≈ 70 minutes · No intermission
Last updated: October 4, 2022
Welcome everyone to a new season of NAC Dance! And what a spectacular way to begin, with the brilliant Ballet Hispánico on our stage for the first time. Currently in its 52nd year, the company is dedicated to reflecting the experience of Latinx/Hispanic culture through innovative dance productions and community engagement, and is now the largest Latinx cultural organization in the USA. Artistic Director and CEO Eduardo Vilaro – who took over the helm from founder Tina Ramirez (1929-2022) in 2009 – commissioned the internationally acclaimed choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa to create her first full-evening piece for the company. Doña Perón explores, through majestic storytelling, the complicated and emotional life of Eva Perón and her controversial rise in Argentinian society. With sweeping choreography that showcases these amazing dancers, captivating music performed live by a fantastic five-piece ensemble, and dazzling sets and costumes, this luscious contemporary ballet is a feast for the senses.
Many spectacular performances are on offer over the coming months featuring a diverse range of voices, expressions and styles. On behalf of all of us at NAC Dance, we look forward to seeing you throughout the season as we celebrate Life in Motion!
70 minutes – No intermission
“She’s not a fairytale character, she’s not a literary character. She’s a real woman, and for me, it’s interesting to put her on stage because she’s difficult to pin point. I want to give female dancers real roles, not always the nice roles. Women are complex and it’s nice to show all of these facets. I’m very grateful that I can put this woman, Evita Perón, on stage as a female choreographer.”
– Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Choreographer of Doña Perón
Doña Perón is an explosive portrait of Eva “Evita” Perón, one of the most recognizable, and controversial, women in Argentinian history. The illegitimate daughter of a prosperous farmer, Evita concealed this shameful past as she rose the ranks from dancehall performer to Argentina’s First Lady – all before her untimely death at the age of 33.
Doña Perón brings to light the extremes of power at the forefront of Evita’s life. Her work as an activist and advocate for Argentina’s women and working class raised skepticism as she indulged in the opulence of a high-class life. A voice for the people, or a deceitful actress? Both loved and controversial, we follow the narrative of the iconic figure through her tragic and complex life in the public eye.
Choreographed by internationally renowned Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, in collaboration with Artistic collaborator Nancy Meckler, Doña Perón marks Lopez Ochoa’s first evening-length work for the Company. A symbolic creation where a Latina choreographer reclaims the narrative of the iconic Latina figure and marks the 50th anniversary of the company. Set to music of the inimitable composer Peter Salem, Doña Perón is your opportunity to appreciate the exquisite artistry of Ballet Hispánico with this full-length contemporary ballet.
MetLife Foundation is an Official Tour Sponsor of Ballet Hispánico. The 2022-2023 Ballet Hispánico National Tour is made possible by JPMorgan Chase, an Official Tour Sponsor.
Transformational funding for Ballet Hispánico is provided by MacKenzie Scott, the Ford Foundation America’s Cultural Treasures program, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Major support is provided by the Howard Gilman Foundation, the Miranda Family Fund, the Scherman Foundation, the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, the Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation, the Tatiana Piankova Foundation, the Prospect Hill Foundation, the Mosaic Network and Fund in The New York Community Trust, the Mid Atlantic Arts Regional Resilience Fund, and the Harkness Foundation for Dance.
Support for Doña Perón was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts with funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. This production was made possible by support from contributors to the Perry Granoff New Works Project.
For fifty years Ballet Hispánico has been the leading voice intersecting artistic excellence and advocacy, and is now the largest Latinx cultural organization in the United States and one of America’s Cultural Treasures. Ballet Hispánico brings communities together to celebrate and explore Latino cultures through innovative dance productions, transformative dance training, and enduring community engagement experiences.
National Medal of Arts recipient Tina Ramirez founded Ballet Hispánico in 1970, at the height of the post-war civil rights movements. From its inception Ballet Hispánico focused on providing a haven for Black and Brown Latinx youth and families seeking artistic place and cultural sanctuary. By providing the space for Latinx dance and dancers to flourish, Ballet Hispánico uplifted marginalized emerging and working artists, which, combined with the training, authenticity of voice, and power of representation, fueled the organization’s roots and trajectory. In 2009, Ballet Hispánico welcomed Eduardo Vilaro as its Artistic Director, ushering in a new era by inserting fresh energy to the organization’s founding values and leading Ballet Hispánico into an artistically vibrant future. Today, Ballet Hispánico’s New York City headquarters house a School of Dance and state-of-the-art dance studios for its programs and the arts community. From its grassroots origins as a dance school and community-based performing arts troupe, for fifty years Ballet Hispánico has stood as a catalyst for social change.
