Last year when the Miami Heat were prepping for Game 2 of the NBA Finals, dancers with the Miami City Ballet -- including one from Cleveland! -- traded their leotards for Heat gear in a show of support.
Now the Heat are returning the favor -- and the photos are great.
Heat superstars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade posed with two Miami-bred MCB principal dancers, sisters Jeanette and Patricia Delgado, for the team's new "Ballet and Basketball" campaign. The images not only celebrate both organizations' 25 years in the Magic City, but will go nationwide to promote the ballet and the arts scene on Biscayne Boulevard, where the Heat play just blocks from one of MCB's home stages at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts.
“They’re our neighbors and our friends," said Eric Woolworth, President of The HEAT Group’s Business Operations.
They're also very, very bendy, LeBron observed. "It’s great to have a couple of pictures with them in their poses -- poses I’d never be able to get into!" he said.
The campaign is based on a photo then-Heat player Billy Thompson took 25 years ago with MCB's prima ballerina as both organizations made their debuts. Their dual contributions to the city's cultural landscape weren't lost on MV3.
"Miami’s about versatility -- the whole culture," Wade said. "It’s good that we can bring that into sports."
Check out Wade and LeBron below as they lend their stature to some of Miami's other world-class athletes, and get more at miamiballetandbasketball.com.
