Miami City Ballet dancers, staff, friends and supporters gathered on October 1 to celebrate and honor America’s most celebrated male ballet dancer, Company Founding Artistic Director Edward Villella, at a special 75th birthday celebration at Miami City Ballet studios in Miami Beach. The evening’s festivities featured cocktails, dinner, dancing and a pre-screening of the WNET/ PBS National television special, “Great Performances: Miami City Ballet Dances Balanchine & Tharp.”

The celebration took place in the 225-seat intimate studio theater for a special pre-screening of WNET/PBS program “Great Performances: Miami City Ballet Dances Balanchine & Tharp.” The program included a trio of signature works by George Balanchine and Twyla Tharp that showcased the company’s critically acclaimed performances of Balanchine’s Square Dance and Western Symphony and Tharp’s “The Golden Section.”

“Great Performances: Miami City Ballet Dances Balanchine &Tharp” will air nationwide Friday, October 28. Great Performances is a production of THIRTEEN in association with WNET, one of America’s most prolific and respected public media providers. PBS Arts from Miami: Great Performances “Miami City Ballet Dances Balanchine & Tharp” airs locally on Friday, October 28 at 9pm on WPBT2 followed by Miami Island's Arts, a short documentary on art in Miami produced by WPBT2 producers, Jessy Schuster and Mark Baker.