The Ballet Hispánico School to Present Pro-Up Intensive With Rena Butler

The Ballet Hispánico School, currently celebrating its 55th anniversary, announces its 2026 Pro-Up Intensive with guest artist Rena Butler. The intensive runs from June 16 - 27, 2026, for dancers aged 18-23.

The Pro-Up Intensive is a dynamic space where dancers immerse themselves in the art of choreography and dance-making, supported by dedicated technique classes that strengthen their movement vocabulary. Through guided improvisation, composition tools, and collaborative exploration, dancers develop original works while refining their technical foundation. This lab encourages experimentation with form, style, and storytelling, culminating in informal showings that celebrate both the choreographic process and performance.

Every year, dancers who participate in the workshop have the opportunity to work with a world-renowned choreographer. This year, Rena Butler - a recipient of the Princess Grace Award for Choreography - will guide students in the creation of new work. Register here for an audition slot. Scholarships are available.

Program Highlights

• Take daily classes in ballet, contemporary, improvisation, and movement invention.

• Create individual dance-on-film studies.

• Learn Ballet Hispánico repertory with coaching from their artistic team.

• Perform in a culminating showcase performing Ballet Hispánico repertory and new works.

• Work with renowned guest choreographers in the creative process of new work - previous guests include Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Mario Alberto Zambrano, and Omar Román de Jesús.

• Receive supportive feedback and guidance from artistic leaders in the field, including exclusive access to mentorship from the Ballet Hispánico artistic team.

• Attend forums on topics such as injury prevention, financial literacy & planning, networking, personal branding, and more.

Rena Butler hails from Chicago, IL, and began her dance training at The Chicago Academy for the Arts. Rena is a recipient of the 2019 Princess Grace Award for Choreography, the 2025 Ferradini Grander Award from Danza in Arte a Pietrasanta and Italy's Ministry of Culture, and the 2024 Isadora Duncan Dance Award for Outstanding Achievement in Choreography. She has choreographed works for Het Nationale Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, San Francisco Opera (Orpheus and Eurydice and Parsifal), Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Norrdans in Sweden, Gauthier Dance Juniors in Stuttgart, Lyric Opera of Chicago (Proximity), Cincinnati Ballet, Le Ballet de L'Opéra Grand Avignon, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater II, Whim W'him, Parsons Dance, BalletX, The Juilliard School, Oregon Ballet Theatre, and Third Coast Percussion with Devonté Hynes, among others. Her work has been featured at the New Orleans Museum of Modern Art and TEDxChicago, and she was Dance Magazine's November 2021 cover story, following her On the Rise profile in 2013.

Committed to mentorship, Butler has taught workshops at L'Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Danse de Marseille, The Macau Cultural Center, The Juilliard School, The School at Jacob's Pillow, and Ailey Camp Chicago. She co-created and directed DanceLab, a free choreographic course for Chicago youth, and has served Chicago Dancemakers Forum and Black Girls Dance.