Ballet Hispánico provides the physical home and cultural heart for Latinx dance in the United States. 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 fifty years Ballet Hispánico has provided a place of honor for the omitted, overlooked, and oppressed. As it looks to the next fifty years and beyond, Ballet Hispánico seeks to empower, and give agency to, the Latinx experience and those individuals within it.
Annabelle Lopez Ochoa has been choreographing since 2003 following a 12-year dance career in various contemporary dance companies throughout Europe. She has created works for 60 dance companies worldwide including Ballet Hispánico, Atlanta Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Compañia Nacíonal de Danza, Dutch National Ballet, Finnish National Ballet, Royal Ballet of Flanders, Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève, Göteborg Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, BJM-Danse Montréal, New York City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, English National Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, to name a few.
In 2012, her first full length work, A Streetcar Named Desire, originally created for the Scottish Ballet, received the Critics’ Circle National Dance Award for "Best Classical Choreography" and was nominated for a prestigious Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production the following year.
Annabelle was the recipient of the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award in 2019.
EDUARDO VILARO joined Ballet Hispánico as Artistic Director in August 2009, becoming only the second person to head the company since it was founded in 1970. In 2015, Mr. Vilaro took on the additional role of Chief Executive Officer of Ballet Hispánico. He has been part of the Ballet Hispánico family since 1985 as a dancer and educator, after which he began a ten-year record of achievement as founder and Artistic Director of Luna Negra Dance Theater in Chicago. Mr. Vilaro has infused Ballet Hispánico’s legacy with a bold and eclectic brand of contemporary dance that reflects America’s changing cultural landscape.
Born in Cuba and raised in New York from the age of six, he is a frequent speaker on the merits of cultural diversity and dance education. Mr. Vilaro’s own choreography is devoted to capturing the spiritual, sensual, and historical essence of Latino cultures. He created over 20 ballets for Luna Negra and has received commissions from the Ravinia Festival, the Chicago Sinfonietta, the Grant Park Festival, the Lexington Ballet, and the Chicago Symphony. In 2001, he was a recipient of a Ruth Page Award for choreography, and in 2003, he was honored for his choreographic work at Panama’s II International Festival of Ballet.
Mr. Vilaro was inducted into the Bronx Walk of Fame in 2016 and was awarded HOMBRE Magazine’s 2017 Arts & Culture Trailblazer of the Year. In 2019, Mr. Vilaro was the recipient of the West Side Spirit’s WESTY Award, was honored by WNET for his contributions to the arts, and most recently, was the recipient of the James W. Dodge Foreign Language Advocate Award. In 2022, Mr. Vilaro was included in Crain’s New York lists of Notable Hispanic Leaders and Notable LGBTQ Leaders; and was acknowledged as one of Forbes’ Kings of Culture, Legends of Business.
Peter has carved a very successful career for himself as a widely respected score composer who possesses the very rare ability of being able to write for any idiom. Whether it’s film, television, theatre, ballet or concert hall, Peter has constantly proved he is a composer of true expertise, innate understanding and uncompromising quality of output.
His diverse projects include four seasons of the highly acclaimed BBC series, Call the Midwife, two beautifully toned BBC productions: Cider with Rosie and Five Daughters, both for the acclaimed director Philippa Lowthorpe. He also scored the hugely successful documentary series Francesco’s Venice and Simon Schama’s, The Power of Art: Caravaggio; all works for which he produced wonderfully evocative and attention grabbing scores.
Peter is very much in demand among ballet companies and choreographers following a number of hugely successful and high-profile productions including Broken Wings for English National Ballet and The Little Prince for Ballet X. His full-length ballet score, Camino Real, based on Tennessee Williams’ masterpiece of the same name, was premiered by Atlanta Ballet.
Artistic Director and CEO
Eduardo Vilaro
Choreographer
Annabelle Lopez Ochoa
Artistic Collaborator
Nancy Meckler
Music
Peter Salem
Set Design
Christopher Ash
Lighting + Video Design
Christopher Ash
Artistic Associate & Rehearsal Director
Johan Rivera
Costume Design
Mark Eric
Chief Development & Marketing Officer
Elaine Delgado
Company Manager
Michael Blanco
Production Director
Adrian White
Lighting
Caitlin Brown
Wardrobe Director
Stacey Davila
Stage Manager
Morgan Lemos
International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees