Miami’s renowned downtown venue, the Olympia Theater at Gusman Center celebrated this past Memorial Day weekend with an exciting Red Curtain Series presentation from the city’s most-promising emerging ballet company, Florida Classical Ballet (FCB). On Saturday, May 26, and Sunday, May 27, Miami’s downtown arts community welcomed FCB to the Olympia Theater at the Gusman Center for its 2012 Red Curtain Series production of “Spring Unique Gala.” This performance was part of the 2012 Red Curtain Series, an ongoing partnership between Gusman Center, Friends of Gusman, the Knight Foundation, and the Miami Downtown Development Authority to deliver more talent to Olympia, while expanding the audience of both the theater and its resident arts organizations. FCB’s “Spring Unique Gala” was the group’s second Red Curtain Series performance at Olympia Theater, following the company’s Nutcracker production last December.

Founded and directed by Magaly Suarez, former Artistic Director and Choreographer of the Cuban Classical Ballet of Miami, FCB is positioned to become Florida’s premiere classical ballet company. The company’s main goal is to present audiences with world-class-quality ballet performances, combining local dancers with international ballet stars, as well as to give qualified young, local talent the opportunity to participate in these productions.

For “Spring Unique Gala,” international dance stars from prestigious companies including Taras Domitro, Gaetano Amico III, Diego Cruz, Luke Willis, Madison Keesler, and Frances Chung from the San Francisco Ballet; Jeffrey Cirio from the Boston Ballet, Venus Villa from the English National Ballet; and Grace-Anne Powers form the La La La Human Steps Company took the stage with FCB for a presentation of some of ballet’s most revered suites and selections.

Both ballet connoisseurs and neophytes alike packed the seats for Saturday’s enchanting opening night. The program included works from the comedic Coppélia, Russian-original The Spectrum of the Rose, Danish-born August Bournonville’s legendary love story The Flower Festival in Genzano, a premiere by Montreal, Quebec–based dance troupe La La La Human Steps Company, and a mix of classical and character dancing in Flames of Paris. After a brief intermission, guests were delighted by a suite from one of ballet’s most famous and celebrated works, Le Corsaire.

The fun continues in June, with Florida Classical Ballet’s next show, “Summer Unique Gala,” Saturday, June 30 at 8:00pm and Sunday, July 1 at 4:00pm at the Olympia Theater, 174 E. Flagler Street, Miami, FL, 33131. Tickets available soon at www.GusmanCenter.org or by calling the box office at 305-374-2444.