News Release
March 2000

Ballet Hispanico to perform at Moravian College

(Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) The renowned, awarding-winning troupe, Ballet Hispanico will perform at Moravian College on Thursday, March 23, at 8:00 p.m. in Foy Concert Hall. Ballet Hispanico has been recognized around the world as the foremost dance interpreter of Hispanic culture in the United States. Founded in 1970 by its Artistic Director, Tina Ramirez, the company’s innovative repertory blends ballet and ethnic dance forms into a spirited image of contemporary Hispanic-American culture.

Ballet Hispanico will delight the crowd at Moravian College with a program consisting of three ballets. The first ballet entitled, Guajira, portrays the women of the Cuban countryside (guajira), who spend their days toiling in the sun beside the men, then enjoy a little rest and perhaps a bit of flirtation. In the evening, the women can forget their day of toil in a rousing guateque (party) with the other laborers. The typical guajiro rhythm is heard throughout the ballet. The music and the gestural language of the piece hark back both to Africa and to Spain.

In the second ballet, Somethin’ From Nothin’, choreographed to music written by Grammy Award winning Latin artist, Eddie Palmieri, the troupe captures the passion and exhilaration of dancing in a modern-day inner city Latin club. The ballet reflects the extraordinary capacity of human beings to make their own joy, even when their lives hold pain and sorrow.

In the third ballet, Ritmo y Ruido, the dancers are turned loose on an urban prowl, set to the irresistible pulse of hip-hop and Afro-Cuban rhythms by percussionists/vocalists Philip Hamilton and Tobias Ralph. Hips swivel and heads pop as the dancers revel in choreographer Ann Reinking's slinky signature style.

Acclaimed by audiences and critics alike, The Ballet Hispanico Company has performed for nearly two million people in 43 states, Europe and South America. Distinguished choreographers, including Tony Award winners Ann Reinking and George Faison, modern innovator David Roussève and Spain’s brightest talent Ramón Oller, have created 70 new works expressly for the dancers’ innovative repertory, which fuses contemporary American dance and Hispanic culture.

The company has appeared in major venues throughout the United States, including The John F. Kennedy Center, The Joyce Theater in New York City, the Annenberg Center in Philadelphia, Broward Center in Ft. Lauderdale and BankBoston Celebrity Series, and will be seen at UCLA’s Royce Hall and the Auditorium Theater in Chicago in the 1999/00 season. The company has also performed at Wolf Trap and the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. This past June, the company was featured in a gala birthday celebration honoring former President George Bush in Houston.

Ballet Hispanico’s international appearances include a tour of Spain in July 1998, where the company was featured for two weeks at Festival Grec in Barcelona and performed at the Conde Duque Theater in Madrid. In 1993, the company toured South America, visiting Panama, Venezuela, Argentina and Uruguay. While in Buenos Aires, they were the guests at a private reception with President Carlos Menem. Ballet Hispanico represented the United States at Expo ’92 in Seville, Spain when they were featured at a special Independence Day Celebration at the invitation of the United States Pavilion. The company’s television appearances include CBS Sunday Morning and the 1999 Hispanic Heritage Awards on NBC.

Metropolitan Life Foundation is the official sponsor of Ballet Hispanico's 2000 National Tour. This tour of Ballet Hispanico is made possible by a grant from the Mid- Atlantic Arts Foundation in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts Regional Touring Program. Ballet Hispanico is funded in part by the National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts, with lead funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Additional funding is provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Phillip Morris Companies.

Ballet Hispanico's appearance at Moravian College is supported in part by MOPAC of Souderton, Pennsylvania, the Rider-Pool Foundation, Moravian College Arts and Lectures, EL TORRERO Newspaper, and the Council of Spanish Speaking Organizations of the Lehigh Valley.

General admission is $15, $10 for Senior Citizens, students, and children under 12. For concert and ticket information, call the Moravian College Music Institute at (610) 861-1650. Tickets can be purchased in advance or at the door. Foy Hall is located at the Moravian College Church Street Campus, at Church and Main streets, in Historic Bethlehem.

Moravian College is a private, coeducational, selective liberal arts college located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Tracing its founding to 1742, it is recognized as America's sixth-oldest college.