The Wallis Presents Ballet Hispánico: Noche de Oro

Celebrating the Acclaimed New York-Based Dance Company’s 50th Anniversary,
the Program Features Three of Its Signature Works:

Con Brazos Abiertos, 18 1, and  Tiburones

Friday, October 7, 7:30 pm
Saturday, October 8, 2022, 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm

The Wallis’ Bram Goldsmith Theater

Engagement also Marks The Wallis Debut of this Trailblazing Catalyst for Social Change,
which has Explored the Diversity of Latinx Cultures for 50 Years and
Is Considered One of American’s Cultural Treasures

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts launches its 2022/2023 Dance @ The Wallis programming with Ballet Hispánico: Noche de Oro, featuring three of the celebrated New York-based dance company’s signature works, on Friday, October 7, 7:30 pm, and Saturday, October 8, 2022, 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm, at The Wallis’ Bram Goldsmith Theater. For 50 years, Ballet Hispánico, led by Artistic Director & CEO Eduardo Vilaro and hailed as “both earthy and classically elegant” (The New York Times), has been the leading voice intersecting artistic excellence and advocacy, and is now the largest Latinx cultural organization in the United States and considered one of America’s cultural treasures. For its Wallis debut, the trailblazing catalyst for social change presents an evening of dance that explores the diversity of Latinx cultures and brings innovative ways of experiencing and sharing a cultural dialogue. 

The program includes Con Brazos Abiertos (2017) by Michelle Manzanales in which she considers with humility, nostalgia, and humor the iconic Mexican symbols that she was reluctant to embrace as a Mexican-American child growing up in Texas. Intertwining folkloric details with a distinctly contemporary voice in dance and set to music that ranges from Julio Iglesias to rock en Español, Con Brazos Abiertos is a fun and frank look at a life caught between two cultures.

Also featured is Gustavo Ramírez Sansano’s 18 1 (2012), celebrating Ramírez’s 19 years as a choreographer and the vulnerability, care, and hope that comes with each artistic endeavor. In a display of subtle humor and electric choreography, the movement merges with the playful rhythms found in Pérez Prado's mambo music. Sansano draws from his history and memory to take a joyous look at the past, present, and coming future.

Additionally, Ballet Hispánico performs Tiburones (2019) by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, a work that addresses the discrimination and stereotypes placed upon Latinx culture and the power the media has in portraying these themes by diminishing the voices of Latinx artists. Ochoa deconstructs gender roles and identity to revitalize an authentic perspective of Puerto Rican icons appropriated within the entertainment industry.

Dance @ The Wallis, made possible in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, also features BODYTRAFFIC (October 21/22, 2022); Luminario Ballet of Los Angeles (February 17/18, 2023); Blue13 Dance Company (May 12/13, 2023); and Alonzo King LINES Ballet (June 9-11, 2023).

Tickets for Ballet Hispánico ($39 - $125) are on sale now. The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts is located at 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills. To purchase single tickets, subscriptions and for more information, please call 310-746-4000 (Monday – Friday, 10 am to 6 pm) or visit TheWallis.org/BH.

The Wallis is closely monitoring the ever-changing local health and safety environment carefully and addressing known health factors at the moment. Should plans change and any performance be required to be postponed or cancelled or if venue capacity limitations are instituted, ticket holders will be notified immediately with options for their purchased tickets per The Wallis' ticketing policies. 

The health and safety of patrons, our staff, and artists inside and outside the venue are a top priority for The Wallis, which is requiring all patrons to provide, upon entry, proof of full vaccination or a negative PCR test result within 48 hours or a verifiable Antigen test within 24 hours from your performance date, along with a government issued photo ID. Facial masks, covering both the mouth and nose, are still required at all times while within the venue. The Wallis' health and safety protocols are also subject to change at the venue's sole discretion or in accordance with LA County and City of Beverly Hills regulations. Current Health & Safety Protocols and updates may also be accessed at TheWallis.org/Safety. Policies are subject to change.

About Ballet Hispánico

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 company’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.

About Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts:  

Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts is a dynamic cultural hub and community resource where local, national and international artists share their artistry with ever-expanding audiences. The campus, located in the heart of Beverly Hills, CA, is committed to robust and distinctive presentations and education programs curated with both creativity and social impact in mind. Distinguished by its eclectic programming that mirrors the diverse landscape of Los Angeles and its location in the entertainment capital of the world, The Wallis has produced and presented more than 350 theater, dance, music, film, cabaret, conversation, and family entertainment programs since its doors opened in October 2013. Hailed as “au courant” (LaLa Magazine), The Wallis was lauded by Culture Vulture, which proclaims, “If you love expecting the unexpected in the performing arts, you have to love The Wallis.” Its programming has been nominated for 79 Ovation Awards and nine L.A. Drama Critic's Circle Awards. The campus itself, a breathtaking 70,000-square-foot facility, celebrating the classic and the modern, has garnered six architectural awards. Designed by acclaimed architect Zoltan E. Pali (SPF:architects), the restored building features the original 1933 Beverly Hills Post Office (on the National Register of Historic Places), which serves as the theater's dramatic yet welcoming lobby, and includes the contemporary 500-seat, state-of-the-art Bram Goldsmith Theater; the 150-seat Lovelace Studio Theater; an inviting open-air plaza for family, community and other performances; and GRoW @ The Wallis: A Space for Arts Education, where learning opportunities for all ages and backgrounds abound. Together, these elements embrace the city's history and its future, creating a performing arts destination for L.A.-area visitors and residents alike. Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts is led by Chairman of the Board Michael Nemeroff and Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer Rachel Fine.

For more information about The Wallis, please visit: TheWallis.org. 

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