Ballet Hispánico, the nation’s largest Latinx/ Latine/ Hispanic cultural organization and one of America’s Cultural Treasures, presents a night of historic and new works witnessing the vibrancy and diversity of Latine cultures at The 92nd Street Y. The performance is in person in 92NY’s historic Kaufmann Concert Hall on February 21 at 7:30 pm and available online for 72 hours from noon on February 22, 2024.

Ballet Hispánico celebrates the catalyst that is 92NY for modern dance choreographers with classic pieces like a re-staging of Talley Beatty’s electrifying Recuerdo de Campo Amor, the flamenco-immersed Línea Recta by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, and the Cuban social dance extravaganza Club Havana by Pedro Ruíz. Talley Beatty, a vital figure of the Black dance canon, was an important force in Ballet Hispánico history in the 1970s and an artist in residence at 92NY. This unique collaboration between two iconic institutions, Ballet Hispánico and The 92nd Street Y, New York, will be an unforgettable evening of culture and the celebration of dance. 

Recuerdo de Campo Amor (1985)

Talley Beatty’s piece celebrates New York’s Latin dance halls and nightclubs from the 1960s and 1970s with a fusion of Latin American rhythms and highly athletic jumps, lifts, and turns.

Línea Recta (2016)

From Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, one of today’s most sought-after choreographers comes a powerful and resonant work that explores an intriguing aspect of flamenco dance: the conspicuous absence of physical partnering.

Club Havana (2000)

Cuban (Afro-Latin) dancing at its best. The intoxicating rhythms of the conga, rumba, mambo, and cha cha cha are brought to life by choreographer Pedro Ruiz, himself a native of Cuba, as he imagined his very own “Club Havana.”

Ballet Hispánico is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature; and by the National Endowment for the Arts.

MetLife Foundation is an Official Tour Sponsor of Ballet Hispánico.

At the age of 16, Chicago-native Talley Beatty (1918-1995) became a principal dancer at the Katherine Dunham Company, and after five years of touring with this company, appearing in both Broadway shows and film productions, he created his own dance company, which would further tour the United States, Canada and Europe. In 1977, his work on Broadway was nominated for the Best Choreographer Tony Award in the production Your Arm’s Too Short to Box with God. Ballet Hispánico, alongside of other worldwide dance companies such as Dance Theatre of Harlem, Koln Opera Ballet Company, Boston Ballet, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater have mounted his works. Ballet Hispánico mounted Recuerdo de Campo Amor for the first time in 1985 with costume design by Tom McKinley, lightning design by Donald Holder and appearances by current Artistic Director & CEO Eduardo Vilaro, Justine DiCostanzo, Maya Saffrin, Chamilla Chandler, and Ariel Nuñez, among other members of the Company.

Annabelle Lopez Ochoa has been choreographing since 2003 following a twelve-year dance career in various contemporary dance companies throughout Europe. She has created works for sixty dance companies worldwide including Ballet Hispánico, Atlanta Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Compañía Nacional de Danza, Dutch National Ballet, Finnish National Ballet, Royal Ballet of Flanders, Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève, Göteborg Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, BJM-Danse Montréal, New York City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, English National Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, to name a few. In 2012, her first full length work, A Streetcar Named Desire, originally created for the Scottish Ballet, received the Critics’ Circle National Dance Award for “Best Classical Choreography” and was nominated for the prestigious Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production the following year. Annabelle is the recipient of the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award 2019.

Pedro Ruíz is a renowned international choreographer and dancer, born and trained in Cuba and Venezuela. In a 21-year career with Ballet Hispánico as one of its principal dancers, Ruíz choreographed three critically acclaimed ballets for the company. Clive Barnes of The New York Post called Guajira, “an especially fine work of form and structure.” Jennifer Dunning of The New York Times called Club Havana, “an explosion of sensuous pure dance.” Last November, he premiered La Estancia for the New Jersey Ballet, alongside cellist YoYo Ma and Wynton Marsalis at NJPAC. Ruíz has received the Bessie Award, the Choo-San Goh Award, The Cuban Artists Fund Award and The Joyce Foundation Award. In 2010, he founded The Windows Project— a cultural exchange program celebrating dance between the U.S. and Cuba. Ruíz has been the subject of two PBS documentaries: Pas de Deux and Coming Home, nominated for a NY Emmy Award. His Club Havana was featured in Lincoln Center at the Movies: Great American Dance.

Ballet Hispánico is the largest Latinx/Latine/Hispanic cultural organization in the United States and one of America's Cultural Treasures. Ballet Hispánico's three main programs, the Company, School of Dance, and Community Arts Partnerships bring communities together to celebrate the multifaceted Hispanic diasporas. Ballet Hispánico's New York City headquarters provide the physical home and cultural heart for Latinx dance in the United States. It is a space that initiates new inclusive cultural conversations and explores the intersectionality of Latine cultures. The Ballet Hispánico mission opens a platform for new social dialogue, and nurtures and sees a community in its fullness. Through its exemplary artistry, distinguished training program, and deep-rooted community engagement, Ballet Hispánico champions and amplifies Latine voices in the field. For over fifty years Ballet Hispánico has provided a place of honor for the omitted, overlooked, and othered. As it looks to the future, Ballet Hispánico is pushing the culture forward on issues of dance and Latine creative expression.

The performance is in person in 92NY’s historic Kaufmann Concert Hall on February 21 at 7:30 pm and available online for 72 hours from noon on February 22. Tickets are available at https://www.92ny.org/event/ballet-hispanico.