A new ballet with music by Elvis Costello, choreography by Twyla Tharp, and costumes by Isaac Mizrahi would be big news in any town. For Miami, the world premiere of Nightspot on
March 28 was an historic event. The breathless, vivid, Romantic (with a
capital R) dance is the first major commission by the Miami City Ballet,
a 22-year-old company that has been increasingly catching the dance
community’s eye. Opening night, drawing a mass of tuxedoed swells and
South Florida glitterati, was also a momentous occasion for the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, now in its second year and under new management with a new name. Nightspot was
a world-class performance – was there any more important dance event on
the globe that night? – that, with its infusion of multiple Latin and
club beats, moves, and styles, was also very Miami. It was a blast even
for the ballet skeptics who were there just to see what Elvis was up to.

Following three couples as they dance and flirt their way through the nightlife, Nightspot is sort of a modern-day West Side Story (with no words). There’s forbidden romance, betrayal, good girls and bad girls, and a climactic fight – though in Nightspot,
it’s between two men, not gangs. The fight scene draws heavily on
Brazilian capoeira (as well as American break-dancing). It seems like
the creators spent some time in Miami clubs, where salsa, bboying, and
house music frequently rub elbows, as well as studying up on Latin
styles: There’s mambo, tango, and boogaloo. The snaking bass lines
Costello has loved so well since "Watching the Detectives" fit in well
here. His moody jazz studies and experiences with classical music also
came in handy. There were nine players on stage and 35 in the pit, from
congos to clarinet to strings.

Perhaps most exciting for Miami was how spectacularly its dancers performed. Setting Nightspot in
club land was a stroke of genius, allowing Tharp to accentuate the
narcissism and abandonment of young dancers. At one point, Jennifer
Carlynn Kronenberg duets with a long piece of scarlet fabric – a red
carpet? – and a (literally) supportive entourage. This is only the
second time I’ve seen MCB, but Miami Herald dance critic Jordan Levin writes that
many of the moves seemed created for these precise bodies. Jeremy Cox
grounds his kicks in a friendly smile. Isanusi Garcia-Rodriguez shook
his body with Afro-Cuban exuberance rather than ballet’s usual
restraint. Mizrahi’s purple and red costumes, mixing flamenco, club,
and street styles, echoed the giant hibiscus flowers in the stage
curtain, which is part of the Arsht Center’s collection of original art.

Costello,
Tharp, and Mizrahi were all there opening night, as were photographer
Bruce Weber, producer Sebastian Krys, and conductor Michael
Tilson-Thomas. Outside, the subtropical air throbbed to the electronic
sounds of the Ultra Music Festival, just blocks away. Across Biscayne
Boulevard, at the PAC’s other theater, the Cleveland Orchestra was
premiering an evening of Russian works. Parking and traffic were the
infrastructural headache caused by this throbbing success. But what
city doesn’t have those issues?

Nightspot moves to West Palm Beach's Kravis Center April 4 to 6 and then Fort Lauderdale's Broward Center April 11 to 13.