BALLET HISPÁNICO School of Dance Announces School Year 2017-18 Registration

Ballet Hispánico, the nation's premier Latino dance organization, announces that registration is now available for classes during the 2017-18 school year. Celebrating over 45 years of dance and culture, the Ballet Hispánico School of Dance is a leading center of excellence in dance education located at 167 W. 89th Street, NYC.

At the School of Dance, children learn in a nurturing and disciplined environment, discover dance as a language of ideas, and explore the rich history and aesthetics of Latino cultures. Under an internationally renowned faculty led by seasoned dance professional and School Director Michelle Manzanales, students are exposed to four signature training programs and a bevy of performance opportunities. Classes are set to live music and held at Our Studios located in Manhattan's Upper West Side. The School offers over $150,000 in annual scholarships to talented and need-based students.

Alumni of the School have gone on to prestigious conservatories such as Juilliard and LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts; to careers in theater (Nancy Ticotin), film (Jennifer Lopez) and television (Michael DeLorenzo); and to careers with leading dance companies such as Ballet Hispánico, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Paul Taylor, ABT II, and the San Francisco Ballet.

"Ballet Hispánico offered a variety of the techniques that prepared me far beyond my imagination. It taught me to be the dancer I am today."

-Linda Celeste Sims, Principal Dancer, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

"We have terrific talent on Broadway, film, and TV who were trained at Ballet Hispánico."

-Broadway star Chita Rivera

Los Pasitos Early Childhood Program (ages 2-5)

Ballet Hispánico's Los Pasitos early childhood program for ages 2-5 merges creativity, culture and technique. Its curriculum focuses on developing coordination, spatial awareness and musicality, with an emphasis on each child's unique self-expression. Students learn proper dance etiquette, explore the wide spectrum of Hispanic culture and build a solid foundation for dance training in a joyful environment. The Los Pasitos program helps students gain the following skills:

* Physical: Self-control, refinement of gross and fine motor skills, understanding of space and their bodies

* Social/Affective: Listening, responding, taking turns, working cooperatively

* Cognitive: Recognizing, recalling, identifying, differentiating and sequencing

* Aesthetic: Exposure to Hispanic culture, arts and language, expressing a preference for dance movements and style.

https://www.ballethispanico.org/classes/early-childhood

Encuentros Open Class Program (ages 6-18)

The Open Program at the Ballet Hispánico School of Dance offers something for everyone. Developed with the highest level of artistic excellence offered at any dance institution, our program supports the recreational dancer interested in taking one to three classes a week. With over 25 classes a week in a wide array of genres--from ballet and flamenco to hip-hop, salsa, and jazz--our students receive not only a thorough grounding in the primary techniques, but also specialized training in the rich and varied Latin American dance traditions, which for many is their cultural heritage.

https://www.ballethispanico.org/classes/open-program

La Academia: Pre-Professional Program (ages 7-23)

La Academia, Ballet Hispánico's Pre-Professional Program, is a unique intensive training system developed with the full spectrum of the Ballet Hispánico curriculum that aims to produce a well-rounded dancer. After ten years of training in the Pre-Professional Program, a dancer will possess:

* superior classical technique founded in Cuban methodology, a specialty unique to Ballet Hispánico

* a strong understanding of contemporary forms to diversify and strengthen their education

* a musical and multicultural dance perspective to support a versatile career path.

https://www.ballethispanico.org/classes/pre-professional

La Academia: Professional Studies Program (Advanced level students)

Professional Studies--the highest and most challenging arm of La Academia, Ballet Hispánico's Pre-Professional Program--is designed to further the development of the advanced student in Classical Ballet, Flamenco and Contemporary forms. This subprogram is tailored for those students attending performing arts schools, those interested in college preparation for conservatory programs, and/or those pursuing a career in dance. Admission to Professional Studies is by audition only, and students have the option of pursuing the full curriculum or one of three specialized tracks-Ballet, Flamenco or Contemporary. Performance skills are honed through exposure to repertory and preparation for a year-end recital.

