Ballet Hispánico Hosts En Familia Matinee Kick-Off Celebration

Ballet Hispánico's En Familia Matinee Kick-Off Celebration on Wednesday, January 17, 2024 at New York City Center was a resounding success. The afternoon was attended by Eduardo Vilaro (Artistic Director & CEO, Ballet Hispánico); Michael S. Rosenberg (President & CEO, New York City Center), Marcos Torres (Managing Director, RBC Capital Markets), Kate Lear (Chair, Board of Directors, Ballet Hispánico), Deirdre Latour (City Center Board of Directors) and Ballet Hispánico Company dancers Paulo Hernandez-Farella and Amanda Ostuni. The kick-off celebration announced new programming, En Familia Matinee, a joint effort from Ballet Hispánico, RBC Foundation USA and New York City Center. The event began at 12pm, with remarks from Eduardo Vilaro, Michael S. Rosenberg, and Marco Torres, followed by a performance by Ballet Hispánico Company dancers.

Ballet Hispa?nico, the nation’s largest Latinx/Latine/Hispanic cultural organization and one of America’s Cultural Treasures, offers their signature En Familia Matinee, a special program for young audiences and their families curated and hosted by Artistic Director & CEO Eduardo Vilaro. Tickets for Saturday, April 27, 2024 at 2pm are $20 (fees included) and are available here, thanks to the generosity of the RBC Foundation USA, the charitable arm of RBC Capital Markets, and New York City Center.

En Familia Matinee offers a journey through Latin American culture and traditions as Eduardo leads the audience on an interactive and fun-filled afternoon featuring excerpts of classic pieces from the Company repertory: a re-staging of Talley Beatty’s electrifying Recuerdo de Campo Amor, the flamenco-immersed Línea Recta by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Geoffrey Holder’s Caribbean-influenced Danse Creole, and the Latin social dance extravaganza Club Havana by Pedro Ruiz. With cultural and historical content and movement exercises for the whole family, the audience is in for a performance to remember. After the show, young audience members will have the opportunity to meet the dancers they saw on-stage for a photo op, learn dance moves and enjoy Caribbean beats from musicians throughout the theater!

“Leading our En Familia programming is one of the best parts of my job,” said Eduardo Vilaro, Artistic Director & CEO, Ballet Hispánico. “Nothing beats seeing the joy on the faces of our families as they experience the depth and diversity of Latine cultures come to life through our repertory! We are so grateful for the RBC Foundation and New York City Center who have helped to create this opportunity for families to join us for this special program, at this ticket price. Ballet Hispánico has been creating access for generations of BIPOC audiences since 1970. We couldn’t be prouder to introduce yet another way to expand inclusion!”

“An inspiration to audiences of all ages, Ballet Hispánico exemplifies the vibrancy and spirit of New York, making them an ideal partner for City Center,” said Michael S. Rosenberg, President and CEO, New York City Center. “We are excited to introduce this new event as part of our 80th Season at the Center of the Arts and provide access for even more New Yorkers to experience world-class performances at affordable prices.”

“We are delighted to continue and expand our partnership with Ballet Hispánico and New York City Center,” said Marcos Torres, Managing Director, RBC Capital Markets and Jennifer Grazel, Managing Director, RBC Capital Markets and Director, RBC Foundation USA. “As a globally recognized cultural force, the Company’s impact and importance grows with every year. Their mission energizes us and helping to support them benefits us all.”

En Familia Matinee Program

Club Havana (2000)

Cuban (Afro-Latin) dancing at its best. The intoxicating rhythms of the conga, rumba, mambo, and cha cha cha are brought to life by choreographer Pedro Ruiz, himself a native of Cuba, as he imagined his very own “Club Havana.”

Danse Creole (1976)

Geoffrey Holder’s work was inspired by the style and rhythms of Trinidadian dance and the influence of European colonization on the island.

