In an emotional performance at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Ballet Hispánico celebrates its 50th Anniversary post-pandemic with a dazzling performance.
By John Lavitt
Beverly Hills, CA (The Hollywood Times) 10/10/22 – At the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, Ballet Hispánico finally was able to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Delayed two years by the pandemic, 2022 is the dance company’s 52nd anniversary, but who’s keeping count? A New York-based dance company founded by the Puerto Rican/Mexican-American dancer and choreographer Tina Ramirez (1929-2022) in 1970, Ballet Hispánico illuminates the stage with meaning and emotion.
Indeed, bringing this innovative ensemble live to the stage in Southern California in Ballet Hispánico: Noche De Oro (Golden Night) proved to be much more essential than any anniversary. By celebrating cultural expression in the 500-seat Goldsmith Theater, the dance company reminded the audience what had been missing for so long during the pandemic. Nothing compares to the vibrancy and power of a live show. With an energized performance that courageously interrogates modern questions of race and diversity, Ballet Hispánico is a treasure chest of revelation.
Indeed, bringing this innovative ensemble live to the stage in Southern California in Ballet Hispánico: Noche De Oro (Golden Night) proved to be much more essential than any anniversary. By celebrating cultural expression in the 500-seat Goldsmith Theater, the dance company reminded the audience what had been missing for so long during the pandemic. Nothing compares to the vibrancy and power of a live show. With an energized performance that courageously interrogates modern questions of race and diversity, Ballet Hispánico is a treasure chest of revelation.
Divided into three dance pieces with two intermissions, Ballet Hispánico: Noche De Oro was a night to remember. In the first piece, Con Brazos Abiertos (With Open Arms), choreographer Michelle Manzanales explores iconic Mexican symbols that she was reluctant to embrace as a young girl growing up in Texas. In the emotional dance, the Sombrero becomes an intriguing extension of the dancers as the traditional meaning is both enhanced and obscured. Ultimately, this stereotypical aspect of traditional culture is taken back by making the Sombrero a form of expression that either hides or reveals each dancer in battling moments.
In the second piece Tiburones (Sharks), which Annabelle Lopez Ochoa choreographs, the dancers battle the Hollywood machine of appropriation. A commentary on Stephen Spielberg directing West Side Story as a white male, the question is why old stories of cultural appropriation and cliché are being chosen over new tales of diversity and inclusion. With a comical touch that underscores people’s desperation to be seen in the context of their actual realities, Tiburones never backs away from the tough questions.
As a direct result, dance becomes a way to interrogate how the most influential voices in Hollywood sometimes fail, even when they are desperately trying to be modern and diverse. It is not enough that a Latina actor plays Maria. It is not enough that Stephen Spielberg used his powers and money to foster an authentic feel and look to the ethnic storyline. Instead, why not step aside and champion the modern stories of a too-often silenced community?
To close out the performance, 18 + 1, the third piece by choreographer Gustavo Ramírez Sansano, the memory and the history of the creator is illuminated amid the playful rhythms of Cuban pianist Pérez Prado’s Mambo music. As a direct result, the Mambo transforms into a road that the dancers take as they discover themselves and their passions. The electrifying journey overflows with humor and intimacy in a delicate celebration of humanity.
After the show, the audience interacted with Eduardo Vilaro, the Artistic Director & CEO of Ballet Hispánico. After describing the company’s journey during the pandemic, Vilaro opened the door to questions as ushers walked around the Goldsmith Theatre with microphones. Before anyone could say anything, a very old man in the front row center took hold of a microphone and spoke with the utmost conviction: “I need to be clear with you. That last piece that we saw was so brilliant. It was wonderful. I wanted to thank you for it.”
After the passionate statement, the audience was informed that the man who just spoke was legendary producer Norman Lear. Known for many popular 1970s sitcoms, including All in the Family, Maude, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, and Good Times, Norman Lear is more than Hollywood royalty. He also turned 100 on July 27, 2022. To end the evening, seeing such a man still celebrating culture and expression at his age was inspiring. It shows how inclusion and diversity know no limits and have no boundaries. Indeed, Ballet Hispánico is a genuinely accomplished dance company that provides everyone access to beauty and wonder.
(Photos: Lawrence K. Ho and Rachel Neville)
