Ballet Hispánico Kicks Off 50th Anniversary Celebration with 2020 New York Season at The Joyce Theater
Company:
Ballet Hispánico
Ballet Hispánico, America's leading Latino dance organization known for "piercing stereotypes" (The New York Times), kicks off its 50th Anniversary celebration by bringing its Latinx brand of contemporary dance to The Joyce Theater from April 7-19, 2020. Tickets start at $10 and are available for purchase in person at The Joyce Theater Box Office by calling JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800 or online at http://www.joyce.org/performances/ballet-hispanico.
To celebrate the Company's 50th Anniversary, Ballet Hispánico's Artistic Director & CEO, Eduardo Vilaro has curated a two week run at The Joyce Theater that celebrates and honors generations of Latinx artists. Gustavo Ramírez Sansano's 18+1 makes its New York premiere alongside the award-winning work Jardi Tancat from Nacho Duato. Excerpts of significant works in Ballet Hispánico's history, including Vicente Nebrada's Batucada Fantástica and Graciela Daniele's Cada Noche...Tango return to The Joyce stage after nearly thirty years. As a gift to founder Tina Ramirez, the program will feature a duet from William Forsythe's, New Sleep, a first-time collaboration between Ballet Hispánico and this world-renowned choreographer. Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's Tiburones and Sombrerísimo, featuring an all-female cast, with returning repertory from Andrea Miller, Pedro Ruiz, Eduardo Vilaro, and Ramón Oller, round out the program.
The New York premiere of 18+1 (2012) celebrates Gustavo Ramírez Sansano's 19 years as a choreographer and the vulnerability, care, and hope that comes with each artistic endeavor. In a display of subtle humor and electric choreography, the movement merges with the playful rhythms found in Pérez Prado's mambo music. Sansano draws from his history and memory to take a joyous look at the past, present, and coming future.
Nacho Duato's very first work, Jardi Tancat (1983), based on Catalonian folk tales sung by Maria del Mar Bonet, won him first prize at the International Choreographic Workshop in Cologne. With equal shades of passion and melancholy, the ballet evokes the despairing yet hopeful prayers of Spaniards who wait for rain on their barren land.
William Forsythe's duet from New Sleep (1987) is a neoclassical work scored by composer Thom Willems. This master work from Forsythe demonstrates his ability to deconstruct classical vocabulary maintaining a strict precision without confining the physical expression within the movement.
In Tiburones (2019), 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. Ochoa deconstructs gender roles and identity to revitalize an authentic perspective of Puerto Rican icons appropriated within the entertainment industry.
In Nací (2009), choreographer Andrea Miller draws from the multiplicity of her Spanish and Jewish-American background and employs her distinctive movement language to search for a new sense of home in this remembrance of lost and found homelands.
Ramón Oller grapples with ideas of betrayal, lost love, and oppression in Good Night Paradise (1994). This work brought to life a dark and powerful world of human struggle, complex relationships, and loss. Now, nearly 25 years later, Ramón has re-envisioned the work and expanded the world it portrays to include elements of his own life experiences.
Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's Sombrerísimo (2013) references the iconic sombreros (hats) found throughout the world that help to represent culture. Originally choreographed for an all-male cast, Sombrerísimo will be performed by an all-female cast.
In an excerpt from Cada Noche...Tango (1988), Graciela Daniele takes a look at the underground nightlife of Buenos Aires in the 1920s and 30s and the intricate and smoldering partnering of Argentina's beloved tango.
Vicente Nebrada's Batucada Fantástica excerpts (1983) include two technically demanding solos that celebrate the neoclassical brilliance of the choreographer and the music of Rio de Janeiro's Carnival.
Pedro Ruiz's Club Havana (2000) showcases the intoxicating rhythms of the conga, rumba, mambo, and cha cha and relives the exciting era of fifties in Cuba.
An excerpt from Asuka by Eduardo Vilaro (2012) celebrates the life of legendary Queen of Salsa, Celia Cruz who captured the hearts of Latinos over the world and became a symbol of perseverance for many.
Program A - April 7-11 (evening performances)
Jardi Tancat - Nacho Duato
Cada Noche...Tango excerpt - Graciela Daniele
Batucada Fantástica excerpt - Vicente Nebrada
18+1 - Gustavo Ramírez Sansano
Program B - April 14-18 (evening performances)
Good Night Paradise - Ramón Oller
Asuka excerpt - Eduardo Vilaro
New Sleep excerpt - William Forsythe
Tiburones - Annabelle Lopez Ochoa
Program C - April 11-12 and April 18-19 (matinee performances)
Sombrerísimo - Annabelle Lopez Ochoa
Nací - Andrea Miller
Club Havana - Pedro Ruiz
"Our 50th Anniversary programming represents the trajectory of the Latinx influence in dance. It is a celebration of Latinx artists who broke glass ceilings and those who continue the legacy of sharing and impacting our community with our artistic voices." - Eduardo Vilaro, Artistic Director & CEO.
Ballet Hispánico's New York Season is made possible by Jody & John Arnhold, American Express, the Howard Gilman Foundation, The Harkness Foundation for Dance, The Frances Lear Foundation, MetLife Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, The Samuel H. Scripps Foundation, The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Inc., with public support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
Univision Communications, Inc. is Media Sponsor of Ballet Hispánico.
Choreographer bios are available at https://www.ballethispanico.org/performances/Joyce2019.
Dancer bios are available at https://www.ballethispanico.org/performances/dancers.
Ballet Hispánico
Tue-Wed 7:30pm; Thu-Fri 8:00pm; Sat 2:00pm & 8:00pm; Sun 2:00pm
Curtain Chats: Wednesdays, April 8 and 15, 2020
Tickets start at $10 and are available for purchase in person at The Joyce Theater Box Office, by phone at (212) 242-0800, or online at Joyce.org. Ticket prices are subject to change.
Photo: Lyvan Verdecia. Credit: Rachel Neville
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