The world would be a much different place without music and dance. Lucky for South Florida, Miami is synonymous with entertainment and culture, and nowhere are the arts more exalted than at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, one of the world’s leading performing arts organizations and venues playing host to the Florida Grand Opera, Miami City Ballet, and New World Symphony, America’s Orchestral Academy. The Adrienne Arsht Center is able to bring some of the world’s premiere performances to South Florida with public support and private contribution to its programs.

The Masterworks Season at the Adrienne Arsht Center will provide distinguished classical music and dance performances in South Florida through 2013 with the support of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, a foundation that advances journalism in the digital age and invests in the vitality of communities. The $600,000 Knight Foundation Challenge Grant will be matched with $1.2 million of private sector support, through private and corporate funding. The Masterworks Season series was launched by the Adrienne Arsht Center in 2009, and has since brought world-class concerts and performances to its center, drawing thousands of enthusiasts.

“Following an inaugural year that was embraced by our patrons and participating artists alike, we are committed to solidifying the Masterworks Season as a permanent fixture in our repertoire of annual Signature Series. The Knight Foundation’s gift will help us do just that,” M. John Richard, president and CEO of the Adrienne Arsht Center, says. “We encourage members of our community to demonstrate their appreciation for the Knight Foundation and love for classical music and dance by answering this important funding challenge.”

The 2010-2011 season, named the John S. and James L. Knight 2010-2011 Masterworks Season in honor of the Foundation’s aim to fund cultural projects that enrich and engage the community, will be the first Masterworks Season to benefit from the grant. This season marks the Adrienne Arsht Center’s fifth anniversary season making it all the more celebratory, and will feature the Sanford and Dolores Ziff Classical Music Series, the Signature Dance Series, and four Pops performances.

John S. and James L. Knight 2010-2011 Masterworks Season:

• Tania Pérez-Salas Compañía de Danza, Oct. 2
• Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, Nov. 15
• Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Dec. 11
• The Christmas Music of Mannheim Steamroller by Chip Davis, Dec. 26
• Michael Bolton, Jan. 17, 2011
• Joshua Bell, Jan. 18, 2011
• Chamber Orchestra Kremlin, Feb. 2, 2011
• Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie, Feb. 9, 2011
• Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Feb. 17-20, 2011
• The 5 Browns, March 30, 2011
• Yuri Bashmet and Evgeny Kissin in Concert, April 21, 2011

For tickets to any Masterworks Season performance or to subscribe to the series, call the box office at 305.949.6722 or visit www.arshtcenter.org. To donate to the Adrienne Arsht Center in support of matching the Knight Foundation’s grant, contact Churé Gladwell at 786.468.2242.