Dance

Organization

Founded in 1985 by Miami philanthropist Toby Lerner Ansin and ballet legend Edward Villella, Miami City Ballet (MCB) is one of the world’s leading ballet companies and universally admired among the preeminent interpreters of George Balanchine’s choreography. MCB serves and promotes South Florida’s highly diverse population, where arts communicate across barriers of language, class, and culture. Three pillars propel the organizational mission as a leader in classical ballet: The Company, The School, and Community Engagement.

MCB’s Artistic Director, Lourdes Lopez, is a former New York City Ballet principal dancer, who worked directly with George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. Now in her 10th year, she has helped MCB become a leader in opening new avenues of inclusivity within classical ballet. The company has a repertory of 100 ballets, including 13 world premieres and new choreography by contemporary artists. The company of more than 50 dancers performs annual seasons in Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Broward, and Collier Counties, serving more than 120,000 people, and has toured extensively throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, MCB produced ballet and virtually choreographed work for the digital space. Additionally, MCB programmed an outdoor performance of The Nutcracker with a hybrid digital format and created a digital streaming series of past performances from MCB’s archives.

Miami City Ballet School (MCB School) was founded in 1993 and is one of the largest and most prestigious ballet training academies in the nation. Comprised of three progressive levels for students ages three through 18, MCB School offers top-level training and $650,000 in scholarships annually to talented, dedicated students from the United States and abroad, regardless of their financial means. MCB School has trained more than 1,500 students for careers with MCB and other professional companies throughout the world. Students are offered unique performance opportunities alongside MCB dancers. There are also various levels of adult classes available in the Adult Open Division.

Rooted in its belief that dance can transcend boundaries, change lives, and transform entire communities, MCB’s community engagement programs promote access for all people, including communities that are systematically disenfranchised. All programs at MCB work to eliminate barriers to access and to promote educational opportunities for people from all walks of life, especially for those have been historically under-represented. The Community Engagement programs serve more than 20,000 people annually through training, performance participation, and workshops. Community partners include The Bass, His House Children’s Home, Lotus House, Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, Miami Lighthouse for the Blind, and neighborhood organizations from Little Havana, Little Haiti, Allapattah, and Belle Glade. Community performances are hosted by cultural presenters such as the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Miami-Dade County Auditorium, Colony Theatre, Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, The Society for the Four Arts, and the A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts where the Palm Beach Summer Dance Camp is held.

Community Engagement programs include: Ballet Bus, which provides underserved children with comprehensive, long-term access to and fully subsidized transportation, dance training, and opportunities to perform; Explore Dance, which offers ballet education for Title I elementary schools in Miami-Dade County; Behind the Ballet, a pre-performance lecture series that takes place prior to repertory performances; Open Barre, an intimate performance series held at MCB Studios; Touch Tours, an accessible program for patrons with visual impairments; STEAM+, a program that encourages children to explore dance while retaining practical, creative, and academic knowledge; and the Palm Beach Summer Dance Camp, a free, three-week dance study intensive program for students from Title I schools.

To support its brand promise of leaving the ordinary behind, MCB has raised more than $43 million as part of a comprehensive $55 million Transforming Lives Campaign. The capital campaign is focused on several priorities, including building and maintaining community engagement programs. The campaign is expected to be successfully completed by April 2022.

MCB is committed to the following series of institutional values to transform its brand and lead the organization into a bold new era of continued excellence:

§  Pursuit of Excellence: Relentless dedication to getting better every day, onstage and off. We care deeply about the caliber of our work and we won’t settle for less;

§  Elevation: We create work that stretches perspectives and raises spirits;

§  Accountability: We trust every person to pursue our common mission with integrity, inclusivity, empathy, and diligence;

§  Collaboration: We are part of the communities we serve. We value each person’s contribution and collectively solve problems because our greatest achievements come when we band together;

§  Authentically Miami: We are energetic, diverse, dynamic, and welcoming; and

§  Joyful Generosity: When we share our work, we share our hearts. The care we take to engage our audiences demonstrates our love and appreciation for them.

MCB seeks to develop and nurture its diversity and is committed to maintaining an inclusive community that recognizes and values the inherent worth and dignity of every person, while fostering tolerance, sensitivity, understanding, and mutual respect.

MCB is governed by a 45-member board of directors and trustees led by Board Chair Jeff Davis. Tania Castroverde Moskalenko joined as Executive Director in August 2018 and leads a staff of 126 people, which includes seven employees within the Community Engagement department. MCB’s annual overall operating budget is $23 million for the fiscal year ending in April 2022.

