Ballet has a Latin heart too

For far too long ballet has been seen by far too many as boring, unoriginal and “something rich White people do”. It’s a real shame that so many ignore this expression of human nature and life as being outside their sphere of interest and something relegated only to a specific group of people.

But the New Jersey Ballet is one of many dance companies that looks to break that impression this year with their 50th anniversary performance. On November 15th this dance company will be performing Ballet with a Latin Beat.

This is a celebration of Spanish-American culture with a 1999 ballet by Pedro Ruiz, Guajira. Ruiz is a Cuban-born choreographer and the ballet explores his time in Cuba as a child with the music mixing Afro-Cuban and Latin beats.

Another ballet premiering on the 15th will be Sophisticated Salsa. This is a mix of classic Latin ballroom dancing and includes some Rumba and Mambo. This is a style of dance that is quite popular these days and I wouldn’t be surprised if you catch a glimpse of it on Dancing with the Stars or other such ‘reality’ oriented dance competitions.

And to finish the night will be a bit of flash with Entre Dos Aguas. In this piece you can expect to see a bit of ballet, jazz dance and flamenco all fused into a flash of dance and style. Here is a video of just the music - performed by Paco de Lucia a few years ago. Just imagine the dance that can go with this.



Now I’m sure some might be saying that the expressive and exuberant nature of Latin dance wouldn’t work with something as poised and minimalized as ballet. And I would argue that point. Because ballet is more than just one form of dance just as rock n roll, or Jazz, or rap are all more than just one style of their respective music genres (ok, rap is not the best example these days but you get my point).

I decided to take a look around the web to see a hint of what you might expect on November 15th and I found this short bit of dance videos



and in a different style of Latin expression via ballet there is



Suffice to say, ballet is never just what some think. Its expression is as wide as it’s viewers and just as complex and entertaining. So I suggest a trip to see the NJ Ballet if you are in the area.