the AIDS Crisis in Big Wonder

In times of turmoil and chaos, Miami choreographer Brigid Baker encourages us to see the beauty. In her show Big Wonder, premiering January 18 at the Miami Dade County Auditorium, Baker will take audiences through a journey of remembrance and celebration. “In the end, there is only beauty,” remarks Baker,…

ScreenDance Fest Combats Toxic Masculinity Through Dance

Bodies swirling in motion, traversing space, and challenging expectations, all on the big screen. That’s what ScreenDance Miami, a film festival dedicated to showcasing dance on film, is all about. From Wednesday, January 16, to Saturday, January 19, ScreenDance will project films at three locations: The Light Box at the…

Manny Garavito Gives Miami Comics a Place to Work Out

Comedian Eliot Chang warmed up to the Monday-night crowd at RedBar in Brickell. You might have seen him on Chelsea Lately or his episode of Comedy Central Presents. Chang had headlined a show at the Open Stage Club in Coral Gables the previous Saturday but opted to stick around a few more days to enjoy the Miami weather.

Contra-Tiempo Director Ana Maria Alvarez: “Joy Is a Radical Act”

Ana Maria Alvarez fights the patriarchy with creativity. The founding artistic director of Los Angeles dance company Contra-Tiempo will premiere her new work, joyUS justUS, at the Arsht on November 16. “We’re an urban Latin dance theater company. Our mission from day one has been about social justice and using…

How Darius Hickman’s Rocky Florida Childhood Made Him a Star

Piano chords thrum as a sole spotlight illuminates a male staring defiantly into a camera, adorned in makeup and a flowing, ethereal white gown. Under two minutes of flawlessly executed contemporary dance follows, the male-female duo onstage narrating a story through their movements. It’s a tale of a man grappling with an intrinsic desire to be himself and the expectations society has thrust upon him.

Ill-Abilities Hip Hop Dance Crew Will Move Your Body

In the hip-hop world, attitude is everything. And no one has more swagger than Ill-Abilities, a mixed-ability b-boy crew. This all-star team with members from all over the world is ready to tear Miami stages apart in A New Definition of Dance: Featuring Ill-Abilities, which consists of a…