Community

Miami is a cosmopolitan city that combines urban amenities with outstanding beaches, a subtropical climate, and breathtaking natural beauty. Miami is the hub of the fast-growing Miami-Dade County. With a population of more than 2.7 million countywide residents and more than 454,000 citywide residents, an estimated 69 percent of the city’s population identify as Hispanic, 55 percent is foreign-born, and more than 76 percent of residents speak a language other than English at home.

Miami has a rich history as a trendsetting arts center. Its entertainment, production, and arts communities are stronger than ever, making the city a major international cultural destination. A recent economic impact study of the nonprofit arts and culture industry conducted by Americans for the Arts placed Miami-Dade County in the top ranks for arts-vibrant communities, along with Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia. The county’s arts and cultural sector annually generates an impressive $1.4 billion in local economic activity.

Set in the heart of downtown Miami and designed by world-renowned architect César Pelli, the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts is one of the world’s leading performing arts venues. Home to MCB, the Arsht Center presents approximately 300 performances annually, ranging from Broadway theater to classical masterworks. The visual arts play a stellar role in Miami and are represented by the world-class Pérez Art Museum Miami, Institute of Contemporary Art, The Bass, Vizcaya Museum & Gardens, numerous galleries, and Art Basel, the international exposition in Miami Beach. The Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science is also a major attraction, as well as the New World Symphony, which is based on Miami Beach within the Frank Gehry-designed New World Center.

With year-round sunny skies, outdoor activities abound in and near Miami. The beautiful Biscayne Bay, Bayfront Park, Coral Gables, Everglades, and Florida Keys offer numerous recreational activities all within easy reach. Miami’s nightlife is unsurpassed, with countless clubs, bars, and restaurants. Several major professional sports teams are also represented in Miami, including the NBA Miami Heat, NFL Miami Dolphins, MLB Miami Marlins, and NHL Florida Panthers.

Edited Sources: census.gov; miamidadearts.org; arshtcenter.org; miamiandbeaches.com

Position Summary

Reporting to the Executive Director, the Director of Community Engagement will be a key member of MCB’s senior leadership team. The successful candidate will develop a comprehensive and innovative community engagement strategy that manages and expands educational initiatives to include participants from all backgrounds across Miami Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. With a focus on restoring programs that had been paused due to the global pandemic, this individual will also create and oversee new initiatives. The Director of Community Engagement will evaluate all programs to measure their effectiveness and ensure optimal impact. By deepening existing community relationships with local arts and education organizations, as well as forming new partnerships with other entities, this individual will position MCB at the forefront of the national dialogue about arts education, relevance, and accessibility for disenfranchised community members. The Director of Community Engagement will also collaborate with departmental colleagues, board members, and volunteers by providing guidance and assistance with funding applications, marketing initiatives, donor cultivation events, and MCB School programs.

Role and Responsibilities

Program Development, Oversight, and Evaluation

§  Restore and expand past programs, establish new specialty programs, and ensure that all programs are of the highest quality and represent issues relevant to children, their families, and members of the community.

§  Implement and expand a hybrid model where participants can easily engage in programs in-person and virtually in order to achieve the greatest reach, access, and impact.

§  Create programs around the themes or motifs of MCB’s season so that there is a connection between what audiences see on the stage and what programs are available for active participation.

§  Oversee and grow the existing community engagement programs that aim to develop a culture of inclusion in the arts, including the Ballet Bus program and other ancillary programs at schools, the MCB studios, and other venues.

§  Ensure that any written or spoken communication about programs limits barriers to access for the community and invites the community to be a partner.

§  Develop program evaluation criteria using data, benchmarks, and metrics that assess the short- and long-term success of programs and recommend methods to improve the creation of broader opportunities for access.

§  Create and implement surveys for qualitative and quantitative feedback from community partners to evaluate the effectiveness of Community Engagement programs in meeting organizational values and programmatic goals.

Advocacy and Community Partnerships

§  Advocate passionately for the importance and relevance of community arts and education programs internally with staff, volunteers, and board members and externally with stakeholders throughout South Florida, including audience members, community leaders, government agencies, and funders.

§  Establish and maintain meaningful partnerships with local arts and educational organizations and other nonprofit agencies so that MCB becomes a resource in helping create a more inclusive society.

