Ballet Hispanico Presents Works from 2012 Instituto Coreográfico Today, 6/15

Ballet Hispanico, recognized as the preeminent Latino dance institution in the United States, presents a showing of work from the 2012 Instituto Coreografico today, June 15, 2012 from 2-3pm at the Ballet Hispanico headquarters' 10th Floor Penthouse at 167 W. 89th Street, NYC. This year's Instituto Coreográfico features choreographers Rosie Herrerra and Abdul Latif with panelists Richard Chen See, Francesca Harper, and Risa Steinberg.

The 2012 Instituto provides both emerging choreographers and dance filmmakers with a professional and supportive environment in which to explore their heritage and develop their craft. Choreographers receive ongoing feedback from a group of notable artistic mentors and advisors, daily archive DVD recordings of the rehearsals, an edited film of the resulting work, an academic advisor, and a showing of their work. Should an artistically appropriate work emerge from this process, it could enter Ballet Hispanico's permanent repertory. Filmmakers will be paired with a choreographer and will be mentored by filmmaker Gerrit Vooren, founder of reels4artists, a company that often captures videos of the Ballet Hispanico Company.

"Our Instituto Coreográfico works to foster new voices and explore the diversity of Latino culture. This year's gifted choreographers bring unique perspectives to the institute and will collaborate with our talented dancers to discover new paths of investigation for their work," said Eduardo Vilaro, Artistic Director of Ballet Hispanico.

In 2010, Ballet Hispanico launched a new choreography institute created for Latino artists to explore culturally specific work in a nurturing, learning laboratory. The inaugural Instituto Coreográfíco took place in September 2010 when Cuban-American choreographer Maray Ramis Gutierrez created a new work, Puntos Suspensivos, on company members which then premiered two months later during Ballet Hispanico's annual New York season at The Joyce Theater. The Instituto continued in January 2011 when former Ballet Hispanico dancer Nicholas Villeneuve created a new work on his fellow company members. The most recent installment of the program in June 2011 featured Cuban choreographer George Céspedes, a dancer with Danza Contemporánea de Cuba, who is among the few Cuban nationals to create a work for a major U.S. dance company.

Rosie Herrera is a graduate of Miami's New World School of the Arts with a BFA in Dance Performance. She has been commissioned by The Miami Light Project, in association with the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing and the American Dance Festival. As a rehearsal director, co-choreographer and performer, Rosie was in residency at the Chat Noir Cabaret at Dream Night Club in Miami Beach with the interdisciplinary performance ensemble Circ X. In 2009 she was in residency at the American Dance Festival recreating her work "Various Stages of Drowning: A Cabaret" on ADF dancers. Subsequently her company was presented at the festival in 2010 and 2011 where she premiered the ADF commissioned works: "Pity Party" and "Dining Alone" to sold out audiences. Rosie is a classically trained lyric coloratura soprano and performs with the Performers Music Institute Opera Ensemble as well as choreographs and stages operas independently throughout Miami. She has also collaborated on productions with The South Miami Dade Cultural Arts Center, New World School of the Arts, Zoetic Stage and with theater artist Rudi Goblen as well as filmmakers Adam Reign and Lucas Leyva. Rosie is a 2010 MANCC choreographic fellow and a 2011 Miami Dance Fellow.

Abdul Latif graduated from Wesleyan University, double majoring in Theater and the College of Social Studies, with a minor in Dance. He received his Master's Degree from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts with a concentration in choreography and direction. Abdul has choreographed for platinum recording artists The Beanuts, Cynthia Torres and Deborah Cox. He was a member of Donald Byrd's contemporary ballet company The Group and Jennifer Muller's contemporary modern company The Works. He performed in Broadway productions The Lion King and Hairspray and was featured in the films The Royal Tenenbaums and Across the Universe. Abdul choreographed the Lincoln Center production Building: A Popera and many other high-profile events, including the 20th Anniversary Bonnet, Gypsy of the Year, Broadway Bares and the 2009 St Jude Foundation Gala. He has been an Architect of the Future Grant Nominee, a Robert Wilson - Watermill Foundation Semi-Finalist and, with the support of the Lincoln Center Institute and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, is working toward his solo premiere, D2Dancin'. He travels the world to teach DulieDancin', his Urban Contemporary Movement workshops, and continues to build his production companies &1 Entertainment and D2Inc.

As the growing Latino population impacts the local and national cultural landscape, it is imperative to engage artists who wrestle with the changing concept of cultural work. Our ambition is that the Instituto Coreográfico will enhance the skill set and broaden the cultural perspective of emerging choreographers and dance filmmakers. Artistic Director Eduardo Vilaro created the Instituto in order to explore, through dance and dialogue, the complexity of the diasporas.

Celebrating 41 years of dance and culture, Ballet Hispanico was founded by Tina Ramirez and is recognized as the nation's preeminent Latino dance organization. Now led by Artistic Director Eduardo Vilaro, Ballet Hispanico has grown from its grassroots origins as a dance school and community-based performing arts troupe to become a world-class institution that explores, preserves, and celebrates Latino cultures through dance. With a professional Company that has performed for an audience of over 2 million throughout 11 countries on 3 continents; a School of Dance unique in its emphasis on ballet, modern and Spanish dance; and an Education & Outreach division that creates extensive programming for public schools, both in New York and around the country, Ballet Hispanico builds new avenues of cultural dialogue and shares the joy of dance with all communities.

For more information, visit www.ballethispanico.org. Plus, follow Ballet Hispanico on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo credit: Joshua Preston