Ballet Hispanico Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month With Dance

Ballet Hispánico will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, 2017 with free events, performances, exhibitions and dance lessons for children and adults. Events include a Salsa Extravaganza, an "A la Calle" Block Party, an Instituto Coreográfico dance showing and discussion, an intimate Tablao flamenco performance, and an exhibition of visual artwork at the Ballet Hispánico's headquarters, The Arnhold Center, at 167 W. 89th Street.

"No other Latino organization can celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month lIke Ballet Hispánico, because we will do it with dance!" said Eduardo Vilaro, Artistic Director and CEO of Ballet Hispánico. "We've been bringing individuals and communities together to celebrate and explore Latino cultures and the shared human experience through dance for more than 45 years. Our Hispanic Heritage Month events and activities will bring the celebration to the Upper West Side neighborhood, which has been our home from the very beginning of Ballet Hispánico."

• The celebration begins on Friday, September 15, 2017* with the PBS broadcast of Lincoln Center at the Movies presents Ballet Hispánico at 9 pm. The program opens with CARMEN.maquia, a modern take on Bizet's passionate opera featuring physically charged and sensual choreography by Spaniard Gustavo Ramírez Sansano. The second part of the program, Club Havana, is a virtuosic reimagining of a sizzling nightclub by Cuban-born choreographer Pedro Ruiz. Originally filmed as part of the Lincoln Center at the Movies: Great American Dance series, the PBS broadcast will draw the largest national audience in Ballet Hispánico's history. (* check local listings)
  http://www.livefromlincolncenter.org/broadcasts/lincoln-center-at-the-movies-presents-ballet-hispanico

• On Saturday, September 23 from 5:30-7:30pm, Ballet Hispánico will host a Salsa Extravaganza, giving New Yorkers the opportunity to revel in the music and dances of Latino cultures.This free, two-hour event will offer lessons for all ages in three dance genres: salsa, merengue and bachata, followed by a celebratory dance for all, with refreshments. Both experienced dancers and first-timers are welcome to join in this joyous celebration. Refreshments will be provided by Calle Ocho/Bodega 88. https://fs18.formsite.com/BalletHispanico/HHMfree/index.html

• "A la Calle" Block Party on Sunday, October 1 from 2-6 pm, a four-hour celebration of Latino dance, music, art, food and community, will take place on West 89th Street (between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues), Ballet Hispánico's home for more than 45 years. The event will include dance performances by our internationally renowned Company, School of Dance students, and BHdos as well as a musical performance by Los Hacheros, free half-hour dance classes for adults and children, and a variety of activities for children and families. A special free raffle will include items donated by 89th Street NY Kids Club and Preschool, Blu Dot, Book Culture, Children's Museum of Manhattan, Flywheel Sports, Macaron Parlour, Modell's Sporting Goods, Rachel Realty, SoulCycle, and The Vitamin Shoppe. https://fs18.formsite.com/BalletHispanico/HHMfree/index.html

• This year's Instituto Coreográfico on October 5 at 7 pm will feature the work of acclaimed Spanish choreographer Carlos Pons Guerra. Moderated by Ballet Hispánico Artistic Director & CEO Eduardo Vilaro, the program will include a showing by Guerra, as well as a lively discussion with the choreographer and the dancers. https://fs18.formsite.com/BalletHispanico/HHMfree/index.html

• On Saturday, October 14 from 8-10 pm, Ballet Hispánico will offer the inaugural performance of the Ballet Hispánico Tablao series. Headlined by internationally celebrated dancer Nelida Tirado, this two-hour intimate performance will bring the Flamenco nightclub scene to the intimate Penthouse Studio of Ballet Hispánico. Tickets are $20 and there will be refreshments. https://fs18.formsite.com/BalletHispanico/Tablao/index.html

• Throughout the month, Ballet Hispánico will curate an on-going exhibition of visual artwork from celebrated and emerging artists on the first floor of the West 89th Street carriage houses, transforming our home into a beautiful, emotionally moving gallery.

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 social equity, cultural identity and quality arts education for all, drives its programs. Ballet Hispánico, a role model in and for the Latino community, is inspiring creativity and social awareness in our neighborhoods and across the country by providing access to arts education.

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 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.