§  Expand community efforts to include people from all backgrounds throughout the Southern Florida region, such as those who identify as LGBTQ+, people with disabilities, immigrants, or residents from lower socio-economic areas.

§  Participate in local and national conversations around arts education, positioning MCB at the forefront of discussions on critical issues of relevancy and accessibility in arts education.

§  Represent MCB as an ambassador in the local community and at regional and national conferences, acting as a spokesperson on ideas and concepts around community engagement.

§  Advance inclusion, diversity, equity, and access initiatives in order to address systemic inequalities within ballet and to promote MCB’s values and mission.

Organizational Collaboration and Managerial Oversight

§  Guide and support the Community Engagement Committee, in partnership with the committee’s Chair, ensuring that members are engaged in the expansion, diversification, and measurement of program impact, as well as audience reach and financial sustainability.

§  Attend and participate in Board of Trustee meetings and Community Engagement Committee meetings, identifying opportunities where board and other committee members can access their networks to grow resources and build support to broaden equitable access to ballet.

§  Promote the strategic benefits of the Community Engagement department across the entire MCB organization, prioritizing its values and goals in alignment with the company’s commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion.

§  Partner and communicate regularly with MCB School, jointly conducting lecture demonstrations and masterclasses, sharing its goal to create the next generation of dancers, and ensuring that Ballet Bus students who enter MCB School are fully integrated and supported.

§  Offer support to the Development department, providing a clear schedule of upcoming community engagement events, assisting with community engagement grant proposals and major gift solicitations from foundations and corporations, and providing tours for donors.

§  Collaborate with the Marketing department, strengthening and developing MCB’s brand and its community education programs to help them stand out from the field.

§  Facilitate and participate in events related to community engagement and educational programs, including fundraising, galas, and cultivation functions.

§  Guide, support, and mentor a team of program managers, delegating where appropriate and hiring additional team members within board-approved budgets, to ensure that program deliverables are achieved.

§  Encourage program managers to attend trainings for professional development, including conferences, webinars, and cultural affairs consortia.

Traits and Characteristics

The Director of Community Engagement will be a visionary, engaging, and empathetic individual. A confident public speaker, they will have the ability to communicate effectively to a wide range of people, including children and families who are from communities traditionally underrepresented in arts programming. This individual will interact regularly with volunteers, artists, school educators, funders, and the press in a manner that is flexible, adaptable, and respectful. With an approachable and authentic demeanor, the Director of Community Engagement will be a highly organized, ethical, and strong leader and team player. They will demonstrate a high level of cultural awareness and sensitivity, as well as a deep passion and joy for arts and education and its reverberating impacts.

Other key competencies include: 

§  Leadership and Resiliency – The acumen to inspire others with a sense of purpose and direction, overcoming setbacks and challenges quickly while remaining optimistic.

§  Diplomacy and Teamwork – The ability to handle difficult situations with tact and sensitivity when working alongside people from different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, sharing responsibilities with team members in order to meet objectives.

§  Interpersonal Skills and Appreciating Others – The capacity to effectively communicate and listen, respect different points of view, and demonstrate genuine concern and care to all people by providing support and recognition.

§  Planning and Organizing – The dexterity to establish procedures, processes, and systems through logical and practical approaches, monitoring action plans and adjusting as needed according to priorities.

Qualifications

Qualified applicants must have a bachelor’s degree (or equivalent experience) with a minimum of five years of senior leadership experience in arts education, program development, and pedagogy. Proficiency in English and Spanish—both verbal and written communication—is required. The ideal candidate will have a track record of developing and managing community engagement programs, preferably in dance and/or ballet, in a major metropolitan area. Occasional travel, as well as evening and weekend work, will be required.

Compensation and Benefits

MCB provides a competitive and equitable compensation package, with an annual salary range between $120,000 and $140,000. Benefits include 100 percent employer paid medical, dental, and life insurances; 15 days paid vacation, six personal days, and 30 sick days per calendar year; and a voluntary 403(b) retirement plan.

Applications and Inquiries

To submit a cover letter and resume with a summary of demonstrable accomplishments (electronic submissions preferred), please click here or visit artsconsulting.com/employment. For questions or general inquiries about this job opportunity, please contact:

Geoff Chang, Vice President

Arts Consulting Group

501 West Broadway, Suite A-582

San Diego, CA 92101

Tel        (888) 234.4236 Ext. 218

Email    MCB-DCE@ArtsConsulting.com