https://www.ballethispanico.org/classes/professional-studies

ABOUT BALLET HISPÁNICO

Ballet Hispánico, the premier Latino dance organization in the United States, brings individuals and communities together to celebrate and explore Latino cultures through dance. Whether dancing on stage, in school, or in the street, Ballet Hispánico creates a space where few institutions are breaking ground. The organization's founder, National Medal of Arts recipient Tina Ramirez, sought to give voice to the Hispanic experience and break through stereotypes. Today Ballet Hispánico is led by Eduardo Vilaro, an acclaimed choreographer and former member of the Company, whose vision of universal access to cultural identity, equity and quality arts education drives its programs. Ballet Hispánico has become a role model in and for the Latino community and is inspiring creativity and social awareness in our neighborhoods and across the country by providing access to arts education.

The Ballet Hispánico School of Dance offers an eclectic curriculum based on classical ballet, Spanish, and contemporary dance forms. Accredited by the National Association of Schools of Dance, the School empowers students by offering a holistic approach to movement discovery, including pre-professional training and classes for the novice dancer. The School also offers adult classes and workshops that provide cultural enrichment and the joy of dance to everyone.

For more information, visit www.ballethispanico.org.

Eduardo Vilaro joined Ballet Hispánico as Artistic Director in August 2009, becoming only the second person to head the company since it was founded in 1970. In 2015, Mr. Vilaro took on the additional role of Chief Executive Officer of Ballet Hispánico. He has been part of the Ballet Hispánico family since 1985 as a principal dancer and educator, after which he began a ten-year record of achievement as Founder and Artistic Director of Luna Negra Dance Theater in Chicago. Mr. Vilaro has infused Ballet Hispánico's legacy with a bold and eclectic brand of contemporary dance that reflects America's changing cultural landscape. Born in Cuba and raised in New York from the age of six, he is a frequent speaker on the merits of cultural diversity and dance education.

Mr. Vilaro's own choreography is devoted to capturing the spiritual, sensual and historical essence of the Latino cultures. He created over 20 ballets for Luna Negra and has received commissions from the Ravinia Festival, the Chicago Sinfonietta, the Grant Park Festival, the Lexington Ballet and the Chicago Symphony. In 2001, he was a recipient of a Ruth Page Award for choreography, and in 2003, he was honored for his choreographic work at Panama's II International Festival of Ballet. In 2016, he was inducted into the Bronx Walk of Fame.

MICHELLE MANZANALES, Director of the Ballet Hispánico School of Dance, is a choreographer and dance educator originally from Houston, TX, Ms. Manzanales has created works for numerous professional companies, universities, and schools throughout the country. Con Brazos Abiertos, her critically acclaimed first work for Ballet Hispánico, had its world premiere at The Joyce Theater in April, 2017. With humility, nostalgia and humor, Con Brazos Abiertos explored the iconic Mexican symbols that Ms. Manzanales was reluctant to embrace as a Mexican-American child growing up in Texas. Ms. Manzanales's previous works include Sugar in the Raw (Azucar Cruda) for Luna Negra Dance Theater, which was applauded by the Chicago Sun-Times as "a staggering, beautiful, accomplished new work" in 2007. In 2010, her homage to Frida Kahlo, Paloma Querida, was hailed as a "visual masterpiece" by Lucia Mauro of the Chicago Tribune. She began working with Ballet Hispánico Artistic Director & CEO Eduardo Vilaro in 2003 as a dancer for his then-company Luna Negra Dance Theater of Chicago, where she later became Rehearsal Director in 2006 and eventually served as Interim Artistic Director 2009-2010. Prior to her appointment to School Director, Ms. Manzanales served as the Rehearsal Director and Artistic Associate of the main company of Ballet Hispánico for seven years.