Línea Recta (2016)

From Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, one of today’s most sought-after choreographers comes a powerful and resonant work that explores an intriguing aspect of flamenco dance: the conspicuous absence of physical partnering.

Recuerdo de Campo Amor (1985)

Talley Beatty’s piece celebrates New York’s Latin dance halls and nightclubs from the 1960s and 1970s with a fusion of Latin American rhythms and highly athletic jumps, lifts, and turns.

All tickets for En Familia Matinee are $20 and can be purchased online at NYCityCenter.org ($3 facility fee and $2 reduced handling fee), by calling 212.581.1212, or in person at the City Center Box Office ($3 facility fee).

As the nation’s largest Latinx cultural organization and one of America’s Cultural Treasures, Ballet Hispánico returns to City Center after its critically and publicly acclaimed 2022 run of Doña Perón, part of the first City Center Dance Festival.  Hailed as “a cutting-edge crowd pleaser” (The Washington Post) and “smashingly theatrical” (Chicago Sun Times), Ballet Hispánico continues to showcase and amplify Latinx voices and artists through dance and culture.

ABOUT BALLET HISPÁNICO

Ballet Hispánico is the largest Latinx/Latine/Hispanic cultural organization in the United States and one of America's Cultural Treasures. Ballet Hispánico's three main programs, the Company, School of Dance, and Community Arts Partnerships bring communities together to celebrate the multifaceted Hispanic diasporas. Ballet Hispánico's New York City headquarters provide the physical home and cultural heart for Latinx dance in the United States. It is a space that initiates new inclusive cultural conversations and explores the intersectionality of Latine cultures. The Ballet Hispánico mission opens a platform for new social dialogue, and nurtures and sees a community in its fullness. Through its exemplary artistry, distinguished training program, and deep-rooted community engagement, Ballet Hispánico champions and amplifies Latine voices in the field. For over fifty years Ballet Hispánico has provided a place of honor for the omitted, overlooked, and othered. As it looks to the future, Ballet Hispánico is pushing the culture forward on issues of dance and Latine creative expression. For more information, visit ballethispanico.org. Follow Ballet Hispánico on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

NEW YORK CITY CENTER (Michael S. Rosenberg, President & CEO) has played a defining role in the cultural life of the city since 1943. The distinctive Neo-Moorish building was founded by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia as Manhattan’s first performing arts center with the mission of making the best in theater, dance, and music accessible to all audiences. This commitment continues today through celebrated dance and musical theater series like the Fall for Dance Festival and the Tony-honored Encores! series; the annual season by Principal Dance Company Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; and new dance series Artists at the Center. City Center welcomes audiences to experience internationally acclaimed artists including Kyle Abraham, Matthew Bourne, Ayodele Casel, Manhattan Theatre Club, Nederlands Dans Theater, and Twyla Tharp, on the same stage where legends made their mark. Dedicated to a culture built on the values of curiosity, collaboration, accessibility, and inclusivity, City Center’s dynamic programming, art exhibitions, and studio events are complemented by education and community engagement programs that bring the performing arts to thousands of New York City students, teachers, and families every year. NYCityCenter.org

The RBC Foundation USA, the charitable arm of RBC Capital Markets, is proud to invest in partnerships and programs that create equal opportunities and better outcomes for youth across the U.S. By providing mental well-being support, skills, resources and mentorship, the RBC Foundation USA aims to help the next generation achieve their full potential. From 2023 through 2025, the RBC Foundation USA will commit $27 million to initiatives that will reach more than 275,000 young people. To learn more about the impact, visit rbccm.com/foundationusa.

RBC Capital Markets is recognized by the most significant corporations, institutional investors, asset managers, private equity firms, and governments around the globe as an innovative, trusted partner with an in-depth expertise in capital markets, banking, and finance. RBC Capital Markets is well-established in the largest, most mature capital markets across North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region, which collectively encompass more than 75% of global investment banking activity each year. To learn more, visit rbccm.com.

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