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Bob Adamek

Students in dance class participate in the Ballet Hispánico masterclass.

Thursday, Jan. 27, Ballet Hispánico performed their innovative dance showcase at the high school. Ballet Hispánico is an American dance company based in Manhattan, New York. Their mission as a dance company is to bring to light the experiences of Hispanic and Latino Americans.

Dandara Veiga is a dancer in Ballet Hispánico. She is originally from Brazil. Veiga’s participation in the performances corresponds with her message as a dancer. 

“The message we share is that you can express yourself in so many ways and your story is important. We want to empower Latino and Hispanic people to be confident about their culture. I didn’t speak English when I moved here and now I am making it in this country,” Veiga said.

After receiving a scholarship in her hometown, Veiga traveled to multiple countries to compete. She then moved to New York and discovered Ballet Hispánico. Ballet Hispánico’s diverse group and representation of her culture drew Veiga to audition. 

“My favorite part is being able to show a bit of my culture and not needing to hide or fit in a box. I’m just accepting myself as I am. I’m able to add into what the company is about,” Veiga said.

Another dancer in the company is Chris Bloom. Bloom is originally from Frederick County, Virginia and joined Ballet Hispánico in 2013.

“For me, it’s been learning about people from other cultures. Growing up in Virginia, I honestly didn’t have a lot of exposure to people who weren’t from my culture. The amount that I have grown and now view the world through a loving lens is because of my good fortune and being able to spend so much time with people from other backgrounds. That really is the message of Ballet Hispánico, is to expose people to more cultures through the art of dance,” Bloom said.

Ballet Hispánico tours various countries to share their dances. A goal for them is to expose youth to dance and give them a new perspective of the art.

“The most exciting thing about it is the joy that we get to bring to people. We hear positive things, after performances, and then when we get to do school shows, like the one we did here at [HHS]. The performances for young people are so meaningful. We get to interact with young artists and young students in general and [show them] how art is valid and art is wonderful.”

When they performed at the high school, Fine Arts and Spanish classes were able to attend the performances. However, Ballet Hispánico also performed at the James Madison University Forbes Center for the Performing Arts. Senior Jordan Perez attended the performance with his family over the weekend. 

“It was a really good show on representation not just for Hispanics, but oppressed communities including LGBTQIA+ representation. It was a good show on how Hispanics would rather be represented rather than how they are being represented,” Perez said. 

Though he does not have much experience with dance, Perez enjoyed the performance and seeing representation of his culture on stage. The company’s messages left an impression on their audience. 

“Cultural differences are part of what makes me unique and being more involved with that obviously is going to build up that uniqueness. I like talking about my culture and just staying informed with it is really nice for me. The show was a powerful message and it really resonated with me,” Perez said.

Ballet Hispánico’s representation  has shown appreciation to many cultures. They continue to showcase diversity and inclusion in the modern world.

“Our mission is present in every single thing that we do. There’s nothing wrong with beautiful dances and we do beautiful dances. But, we never just do beautiful dances, it’s always beautiful dances and our message,” Bloom said. “Whatever we are trying to teach with that dance is always shown through our moves. We want our audience members to leave with a new perspective of other cultures and lives.”