Ballet Austin's LIGHT/THE HOLOCAUST AND HUMANITY PROJECT Comes to Miami, 11/3 & 4

The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County presents the esteemed BALLET AUSTIN performing LIGHT / THE HOLOCAUST & HUMANITY PROJECT, a riveting contemporary ballet created by Artistic Director Stephen Mills that turns the spotlight on discrimination and the ultimate triumph of the human spirit. The performance, which inspired a community-wide human rights initiative by the same name, will take place in the Ziff Ballet Opera House tonight, November 3 and 4, 2012.

The performance is presented with the generous support of the CIRCLE OF LIGHT, an inspirational group of individuals, corporations and foundations united in their community-minded giving for this project and led by Sue Miller, Chair of the LIGHT Steering Committee, and Knight Foundation.

Ballet Austin’s performance launches the 2012-2013 Knight Masterworks Season – Miller Family Foundation Dance Series. Tickets range from $25 to $95* and may be purchased through the Adrienne Arsht Center box office by calling (305) 949-6722 or online at www.arshtcenter.org.

Inspired by the poignant story of one Holocaust survivor, LIGHT / THE HOLOCAUST & HUMANITY PROJECT is “an elegant yet visceral story of belief, bigotry, isolation, survival and hope...a groundbreaking multimedia contemporary ballet” (Austin-American Statesman). The evening-length ballet is set to the spellbinding music of five of the most important living composers – Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Arvo Pärt, Evelyn Glennie and Michael Gordon. Created by Ballet Austin’s Artistic Director Stephen Mills, and considered his masterpiece, the work is constructed in five sections each exploring the process of and response to extreme degradation, suffering and genocide. While the work will explore the human ability to survive and triumph, it also attempts to be a warning that nobody is immune to hatred and discrimination. "Art doesn't change the world. People change the world, but art can be the catalyst for the discussion," says Stephen Mills, Artistic Director of Ballet Austin.

“Through Ballet Austin’s Light/The Holocaust and Humanity Project, audiences will experience the art form of dance as a representation, through movement, of the good and the bad we encounter throughout our lives. As powerful as only a true story can be, this ballet provides witness to the horrible transgressions upon humanity that are still relevant more than 70 years later and, most importantly, it highlights the power of hope,” said John Richard, President and CEO of the Adrienne Arsht Center. “In our role as Miami’s New Town Square, the Arsht Center has chosen to highlight this moving, universal subject by convening the community through the performing arts, lecture, discussion and film.”