Ballet Hispánico's The Legacy Gala, Honoring The Miranda Family, Raises Over $1.4 Million

Ballet Hispánico's Legacy Gala on June 1, 2023 at New York City Center and The Plaza Hotel raised more than $1.4 million in support of the organization’s artistic, educational, and community outreach programs in New York City, across the United States and around the world. This includes the underwriting of inspiring Company performances, transformative School of Dance scholarships, and enduring Community Arts Partnerships programs that engage audiences, students, and communities in New York City, across the United States, and around the world.

Ballet Hispánico celebrated the life of its founder Tina Ramirez and her visionary leadership, passionate activism, and innovative artistry, and honored The Miranda Family with the Nuestra Inspiración Award, presented by Sergio Trujillo.

The evening began at 5:30pm with a red carpet and cocktail hour, followed by the opening night performance of the Company's annual season at New York City Center. The festivities, attended by more than 400 guests, continued with a presentation of the award during a seated dinner at The Plaza Hotel, with guest host Ana Navarro, co-host of The View, and featured the music of Grammy Award winner Oscar Hernandez and the Spanish Harlem Orchestra and performances by students from the Ballet Hispánico School of Dance.

“Like our founder Tina Ramirez, The Miranda Family has built a legacy of advocacy and art,” said Eduardo Vilaro, Artistic Director & CEO of Ballet Hispanico. “We were thrilled to present them with Ballet Hispánico’s Nuestra Inspiración Award for their invaluable contributions not only to our company but for their tireless advocacy of Latinx cultures and artists throughout the United States and beyond.”

The Miranda Family has amplified the voices of Latinx artists, paving the way for their stories to be shared with ever-widening audiences through their Miranda Family Fund. For Ballet Hispánico, their gifts have provided the next generation of Latinx artists with paths to professional success. The Miranda Family's support for Ballet Hispánico educational programs - including the tuition-free Pa'lante Scholars program for professional studies dancers - has created a way forward for young Latinx artists to live out their dreams, and to bring a new perspective to the American cultural landscape.

"Ballet Hispánico is a premier voice of the Latinx cultural experience in the United States that has changed so many lives through dance education, trailblazing works and community engagement,” said Luis A. Miranda, Jr., patriarch of The Miranda Family. “Supporting the Pa'lante Scholars program, which provides tuition-free dance education to talented emerging professional dancers, is central to our family's belief in breaking down barriers for artists of color. For more than half a century, Ballet Hispánico has been a thought leader and gamechanger in the dance world, the Hispanic community, and throughout the country. We were deeply humbled to accept the Nuestra Inspiración Award as a part of this year’s gala celebration.”

As the nation’s largest Latinx cultural organization and one of America’s Cultural Treasures, Ballet Hispánicoreturns 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.

In the opening night performance, Ballet Hispánico took the City Center stage with a program featuring the works of innovative Latinx choreographers with roots in Cuba, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. The program included a signature work Club Havana, Pedro Ruiz's homage to his Cuban homeland; a duet from New Sleep, in tribute to Ballet Hispánico's founder Tina Ramirez (1929 – 2022), created by master choreographer William Forsythe; an excerpt from Línea Recta, by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, an explosive piece about the absence of physical partnering in flamenco dance, and a new work: Sor Juana by celebrated choreographer Michelle Manzanales.

The Ballet Hispánico Gala Dinner is a beloved New York event attended by some 500 leaders in the arts and business communities and is truly a spectacular evening filled with performances by the students from its School of Dance and, of course, live music that entices guests to take to the dance floor. The critical funds raised at the Gala provide dance training scholarships that change the lives of young people, inspiring performances by the professional Company, and immersive dance programs in communities across the United States and worldwide.

Gala Chairs: Richard Feldman, Kate Lear* & Jonathan LaPook, The Miranda Family, David Pérez* & Milena Alberti-Pérez, Rita E. Rodriguez*, Joseph Wayland* & Patricia Verrilli 

Gala Committee: Melissa Alvarez-Downing* & Stuart Downing, Michelle Caruso-Cabrera* & Stephen Dizard, Matthew Ford*, Richard & Juana Maloof*, Scott Mills, Kathryn Ross-Nash & Wayne Nash, Ronald Shechtman* & Lynne Meadow, Scott Tegethoff*, Jose* & Vanesa Tolosa, Marcos* & Giselle Torres, Sergio Trujillo*, Charles Wortman* & Laura Baldwin

As of May 1, 2023

*Board Member

The Miranda Family

For over 40 years, Luis A. Miranda, Jr. and Dr. Luz Towns-Miranda have championed community activism, viewing philanthropy as a three-pronged approach through giving, fundraising, and advocacy efforts. Along with Luz Miranda-Crespo, Lin-Manuel, Miguel Towns, and their respective spouses, Luis Crespo and Vanessa Adriana Nadal, Esq, they have created and supported institutions focused on underserved populations in Upper Manhattan, communities throughout NYC, across the country, and in Puerto Rico. 

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, Instagramand Twitter.