Ballet Hispánico will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with a robust and engaging programming line-up anchored by the organization's annual A La Calle Block Party. The fourth edition of the popular community event will take place virtually on Friday, October 1, from 7-8pm EST. Out of an abundance of caution, due to the rapidly increasing rates of COVID-19 infection across New York City, this year's online event will be streamed for free for audiences nationwide to enjoy the festivities and will be available on demand on Ballet Hispánico's YouTube channel through October 15. To register, please visit https://www.ballethispanico.org/community/the-arnhold-center/a-la-calle-block-party.

 

"As the nation's largest Latinx dance organization and one of America's cultural treasures, celebrating our Latinidad and providing Latinx and BIPOC artists and communities with a stage to show their artistry and a platform for their voices to be heard, is at the core of what we do each and every day," said Eduardo Vilaro, Artistic Director & CEO of Ballet Hispánico. "Hispanic Heritage Month enables us to showcase our heritage with great pride, highlighting the many contributions our vibrant community and artists have made and continue to make to this country."

 

This year's Block Party will serve as the centerpiece for the month-long celebration and will include performances by the internationally renowned Company and prestigious School of Dance students. The Company will perform two numbers, a solo from Arabesque by Vicente Nebrada and an excerpt from 18+1 by Gustavo Ramírez Sansano. New to the block party this year and as part of its commitment to champion and amplify voices within its community, Ballet Hispánico will be inviting select Latinx dance companies from around New York City to perform as guest artists, including Bombazo Dance Company, Calpulli Mexican Dance Company and CONTRA-TIEMPO. Students from the School of Dance will also take to the virtual stage to perform Jerez, Paula y Curro choreographed by Bélen Maya and Flavas of Hip Hop by Ana "Rockafella" Garcia, from the 50th Anniversary Gala. Ballet Hispánico's 2021 A La Calle Virtual Block Party is made possible by Con Edison of New York and Popular Bank. Major support is provided by Mutual of America.

 

Other programming highlights for the month include:

 

October 5- In conjunction with The Moss Arts Center and the faculty of Virginia Tech, members of Ballet Hispánico will be hosting a new Diálogos conversation, addressing the topic of Colorism in the Arts and Anti-Blackness within Latinx Communities.

October 9 and 10 - As part of the New York Botanical Garden's Contemporary Dance Series, a series of spontaneous outdoor performances, dancers from Ballet Hispánico will be performing at locations throughout the grounds. 

October 12- First Republic Bank will present a complimentary Company performance and Latin Social Dance Class. This class will feature Salsa, Mambo and Merengue, with movement that is easy for the whole family to follow.

October 15- The monthly celebration will conclude with another engaging Diálogos session centered on the celebration of Ballet Hispánico's 50 years and legacy. The conversation will examine the past, present and future of the organization.

Ballet Hispánico will be featured in Google Arts & Culture's "Latino Cultures in the US," a hub to highlight the contributions and experiences of Latinos in the United States. The online exhibits created for Hispanic Heritage Month feature the Company's history, artists and ongoing legacy.

Ballet Hispánico has also partnered with OvationTV, an independent television and digital media company dedicated to celebrating and supporting all forms of arts and culture. A series of Ballet Hispánico PSAs will air on the network throughout Hispanic Heritage Month. 

 

For more information, please visit www.ballethispanico.org/HHM.

 

About Ballet Hispánico

For fifty years Ballet Hispánico has been the leading voice intersecting artistic excellence and advocacy and is now the largest Latinx cultural organization in the United States and one of America's Cultural Treasures. Ballet Hispánico brings communities together to celebrate and explore Latino cultures through innovative dance productions, transformative dance training, and enduring community engagement experiences. National Medal of Arts recipient Tina Ramirez founded Ballet Hispánico in 1970, at the height of the post-war civil rights movements. From its inception Ballet Hispánico focused on providing a haven for Black and Brown Latinx youth and families seeking artistic place and cultural sanctuary. By providing the space for Latinx dance and dancers to flourish, Ballet Hispánico uplifted marginalized emerging and working artists, which combined with the training, authenticity of voice, and power of representation, fueled the organization's roots and trajectory. In 2009, Ballet Hispánico welcomed Eduardo Vilaro as its Artistic Director, ushering in a new era by inserting fresh energy to the company's founding values and leading Ballet Hispánico into an artistically vibrant future. Today, Ballet Hispánico's New York City headquarters house a School of Dance and state-of-the-art dance studios for its programs and the arts community. From its grassroots origins as a dance school and community-based Ballet Hispánico provides the physical home and cultural heart for Latinx dance in the United States. Ballet Hispánico has developed a robust public presence across its three main programs: its Company, School of Dance, and Community Arts Partnerships. Through its exemplary artistry, distinguished training program, and deep-rooted community engagement efforts, Ballet Hispánico has for fifty years provided a place of honor for the omitted, overlooked, and oppressed. As it looks to the next fifty years and beyond, Ballet Hispánico seeks to empower and give agency to the Latinx experience and those individuals within it.