Time shifted backward today in Ybor Square through the beauty of the dance. Tampa City Ballet brought insight into living in the time of a virus. Though the virus in question is not this Coronavirus. It is the Spanish Flu of 1918. All the dancers wear the white surgical face coverings of that time, lending a steril air to the dancers' interactions and relationships. We see them moving together, but not touching. Tensions rise, fights break out, couples fall in love; the lives of the factory workers of the day in "7th Ave and Ybor".

This is the middle Ballet of a trilogy of Ballets about the history of Ybor City. It is a vision of Artistic Director Paula Nunez, who displays an eerie sense of timing in her inspiration. Initially all three parts of the Ballet were to be performed live, but our current viral pandemic changed all that. Somehow, that it is on film seems dramatically appropriate. It also gave the company the opportunity to dance and film in Ybor Square, a true historical landmark. The surrounding buildings that delineate the Courtyard, properly named Ybor Square, are some of the original cigar factories. Mr. V. Martinez Ybor spared no expense and paid attention to design. The Courtyard and the buildings surrounding it have been beautifully and appropriately restored by the Church of Scientology of Tampa, who donated the use of the space for this film, and brought authenticity to the set.

Tampa City Ballet brought a company of sixteen dancers who are a joy to watch perform the choreography of Elsa Valbuena. The creative process was visible, since this was the first time the dance artists and cinema artists had worked on this set. The finished film will first be shown at Dance Festivals around the US this summer in the time of Coronavirus. "And this is my wishful you: Flourish and prosper!", L. Ron Hubbard.