On Thursday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m., Ballet Hispánico leapt into the Gouge Performing Arts Center's 2024–2025 Dance and Movement Series with its own contemporary interpretation of the classical ballet “Carmen," titled “CARMEN.maquia."
The ballet company, comprised of 15 dancers with diverse backgrounds in the arts, chose Auburn as their third stop on their 2025 tour.
Tina Ramirez first founded Ballet Hispánico in 1970. Since its establishment, it has grown to be the largest Latinx cultural organization in the United States.
Through community engagement, innovative training and productions, the company aims to celebrate the depth of the Latinx culture and how it intersects with the art of dance.
In 2009, Ramirez stepped down as Artistic Director and CEO and passed the torch to Eduardo Vilaro. Vilaro had been a part of the company as a dancer and educator since 1985.
As a way of continuing Ramirez’s legacy, Vilaro develops productions that highlight the diversity of Hispanic culture and artists within the community.
“What we do is that we try to show the deep diversity and that we are not a monolith, we are not a race. We are many intersections of diasporas and cultures and traditions, and so we take that and mix it with something very innovative, very contemporary. And I think that's important for us to see, because sometimes Latinos and everybody else gets pigeon holed or gets put in a box, and that's not a way to be,” Vilaro said.
Ballet Hispánico incorporates multiple traditional Latinx styles of dance with modern techniques, and the adaptation “CARMEN.maquia” is an exemplar of this style.
Carmen was first written as an opera in 1875 by French composer Georges Bizet. Throughout the following centuries, the story has been adapted many times on screen and stage.
As the company’s first performance at the GPAC, “CARMEN.maquia” is an imaginative contemporary tribute to the Latinx community and culture.
“This year is the 150th anniversary of the 'Carmen' opera. So we are celebrating the story of 'Carmen' in all its glory, and how it's become such an iconic, iconographic story for the Latin American and the Spanish world,” Vilaro said.
The plot follows a dramatic love triangle between a Spanish officer, a bullfighter and a free-spirited woman.
Ballet Hispánico's interpretation of the classical ballet “Carmen," titled “CARMEN.maquia."
The set of Ballet Hispánico’s interpretation takes inspiration from Picasso, while the choreography incorporates elements of the Spanish paso doble and flamenco. The performance features contemporary choreography set to a classical ballet soundtrack.
“I wish [the audience] takes a very innovative look at both what it means to be contemporary dance and also what it means to be Latin American, because culture is not static … this is a Latino dance organization that's innovative and that's trying to show our culture in many different ways, and in the diversity, that it is awesome,” Vilaro said.
“CARMEN.maquia” is the first performance in GPAC’s Dance and Movement Series for the 2024–2025 season. The center features a wide range of productions, including Broadway hits like “Dear Evan Hansen” and the Alabama Symphony Orchestra’s performance of “The Wizard of Oz”.
“Every show is very unique, especially to each of the different performers and different artists who are coming. So this kind of stands on its own. They, of course, are champions for Latin and Latinx performance and art. And so, it's very fitting, I think, that they're doing this interpretation of 'Carmen' as part of their performance,” said Jonathon Osborne, director of communication and marketing at the GPAC.
For the remainder of the current season, the GPAC is offering productions suitable for all ages, from the family-oriented “Omnium Circus: I’m Possible," to the beloved Broadway musical, “Mamma Mia!”'
“I was mystified. I have seen 'Carmen' the opera and 'Carmen' the ballet many times, and I thought this interpretation was very exciting,” said Susan Braden, an audience member at the performance.
To learn more about upcoming performances at the GPAC, visit their website.
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