Ballet Hispánico is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with flair. The nation’s largest Latinx dance organization is honoring Hispanic culture with an abundance of exuberant dance.  If you are in the New York City area read on to see how you can participate in the fun.

Ballet Hispánico Events:

The Ballet’s annual A La Calle Block Party will serve as the centerpiece for the month-long celebration. It will include live performances from Ballet Hispánico’s Pa’lante Scholars and students from the School of Dance. Free dance classes, live music, and food from local vendors are also part of the fun.

The popular community event will take place on Sunday 10/2 from 12-4p. The excitement will take place in the heart of the Upper West side at W. 89th Street between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues, outside of Ballet’s headquarters. To kick-off the full-day celebration, at 11 a.m., prior to the start of the block party, a special street-naming ceremony will take place with several notable community leaders in attendance.

Learn Latinx Dance:

The Ballet Hispanico School of Dance is one of America’s Cultural Treasures. It serves over 1,000 students annually. The school brings dance and Latinx culture to students of all ages, abilities and socioeconomic backgrounds. Adult classes are available in Ballet Fitness, Flamenco, Hip Hop, and Salsa and more. The school offers generous scholarships and support to students in need.

Registration for classes are currently open and close on September 29. You can learn more about these classes here.

“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, especially the contributions of our traiblazing founder, Tina Ramirez, whom we sadly lost last week.”

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 Co., and Calpulli Mexican Dance Company.

Other programming and special highlights for the month include:

• Thursday, 9/22 –Ballet Hispánico will be hosting a Diálogos conversation, addressing LGBTQ and Latinx culture in dance and social justice. This event is In conjunction with The Stonewall Inn and the Ali Forney Center.  Tickets available here.
• Friday, 9/30 – 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 K-12th grade.
• Friday, 9/30 – The Ballet will unveil As Time Dances On, a painting by muralist and surrealist artist, Sally A. Eckert. Commissioned in commemoration of the organization’s 50th anniversary. The painting will feature Eduardo Vilaro, Artistic Director & CEO of Ballet Hispánico and Founder, Tina Ramirez (1929-2022).
• Friday, 9/30 -Thursday, 10/13 – As part of Ballet Hispánico’s Community Arts Partnerships (CAP) program, the Pa’lante Scholars will perform at schools and colleges in the New York area including the Bronx and Westchester.
• Thursday, 10/6 – Latinx dance leaders from all over the country will convene at Ballet Hispánico’s Latinx Leaders Summit, from 9am-7:30pm. They will explore ways of working to create more visibility and to assure diversity in the dance field.
• Tuesday, 10/11 – Latin Salsa dance classes will be offered at the Fort Lee Library, in New Jersey, at 7pm.
• Wednesday, 10/12 and Friday, 10/14 – In partnership with Teachers College, Columbia University and Kookmin University, the events at the Arnhold Institute Symposium will feature discussions on 10/12 with Eduardo Vilaro (Artistic Director & CEO) and 10/14 with Michelle Manzanales (Director, School of Dance) and Chell Parkins (former Dance Education Scholar-in-Residence).

For more information on all Hispanic Heritage Month programming please visit www.ballethispanico.org

About Ballet Hispanico:

Ballet Hispánico has been the leading voice intersecting artistic excellence and advocacy. It 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. Ballet Hispánico seeks to empower, and give agency to the Latinx experience and those individuals within it.