Ballet Hispanico, recognized as the nation's leading Latino dance organization since 1970, announces its participation as the inaugural company in the Rockefeller Brothers Fund's (RBF) first dance residency as part of the Pocantico Arts Collaborative this spring. Ballet Hispanico, one of two dance companies awarded the RBF's Charles E. Culpeper Arts and Culture Grant, will develop a new choreographic work as part of its residency program at The Pocantico Center. A work-in-progress showing will follow this summer as part of Pocantico's summer performance season.

"The Pocantico Arts Collaborative aims to provide artists time and space for aesthetic exploration and opportunities for nurturing artistic imagination," said Susanne Pandich, Public Programs manager at The Pocantico Center. "We are thrilled to host a dance company of Ballet Hispanico's caliber as they share their creative process with the public through on-site performances and educational interactions."

Ballet Hispanico's Artistic Director Eduardo Vilaro and six dancers will spend the week of May 13-17, 2013 at The Pocantico Center, conceiving and creating an original work to be performed during the Company's 2014 season at the Joyce Theater. Rehearsals will take place in the Carriage Room of the Coach Barn, where the public will be able to view the creative process.

"The opportunity to work in a new environment, away from our home in the city, feeds the imagination and lends itself to creative exploration," said Eduardo Vilaro, artistic director of Ballet Hispanico. "We are grateful to the Rockefeller Brothers Fund for allowing Ballet Hispanico the freedom to grow its artistic and educational impact within the community at The Pocantico Center."

Ballet Hispanico's Education & Outreach program also will visit Pocantico Hill public schools where members of BHdos, Ballet Hispanico's pre-professional second company, will perform Ballet Hispanico repertory for young people in local elementary and middle schools. As part of their educational programming, BHdos and Ballet Hispanico company members will visit classrooms to engage students in discussions about dance and professional development.

Ballet Hispanico will return on August 13, 2013 as part of Pocantico's summer performance season. The Company will preview the work-in-progress created in May and perform other selections from their repertory.

ABOUT THE POCANTICO CENTER

The Pocantico Center is a venue for conferences and meetings on critical issues related to the Rockefeller Brothers Fund's mission. It also serves as a community resource and offers public access through a visitation program, lectures, and cultural events. The Pocantico Center
also hosts artist residencies and provides performance space for artists selected by RBF grantees and New York City arts organizations. Located 20 miles north of Manhattan in the Pocantico Historic Area, The Pocantico Center is managed by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund as part of its agreement with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Founded in 1940, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund advances social change that contributes to a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world.

ABOUT BALLET HISPANICO

Celebrating 42 years of dance and culture, Ballet Hispanico is recognized as the nation's leading Latino dance organization. Led by Artistic Director Eduardo Vilaro, the Company boasts a rich and diverse repertory of over 100 works by the foremost choreographers and emerging artists of our time. The works expand on founder Tina Ramirez's legacy of exploring the diversity of Latino culture through a fusion of classical, Latin, and contemporary dance powered by theatricality and passion.The Company has performed for an audience of nearly 3 million, throughout 11 countries, on 3 continents.For more information, visit www.ballethispanico.org. Follow Ballet Hispanico on Facebook and Twitter.

EDUARDO VILARO joined Ballet Hispanico as Artistic Director in August 2009, following a ten-year record of achievement as Founder and Artistic Director of Luna Negra Dance Theater in Chicago. He has been part of the Ballet Hispanico family since 1985. As a dancer in the Ballet Hispanico Company, Mr. Vilaro performed works by Vicente Nebrada, Talley Beatty, Ramon Oller and other audience favorites. As an educator he assisted Ballet Hispanico founder Tina Ramirez in developing a program for children living in temporary housing and was involved with many aspects of the organization's education residencies. Mr. Vilaro is an accomplished choreographer, having created over 20 ballets for his own company in addition to the Ravinia Festival, the Chicago Sinfonietta, the Lexington Ballet, and the Civic Ballet of Chicago. In 2001 he was a recipient of a Ruth Page Award for choreography, and in 2003 he was honored at Panama's II International Festival of Ballet for his choreographic work. He received a B.F.A. in Dance from Adelphi University and an M.A. in Interdisciplinary Art from Columbia College Chicago, where he served as Artist-in-Residence at The Dance Center.