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Ballet Hispanico

Mount Gretna, PA, United States

An energetic and passionate fusion of Latin, classical and contemporary dance.

Time 7:30 PM Admission $1-$23
The Hall of Philosophy at PA Chautauqua 212 Gettysburg Avenue, Mount Gretna, PA 17064, United States

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Ballet Hispanico creates a new style of concert dance in which theatricality and passion propel every move. They are the premier Latino dance organization in the United States, bringing individuals and communities together to celebrate and explore Latino cultures through dance.

Recognized for her achievements by the National Medal of Arts, the nation’s highest cultural honor, Tina Ramirez founded Ballet Hispánico in 1970. From its grassroots origins as a dance school and community-based performing arts troupe, the organization has grown into a world-class institution. 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.
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PROGRAM:

Con Brazos Abiertos

Choreography by Michelle Manzanales

Artistic Collaboration by Ray Doñes

Soundscape includes Carla Morrison, Cheech & Chong, Julio Iglesias, Edward James Olmos, Gustavo Santaolalla, Maria Billini-Padilla, Juan Carlos Marin Marin, Ember Island, Mexican Institute of Sound

Costume Design by Diana Ruettiger

Lighting Design by Joshua Preston

The Company

World Premiere: April 18, 2017 at The Joyce Theater

Michelle Manzanales explores with humility, nostalgia, and humor the iconic Mexican symbols that she was reluctant 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.

Special thanks to artists Juan Carlos Marin Marin, Nir Ben-Gal, and Noemi Gasparini, for this original recording of “Chiles Verdes” and to Maria Billini for her original poem, “Con Brazos Abiertos.”

“Creep” by Radiohead used with permission by Warner/ Chappell and Sony/ ATV.

Intermission

Línea Recta

Choreography by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa

Music by Eric Vaarzon Morel

Costume Design by Danielle Truss

Lighting Design by Michael Mazzola

Chris Bloom, Jared Bogart, Melissa Fernandez, Omar Rivéra, Gabrielle Sprauve, Eila Valls, Dandara Veiga, Lyvan Verdecia

World Premiere: November 18, 2016 at the Apollo Theater

Powerful and resonant, Línea Recta explores an intriguing aspect of flamenco: the conspicuous absence of physical contact between dancers. While maintaining the integrity and hallmark passion of the genre, Belgo-Colombian Annabelle Lopez Ochoa imagines an original and explosive movement language premised upon the theme of communication between the sexes and performed to an original guitar composition by Eric Vaarzon Morel.

Línea Recta was commissioned in part by the Apollo Theater and Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival.

Danzón

Choreography by Eduardo Vilaro

Music “You’ve Changed” by Carey/Fischer, arr. by D. Balakrishnan

“Danzón” by Paquito D’Rivera, arr. by M. Summer

“A Night in Tunisia” by Dizzy Gillespie/F. Paparelli, arr. by D. Balakrishnan

Reorchestrated by Alex Brown

Costume Design by Diana Ruettiger

Lighting Design by Joshua Preston

Melissa Fernandez Lyvan Verdecia

Chris Bloom, Jared Bogart, Shelby Colona, Raúl Contreras, Laura Lopez, Antonio Mannino, Jenna Marie, Geena Pacareu, Omar Rivéra, Gabrielle Sprauve, Eila Valls, Dandara Veiga

Ballet Hispánico Premiere: December 1, 2012 at the Apollo Theater

Danzón has been called the official dance of Cuba. Having evolved from the Haitian contradance, its history is steeped in the fusion of cultures. But danzón is also used throughout Latin America as a term of celebration, a coming together of community and a way of maintaining identity. Fusing Afro-Cuban social dance movements with contemporary and classical dance forms, Eduardo Vilaro has taken this traditional and quintessentially Cuban dance form and reinvented it as a joyous celebration of music and movement.