Dance: Latin troupe turns up the heat in local debut
Ballet Hispanico is one of the 'hot' tickets at upcoming Columbia arts fest
By Carolyn Kelemen
Howard County Times
Posted 6/04/09
June will be a bittersweet month for Tina Ramirez, director of Ballet Hispanico. First, she will at long last be able to introduce Howard County dance fans to her award-winning company at the 2009 Columbia Festival of the Arts.
The local date includes a Latin dance workshop that is quickly filling up. On the down side, however, the engagement will also serve to cap a long and successful career as Ramirez heads into retirement.
"I'm thrilled to bring Ballet Hispanico to Columbia," exudes Ramirez by telephone from her New York City office. "We're coming straight from Los Angeles. After the festival, it's a summer break for us, and the rest is uncertain."
Asked if she's looking forward to retirement, she answers with a tinge of melancholy. "My whole life I've been in the arts -- and soon I will be a civilian."
One thing we can count on is a fantastic audience reception for the nearly 40-year-old troupe. In the past, Latin dance programs have proved to be hugely popular with crowds at the Columbia arts festivals.
In 1997, the Miami Ballet rocked The Jim Rouse Theatre with its hot, sassy repertoire. Four years later, the Washington Ballet showcased the soulful, Cuban-inspired work of director Septime Webre. At the 2002 festival, 22 fiery female dancers weaved bravura dancing with a syncopated rhythm provided live by an on-stage ensemble of Latino musicians. Finally, just last season Luna Negra demonstrated an achingly beautiful, technically demanding grasp of Cuban culture as interpreted through contemporary movement.
Ballet Hispanico can do it all - classical ballet, traditional Spanish steps, jazzy improv, modern moves, and more. What the company does best, however, is a repertory of signature pieces developed under Tina Ramirez, generally regarded as one of the world's leading dance directors.
Born in Venezuela as the daughter of a Mexican bullfighter, she founded Ballet Hispanico in the USA around 1970. Her lifetime work as a professional dancer, educator and producer earned Ramirez a 2005 National Medal of Arts, the nation's highest cultural honor.
"I first performed at Jacob's Pillow in 1948, when founder Ted Shawn was hanging around," she recalls. A protégée of Lola Bravo, Manhattan's grande dame of Spanish dance, Ramirez was soon demonstrating a mix of folk and show dance in supper clubs with bandleader Xavier Cougat in the 1950s. She performed on Broadway, and became a mentor and trainer to another generation of Latina headliners, including singer/actress Jennifer Lopez.
For her current tour, which includes the Columbia program, Ramirez has invited four top choreographers to set works on the company. Cuban choreographer Pedro Ruiz has created the work "Club Havana," for one, set to music by renowned members of the Buena Vista Social Club.
"This dance is about having a good time," chuckles the director. "The steps may look easy, but it's a lot harder to do."
In "Ritmo Y Ruido," Tony Award winner Ann Reinking turns the Ballet Hispanico dancers loose for a "slinky" urban prowl, exploring the irresistible pulse of hip-hop. Also adding new work to the bill will be Jean Emile and Carlos Sierra Lopez.
As for life after reirement, Ramirez says, "It's good to know that Eduardo Vilaro will be my replacement. He was my former student and one of Ballet Hispanico's best dancers."
The Cuban-born Vilaro, who wowed the crowd when he performed with Luna Negra at last year's Columbia Festival of the Arts, also trained at the Alvin Ailey school. He earned his degree from Adelphi University.
When he re-joins his alma mater in the fall, he will continue to follow his mentor's penchant for a broad range of dance, a blend of ballet, and modern dance techniques flavored by Latin movements and Afro-Caribbean jazz styles.
Ramirez is hoping the Howard County audience will find in her company's program what previous audiences elsewhere have found: a better appreciation for the variety of styles and expressive vigor of Latin dance. "We are celebrating the human body and the human spirit," she says.
"I hope the audience is engaged and excited by it. It's the one time that all of these people are together."
On June 19, select members of the troupe will lead dancers of any skill level through the sexiest steps of them all in "Noche Latina." Participants will learn the basics of Salsa dance, and there will be adult beverages and delicious Latin-American themed food. It happens at Slayton House, Friday, June 19 at 7 p.m. General admission here is $40.
What: Ballet Hispanico
When: June 20, 8 p.m.
Where: Jim Rouse Theatre, Wilde Lake High School, Columbia
Admission: $25-$45 depending on age and seating selection
Tickets: Call 410-715-3044
For tickets, call the Columbia Festival of the Arts headquarters at 410-715-3044 or go to www.columbiafestival.com. Ballet Hispanico also has a Web site at www.ballethispanico.org.