Expert recommendations of the top dance, theater, and classical music performances.
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Art + Design Night
"The Miami art scene has blossomed into an international destination for contemporary art lovers, with an ever expanding roster of galleries, private collections, and museum branches in the Design District and Wynwood. Don't miss the gallery nights and artist talks in both neighborhoods of the city."—Elisa Turner, Miami Herald art critic and Miami correspondent for ARTnews. Design District gallery walk held the second Saturday of every month; dozens of art galleries open their doors at night and offer free wine and cheese as the streets fill with artists and art lovers. The district is north of downtown from Northeast 36th to 41st Streets and from Northeast Second Avenue to North Miami Avenue; tel. +1 305 531 8700. www.miamidesigndistrict.net
Arturo Sandoval Jazz Club
Serious jazz inside the historic Deauville Hotel with host/Cuban trumpet player and four-time Grammy winner Arturo Sandoval regularly appearing, along with visiting national artists and local musicians (Dee Dee Bridgewater, James Moody, Joshua Redman, Jane Monheit); the menu is heavy on seafood and Latin classics, and the drinks are serious (17 martinis). Tickets from $15. 6701 Collins Ave., Miami Beach; tel. + 305 403 7565. www.arturosandovaljazzclub.com
Books & Books
"Not only an architecturally beautiful spot and one of the great bookstores anywhere, but the food is first-rate. Be sure and catch the photos on the restaurant walls, a who's who of American literati."—James W. Hall, Miami-based author of Magic City (2007) and 13 other novels set in South Florida. Big-name authors regularly stop at this independent bookseller, packing in standing-room only crowds that sip wine and chow down on salads, grilled sandwiches, and pasta specials at the stellar café and coffee bar; four rooms of wall-to-wall books on handsome, dark shelving in a 1926 Mediterranean-style building that is home to the local literary scene. 265 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables; tel. +1 305 442 4408. www.booksandbooks.com
Carnival Center for the Performing Arts
"Magnificent acoustics—a world-class hall for a world-class city."—Donna Shalala, University of Miami president and former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. Designed by famed Argentine architect Cesar Pelli, it's the new cultural hope of Miami; people love or hate its craggy, bunker-like design, but there's no disputing its stellar acoustics; home to the Florida Grand Opera and Miami City Ballet, the collection of concert halls and black box theater also hosts the diverse likes of the Companhia de Danca Deborah Colker from Brazil, Classical Theater of Harlem, The Temptations, Evgeny Kissin, and the Cleveland Orchestra (in residency January-March). 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; tel. + 1 786 468 2000. www.carnivalcenter.org
Jackie Gleason Theater of the Performing Arts
Once home to comedian Jackie Gleason's TV show and visiting legends such as Frank Sinatra and Jack Benny, the former Miami Beach Auditorium now hosts an eclectic mix of music, dance, and live theater (El Puma, Tony Bennett, Elvis Costello, Seal, Marc Anthony, Alvin Ailey Dance Company, Riverdance, Rent); the Billboard Latin Music Awards and MTV's Video Music Awards Latino America have been held here, too. Tickets $10-$70. 1700 Washington Ave., South Beach; tel. +1 305 673 7300. www.gleasontheater.com
Miami Heat
"The biggest bonding in our community has become the Heat games. You can find anyone who's anyone at the games, from Beyonce to Mayor (Manny) Diaz. My children love it and it's a must for anyone visiting Miami."—Ralph Navarro, president Florida Yachts International and Miami Heat season ticket holder. Jay-Z, Timbaland, Enrique Iglesias, Anna Kournikova, and Jimmy Buffet join fans in the stands to cheer on big hoop personalities like Shaquille O'Neal, Dwayne Wade, and Alonzo Mourning; the one-time expansion team turned 2006 NBA Champion throws the best party in town at home games, where pounding music rocks a mod bayside arena and hopeful locals scream for another title. Tickets $30-$75. American Airlines Arena, 601 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; tel. +1 786 777 HOOP. www.nba.com/heat
Movies by the Bay
Outdoor movie showings in Bayfront Park; grab a beach chair from the 209 offered and watch a first-run movie under the stars on a 60-foot (18.3-meter) screen while breezes come in off the bay and downtown Miami twinkles as the backdrop. Tickets $9 adults; $6 kids, 5 and up; $6 seniors. 301 N. Biscayne Blvd., Miami; tel. +1 786 425 1800. www.sunsetcinemainc.com
New World Symphony
"I love the New World Symphony. The musicians are terrific, and it always buoys me to see these youngsters playing so brilliantly. And many of the concerts are inexpensive (including terrific Sunday chamber concerts)."—Beth Dunlop, editor-in-chief of HOME Miami magazine, architecture critic for the Miami Herald. A training ground for tomorrow's classical music stars, the NWS is composed of young musicians on three-year fellowships under the artistic direction of Michael Tilson Thomas, a former protégé of Leonard Bernstein's; the group tours the world, but its home base is in Miami Beach, where it performs full-orchestra concerts, a chamber music series, a new music series, small ensemble concerts, a family series, and special recitals. Tickets $10-$70; several concerts a year are free. Lincoln Theatre, 541 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach; tel. +1 305 673 3331. www.nws.edu
