Tamia B. Santana Named Chief Engagement And Inclusion Officer Of Ballet Hispánico

Ballet Hispánico, the nation's largest Latinx dance organization recognized as one of America's Cultural Treasures, announced the appointment of Tamia B. Santana as the organization's new Chief Engagement and Inclusion Officer. Effective today, Santana reports directly to Eduardo Vilaro, Artistic Director & CEO, Ballet Hispánico. https://www.ballethispanico.org/.

In her new executive role, Santana will serve as a catalyst to leverage best practices and resources across Ballet Hispánico's programming and curriculum to promote a culture of engagement and inclusion that is aligned with the organization's principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

"We are thrilled that Tamia is joining our Ballet Hispánico familia. She is a steadfast arts advocate and a celebrated arts and education professional," said Vilaro. "Ballet Hispánico has served BIPOC communities since its inception and lives diversity daily, providing our multi-racial, different-bodied youth the opportunity to find their passions in a safe space. We have an ongoing responsibility to look within and analyze areas in our organization that are affected by inequality and to define a path forward through these challenges. As Chief Engagement and Inclusion Officer Tamia will be integral to leading our future engagement, inclusion and diversity efforts and strategy."

Santana will be responsible for strategizing and expanding on Ballet Hispánico's signature model, the Community Arts Partnerships program, to create new avenues of engagement that will build upon Ballet Hispánico's unique space as a community advocate. In collaboration with the artistic team, Santana will propose and plan programming for Ballet Hispánico's recently launched Latinx Dance Institute which comprises the Instituto Coreográfico, "Diálogos" series, and the Latinx Dance Leaders Summit. Additionally, she will develop institutional community programming that will enhance and strengthen the brand and influence of Ballet Hispánico in New York, throughout the country, and abroad. Furthermore, Santana will be instrumental in cultivating and sustaining enduring partnerships with schools, performance venues, cultural organizations and universities. Santana brings with her 15 years of experience in directing, curating, producing and touring. She is the founder and former Executive Director of Brooklyn Dance Festival, and co-founder of Jeté Dance Center in Brooklyn, NY. Santana serves on the Board of Directors for One Brooklyn through NYC mayor-elect Eric Adams, promoting collaboration and engagement among Brooklyn's diverse communities through events, programs, and services. She is a proud member of the Bessie Awards' Steering Committee and a Resident Director of the Brooklyn Museum's Brooklyn Dance Festival Concert series for Target First Saturday. Additionally, Santana has supported curating and directing dance events at Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), SummerStage, Brooklyn Borough Hall and more.

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 performing arts troupe, for fifty years Ballet Hispánico has stood as a catalyst for social change. 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 champions and amplifies underrepresented voices in the field. For fifty years Ballet Hispánico has 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.

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