Latinx dance organization Ballet Hispánico celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with Ballet Hispánico, including performances, block party, and discussion.
Ballet Hispánico, the nation’s largest Latinx dance organization and one of America’s Cultural Treasures, will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with a programming line-up anchored by the organization’s annual A La Calle Block Party which returns in-person on West 89th Street between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues.
The event will take place outside of Ballet Hispánico’s headquarters in the heart of the Upper West Side on Sunday, October 2, from noon – 4:00 p.m. ET. To kick-off the full-day celebration, at 11 a.m., prior to the start of the block party, a special street-naming ceremony and proclamation will take place and will feature select community leaders with notable guests in attendance.
“Ballet Hispánico celebrates Latinidad and provides Latinx and BIPOC artists and communities with a stage to showcase their artistry all year round,” said Eduardo Vilaro, Artistic Director & CEO of Ballet Hispánico. “Hispanic Heritage Month is the time of the year when the country comes together to learn about and acknowledge the Latinx community and our heritage with great pride, highlighting the many contributions our vibrant community and artists have made and continue to make to this country.”
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. These participants, new to the block party this year, include Flamenco Vivo, Bombazo Dance Company and Calpulli Mexican Dance Company.
Other programming and special highlights for the month include:
Saturday, September 17 – Latin Salsa dance classes will be offered at the American Immigration Council starting at 2pm.
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Thursday, September 22 – In conjunction with The Stonewall Inn and the Ali Forney Center, members of Ballet Hispánico will be hosting a new Diálogos conversation, addressing the topic of intersectionality of LGBTQ and Latinx culture in dance and social justice.
“Diálogos” is Ballet Hispánico’s conversation series exploring the interconnections of the arts, social justice, and Latino culture. This Hispanic Heritage Month, Ballet Hispánico has partnered with The Ali Forney Center and the Stonewall Initiative to create a discussion about Reimagining Heteronormativity in Dance. The discussion will feature panelists Eduardo Vilaro, Sergio Trujillo, Sam Ratelle, Jason Rodriguez, Angelica Torres, and Dre Torres, moderated by Tamia Blackman-Santana.
Eduardo Vilaro, Artistic Director & CEO, Ballet Hispánico; Sergio Trujillo, Director & Choreographer, first Latinx winner of the Tony Award for Best Choreography; Sam Ratelle, International Artist, Director, Writer and Designer; Jason Rodríguez, Dancer and Choreographer, POSE; Angelica Torres Dancer, Activist, and Artist, POSE; Dre Torres, Assistant Tap Choreographer, Funny Girl on Broadway. Moderated By: Tamia Blackman-Santana, Chief Engagement and Inclusion Officer, Ballet Hispánico
Friday, September 30 – Ballet Hispánico’s Pa’lante Scholars will perform a series of 50-minute narrated performances that celebrate Latinx dance as part of their Performances for Young People initiative for schoolchildren from kindergarten through 12th grade.
Friday, September 30 to Thursday, October 13 – As part of Ballet Hispánico’s Community Arts Partnerships (CAP) program, which seeks to celebrate Latinx culture and provide an access point for participants to formulate their own conceptions and opinions around their social and cultural environment, the Pa’lante Scholars will perform at schools and colleges in the New York area including the Bronx and Westchester.
Tuesday, October 11 – Latin Salsa dance classes will be offered at the Fort Lee Library, in New Jersey, at 7pm.
Wednesday, October 12 and Friday, October 14 – In partnership with Teacher’s College, Columbia University and Kookmin University, the events at the Arnhold Institute Symposium will feature discussions with Eduardo Vilaro, Ballet Hispánico’s Artistic Director & CEO (10/12) and Michelle Manzanales, Ballet Hispánico’s Director, School of Dance and Chell Parkins, former Dance Education Scholar-in-Residence, Ballet Hispánico (10/14).
For more information on all Hispanic Heritage Month programming please visit www.ballethispanico.org/HHM
About Ballet Hispánico
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. The organization provides the physical home and cultural heart for Latinx dance in the nation. 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 over 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.
