BALLET HISPANICO Comes to Leicester Curve

The thrilling New York-based dance company, Ballet Hispánico, are to make their Let's Dance International Frontiers debut on May 6th and 7th at Leicester Curve as the closing highlight of this year's festival.

Ballet Hispánico, led by its dynamic Artistic Director, Eduardo Vilaro, will present a triple bill of work that is sure to delight audiences with its superb mix of Latinx cultural dance, music and stories.

Ballet Hispánico will perform three exciting works: Tiburones, Con Brazos Abiertos, and 18+1.

TIBURONES (SHARKS)

Belgian-Colombian choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa addresses the discrimination and stereotypes placed upon Latinx culture and the power the media has in portraying these themes by diminishing the voices of Latinx artists.

Tiburones takes place on a movie set featuring a shark-like clapperboard, finger snapping and thrilling dancing. In deconstructing gender roles and identity, Ochoa questions the authenticity of representation in West Side Story and revitalises an authentic perspective of Puerto Rican icons appropriated within the entertainment industry.

CON BRAZOS ABIERTOS (WITH OPEN ARMS)

Choreographer Michelle Manzanales explores with humility, nostalgia and humour the iconic Mexican symbols that she had to embrace as a Mexican-American child growing up in Texas. Intertwining folkloric details with a distinctly contemporary voice in dance, set to music that ranges from Julio Iglesias to rock en Español, Con Brazos Abiertos is a fun and frank look at a life caught between two cultures.

18 + 1

is a celebration of multi-award winning Spanish choreographer Gustavo Ramírez Sansanoʼs 19 years as a choreographer and the vulnerability, care, and hope that comes with each artistic endeavour. In a display of subtle humour and electric choreography, the movement merges with the playful rhythms found in Pérez Pradoʼs mambo music as Sansano draws from his history and memory to take a joyous look at the past, present, and coming future.

"I couldn't be happier to be presented by a dance organisation that embraces our values of diversity and inclusion," says Eduardo Vilaro, in a conversation with Dancing Times magazine on the company's LDIF debut at Leicester Curve.

"The work we're bringing is a discovery of the Latinx experience in the US; the programme is a rich combination of artistic voices across the Latinx world. Audiences will experience contemporary themes of immigration, inclusion, and diversity as well as the joy and celebration of our music from Cuba, Mexico and Spain. I hope to leave the audience in Leicester with a new perspective on the Latinx world and a deeper dialogue of what it means to be Latinx today."

*Latinx is a term used to describe people who are of or relate to Latin American origin or descent. It is a gender-neutral term, often used in place of Latino or Latina. Latin America is the portion of the Americas and Caribbean comprising countries and regions where Romance languages such as Spanish and Portuguese are spoken.

Adds Pawlet Brookes, Artistic Director of Let's Dance International Frontiers: "Ever since I saw Ballet Hispánico at The Joyce Theater in New York in 2014, I've been very keen to bring them to Let's Dance International Frontiers. We have a very collaborative outlook here at Serendipity when looking for and sourcing new work for the festival and many of these conversations go back over some time, often years. Since seeing Ballet Hispánico and getting to know Eduardo Vilaro and the company, we've worked with Eduardo on a paper for the book, My Voice, My Practice: Black Dance (2020), on panel discussions and I'm greatly honoured that Ballet Hispánico will be headlining this year's festival."

Ballet Hispánico, America's leading Latino dance organisation, has been bringing individuals and communities together to celebrate and explore Latinx cultures through dance for more than 50 years. Ballet Hispánico was founded 1970 by National Medal of Arts recipient Tina Ramirez to give voice to the Hispanic experience and to break through stereotypes. Today it's led by the multi-award winning Eduardo Vilaro, an acclaimed choreographer and former member of the company whose vision of social equity, cultural identity and quality arts education for all is at the forefront of his vision. Born in Cuba and raised in New York from the age of six, Vilaro is a frequent speaker on the merits of cultural diversity and dance education. He has infused the company's legacy with a bold and eclectic brand of contemporary dance that reflects America's changing cultural landscape. His own choreography is devoted to capturing the spiritual, sensual and historical essence of Latino cultures.

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