Ballet Hispanico, recognized as the nation’s leading Latino dance organization since 1970, will perform for the first time at the American Dance Festival at Durham Performing Arts Center on June 20-21 at 8pm, with a special Children’s Matinee on June 21 at 1pm.  Highlights of the program include Artistic Director Eduardo Vilaro’s Danzón, which melds Cuban rhythms with jazz improvisation, as well as Show.Girl., the highly anticipated latest creation by ADF audience favorite Rosie Herrera. Durham Performing Arts Center is located at 123 Vivian Street, Durham, NC 27701.  Tickets start at $10 and are available at http://www.dpacnc.com/events/detail/ballet-hispanico.

Since its inception, Ballet Hispanico’s contemporary repertory has reflected the ever-changing diversity of Latino culture, showcased masterfully by some of “the most technically accomplished and musical dancers you’ll find in the contemporary sphere” (The Washington Post). 

The evening program at Durham Performing Arts Center includes:

Show.Girl. by Rosie Herrera

Miami-based choreographer and 2013 Princess Grace Award winner Rosie Herrera presents her first work for Ballet Hispanico, one that uses the Cuban cabaret aesthetic to explore the Latina female identity.  Show.Girl. was commissioned by the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County and the prestigious American Dance Festival, where Herrera has been invited to show her work for three consecutive years.

Sombrerísimo by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa

An absorbing exploration of identity, Sombrerísimo makes references to the surrealist world of the Belgian painter René Magritte, famous for his paintings of men in bowler hats. This athletic work for six male dancers was commissioned by New York City Center for the 10th anniversary of the Fall for Dance Festival. 

Sortijas by Cayetano Soto to the music of Lhasa de Sela

Cayetano Soto, one of the most dynamic and groundbreaking Spanish choreographers of his generation, is known for his musicality, attention to detailed technique, and expressive choreography.  In Sortijas, a darkly lush duet full of emotional complexity, he ponders the unavoidable pull of fate in our lives.  Costume design is by Munich-based fashion designers Talbot Runhof.  

Danzón by Eduardo Vilaro

Artistic Director Eduardo Vilaro has taken this traditional and quintessentially Cuban dance form and reinvented it with contemporary movement riffs. The work plays on the fusion of jazz improvisation and Cuban rhythms, which propel the dancers into a joyous celebration of music and movement.