On September 4th, the Miami City Ballet suddenly announced the company’s founder, Edward Villella, had resigned that morning from his post as artistic director 8 months earlier than planned. Not only is Villella one of America’s most famous dancers, he is one of South Florida’s biggest cultural commodities. In 25 years, he created a world-class ballet company from scratch and helped spark Miami’s arts renaissance. But, the last year at Miami City Ballet had been marked by financial troubles and power struggles. Insiders claimed that Villella had been forced out.
The reorganization at Miami City Ballet was one of the biggest arts stories of the year for South Florida. Edward Villella’s sudden departure was major regional and national breaking news in the arts. Our news team not only delivered breaking news quickly and accurately, it also provided context to a major cultural story in our region.
