In honor of the arts and culture season, Miami City Ballet flaunts the grace and beauty that draws crowds to watch them perform—whether onstage or inside the castle-like interior of the new Mondrian hotel on South Beach.

A plaque on Edward Villella's desk reads, "Illegitimi non carborundum," which means, "Don't let the bastards get you down," in mock Latin. Indeed, he hasn't. Sitting across from Miami City Ballet's (MCB) artistic director in his sun-soaked corner office on Miami Beach, in a building he designed specifically for the dance company that he created 24 years ago, it's hard to believe that anyone can get this man down. Handpicked to launch MCB (he also serves as the organization's chief executive officer), he is considered one of the most mesmerizing performers of the 20th century, evidenced by a National Medal of the Arts bestowed on him by President Clinton and an induction into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame. "Last time I performed was 30 years ago," says Villella. "This is the second best thing."

But while the story of MCB would not exist without Villella, everything boils down to the dancers and the performances that Villella is able to coax from them—with relatively little money. (New York City Ballet and the American Ballet Teatre reportedly receive up to five times the funding of MCB.) In a city where tastes run the gamut from raunchy to refined, Villella has chosen to work with a crop of young performers as diverse and malleable as their surroundings. "We do speak a physical language," says Villella, "but the idea is not to speak with an accent." That's an interest- ing turn of phrase for a town where just about every known dialect can be heard on its streets, but spend time watching these dancers perform, and it becomes clear what Villella means.

MAGNETIC FLOW
MCB is a company in unison. Its power stems from the performers' ability to turn themselves over to the music and movements as well as to Villella, who claps his hands twice during rehearsals when he wants a break in the music, so he can offer his dancers the insight he's cultivated over decades. "Don't just let go of each other's hands," says the director to principal dancers Patricia Delgado and Renato Penteado. "Release them forcefully. Remember: You are enemies at war."

The corps is rehearsing Symphony in Three Movements, one of four repertory programs slated for the 2009/2010 performance season. Which is choreographed by George Balanchine, the famous Russian choreographer who also founded New York City Ballet where Villella was once a star, the program is based on composer Igor Stravinsky's impressions of World War II. On this fall day that started out sunny and is ending up drenched, passers-by have their noses pressed up against the wall of windows in Studios 1 and 2 (Villella designed the building this way in order to invite the public to stop, watch and ultimately, want to buy tickets). Natural light blankets the room and pairs perfectly with the endorphin-filled high that these dancers experience—not at all unlike soldiers at war.

With a nod of Villella's head, the music starts. On their heels, the home front marches in, then the war front. Arms shoot overhead ("like explosions," says Villella) before beginning to rotate at 90 degrees at shoulder level ("like helicopter blades"). Penteado and Delgado leap onto center stage, each representing a country's determination to defend itself until finally, suddenly, she slips under his arm—bam, a surprise attack. The music grows louder, slower. Delgado's body goes one way, her arms another, yet it all flows together like a series of deafening musical notes. Villella claps his hands. The music stops. The dancers hunch over, heaving.

ENCHANTING OVATIONS
Even if you don't capture the nuances in the movements and their connection to war, it is impossible not to enjoy watching MCB perform. "You almost don't have to understand any of it because you can look at it architecturally and sculpturally and still love it," Villella says. He's right. The bodies of these dancers are instruments—cannons even—capable of releasing an intensity that comes through whether or not you notice the twitch of finely toned muscles or the precise litheness of each outstretched finger.

When MCB performed in New York City, Villella's home- town, earlier this year, critics noticed all this and much more. About Patricia's younger sister, Jeanette, also a principal, The New York Times wrote, "She is Miami's truest ballerina, and therefore one of the world's best Balanchine stylists: She dances not just on but in the music. …" With perfectly paired dimples and hair, eyes and skin the color of her Cuban family's beloved espresso, Jeanette leads the corps de ballet with a modesty and love of her craft that is downright infectious. "We don't really experience a lot of the jealousy that is commonly associated with dance companies," says the taller and lighter-skinned Patricia. "We're all very much a family."

Familial ties include married principals Jennifer Kronenberg and Carlos Guerra, who, when paired together, dance so intimately, it's truly breathtaking. It also extends to the company's home city. "Everyone is so supportive," says Jeanette. Still, Villella is quick to point out that the multicultural audience has been slow to accept nontraditional programs. "South Florida is still developing its cultural maturity, so I have to be careful not to intimidate an audience. Take Symphony in Three Movements. Twenty years ago, the city wasn't ready for it, but as of three or four years ago, they are."

Miami isn't the only city that's all revved up and ready. MCB is the resident company at Miami's Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale and the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in Palm Beach, and it is the resident ballet company at Naples Philharmonic Center for the Arts. Season highlights include Symphony in Three Movements, George Balanchine's The Nutcracker, Dances at a Gathering and Twyla Tharp's The Golden Section. For tickets and dates, visit miamicityballet.org.

INSIDER TIP
Definitely check out MCB's Open Barre Dance Series which is performed in the studio's intimate Lynn & Louis Wolfson, II Theater. With the stage just a few feet away from the audience, the experience takes on an entirely different feel. After a Saturday night performance, a post-show fete at Aero Bar across the street provides an opportunity to meet—and toast—the dancers.