On Thursday, Oct. 18, at 6 p.m., dance students will have the opportunity to attend a master class with Johan Rivera Mendéz, the company’s rehearsal director. A lecture/demonstration with Artistic Director Eduardo Vilaro, open to the Union community, follows at 7:30 p.m. Both events will take place in the Henle Dance Studio.
On Friday, Oct. 19, 8 p.m., the company will give a public performance at The Egg theater, Empire State Plaza, Albany. There will be a 7:15 p.m. pre-performance talk with Mendéz.
A limited number of tickets to the Egg performance are free for faculty, students and staff with a Union ID. Free round-trip bus transportation also will be provided. Buses leave from the Nott/Seward parking lot at 7 p.m. and return to campus after the performance.
Ballet Hispánico is known for its bold, eclectic brand of contemporary dance that blends ballet, modern and Latin styles. The organization’s founder, National Medal of Arts recipient Tina Ramirez, sought to give voice to the Hispanic experience and to break through stereotypes.
Today, Vilaro vigorously pursues a vision of social equity, cultural identity and access to quality arts education. Cuban-born and New York City-raised, he is devoted to capturing the spiritual, sensual and historical essence of Latino cultures.
A founder and former artistic director of Luna Negra Dance Theater in Chicago, he also has received commissions from the Ravinia Festival, Chicago Sinfonietta, Grant Park Festival, Lexington Ballet and Chicago Symphony. He was inducted into the Bronx Walk of Fame in 2016 and was awarded HOMBRE Magazine’s 2017 Arts & Culture Trailblazer of the Year.
Tickets to the Ballet Hispánico performance at the Egg are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. They can be picked up at the Yulman Theater Box Office weekdays 12:30-2:30 p.m. and at the Feigenbaum Center for Visual Arts (main office) 3-4 p.m.
Now in its 11th year, the Stephanie C. Davis Dance Residency is made possible by a generous gift from Sue and Gus Davis ’59, in memory of their daughter, who was a modern dancer and environmental activist with a lifelong love of the performing arts.
For more information, call (518) 388-7129.