Ballet Hispánico continues B Unidos, its video series, with Watch Parties in June 2020, available at www.facebook.com/ballethispanico, https://www.ballethispanico.org/bunidos/watch-party, or https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeBVCPHnWSLKF4c53fAqDRw/. Enjoy a Company performance from the comfort of your own home, followed by live Q&A sessions with Artistic Director and CEO of Ballet Hispánico Eduardo Vilaro, choreographers and Company dancers:

 

June 3 at 7pm: El Viaje

June 10 at 7pm: Nací

June 17 at 7pm: Sombrerísimo (female cast)

June 24 at 7:30pm: Noche Unidos, a night of dance and unity (details tba)

 

"As a community of dancers, artists, and human beings, we are all in this together. We will persevere through this challenging time and we hope that these videos provide a coping outlet, for you, for our followers and the community overall," said Eduardo Vilaro, Artistic Director and CEO of Ballet Hispánico. 

 

El Viaje (2019)

Choreography by Edwaard Liang

Music by Ralph Vaughan Williams

Costume Design by Danielle Truss

Lighting Design by Joshua Paul Weckesser

Liang evokes emotion through moving sound and lush movement to exemplify how many individuals feel when one leaves one's homeland or country of birth to seek a new life, including moments of remembering, sharing, and letting go. He particularly focuses on the Chinese mass emigration from the nineteenth century to 1949 and the Chinese-Cuban diaspora to explore identity and the ghosts of a former life.

 

World Premiere: March 26, 2019 at The Joyce Theater

 

Nací (2009)

Choreography by Andrea Miller

Assisted by Allysen Hooks and Dan Walczack

Music by A Hawk and a Hacksaw, Capilla Antigua De Chincilla, Tony Gatlif, Francoise Atlan, Aicha Redouane, Monserrat Figueras, Pari intervallo, and Banda Ionica

Costume Design by Andrea Miller and Diana Ruettiger

Lighting Design by Savannah Bell

Drawing from the duality of her Spanish and Jewish-American background, choreographer Andrea Miller employs her distinctive movement style to investigate the Sephardic culture of Spain, with its Moorish influence and profound sense of community, despite hardship.

World Premiere: 2009 at The Joyce Theater

 

Sombrerísimo (2013)

Choreography by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa

Music by Banda Ionica featuring Macaco el Mono Loco, Titi Robin, and soundscape by various artists

Costume Design by Diana Ruettiger

Lighting Design by Joshua Preston

Inspired by the surrealist world of Belgian painter René Magritte, famous for his paintings of men in bowler hats, Sombrerísimo references the iconic sombreros (hats) found throughout the world that help to represent culture. Originally choreographed for an all-male cast, Sombrerísimo has evolved into a work that can also be performed by an all-female or mixed-gender cast.

Sombrerísimo was commissioned by New York City Center for the Fall for Dance Festival.

World Premiere: September 20, 2013 at New York City Center

 

 

# B Unidos

The Instagram series features videos created by the three arms of the Ballet Hispánico: the professional company, the School of Dance, and Community Arts Partnership (CAP) and featuring the hashtag #BUnidos atwww.instagram.com/ballethispanico/. Daily, the company releases a new video generated by the dancers, teachers and administrators with the goal of serving as class, exercise, and inspiration: Motivational Mondays (inspirational messages), Take Action Tuesdays (technique tips for young dancers), Wepa Wednesdays Watch Parties, Therapeutic Thursdays (focus on conditioning, health and wellness, stretching), and Flashback Fridays (retrospective looks at past 50 years from Ballet Hispánico's archives). "As a community of dancers, artists, and human beings, we are all in this together. We will persevere through this challenging time and we hope that these videos provide a coping outlet, for you, for our followers and the community overall," said Eduardo Vilaro, Artistic Director and CEO of Ballet Hispánico. "Now more than ever, it is important to band together in support of the arts. The personal and professional challenges that we have already endured and will continue to face over the next few weeks or months are significant. What we can take from this time of cancellations, uncertainty and social distancing is a chance to use our creativity to connect with the community on a new level. Social distancing does not mean emotional distancing. Ballet Hispánico was founded upon and has always believed in the importance of reaching and servicing our community through dance and culture. As this pandemic occurs during our 50th Anniversary, it provides us with an opportunity to reflect on how far we have come, get back to our roots by reaching out to community near and far, and look forward to what is ahead."

 

About Ballet Hispánico

Ballet Hispánico, America's leading Latino dance organization, has been bringing people together to celebrate the joy and diversity of Latino cultures for 50 years. Over the past five decades, Ballet Hispánico's mission-driven ethos has been a catalyst of change for communities throughout our nation. By bringing the richness of the Latinx culture to the forefront of performance, education and social advocacy, Ballet Hispánico is a cultural ambassador. 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 artistic vision responds to the need for social equity, cultural identity, and quality arts education for all. Ballet Hispánico has been, and will continue to be, a beacon for diversity. The art we create explores and celebrates the culture without the trappings of stereotypes. We foster the pursuit of art as a way of providing transformation through the exploration of the human condition. Our art often defies gravity, acting as a frontline against cultural division by releasing preconceived notions of culture and instead offering our audiences new perspectives.