San Antonio has recently gained another ballet company. It’s called Ballet Latino de San Antonio.
"This is a neo-classical company that fuses classical ballet with Latin rhythm," said Mayra Worthen, who is the founder and artistic director.
“We present the classic movement, but with the Latin flavors and music," she said. "Now, that’s not all we do, but that is the style. It’s all over the place, as far as the music goes, but most of it has the Latin rhythm to it.”
I asked her to tell me about her company.
“We have ten professional dancers. We have dancers from Cuba, we have dancers from Venezuela, we have a gentleman from Italy," said Worthen. "Our guest choreographer is from Peru, I’m from Puerto Rico, so we are pretty much international.”
She said the difference between her company and most ballet companies is that hers can do all the classical moves “but they can also move to those rhythms in a natural way.
"Sometimes people see classical ballet and they think of it as a little too boring. So we are trying to change that perception by presenting it in such a fun way,” Worthen said.
According to Worthen, they’re almost one of a kind.
“There’s only one other company in the United States that has the same type of agenda as far as their movement, and they’re in New York City,” she said.
I asked her to tell us about their performance coming up this weekend.
“It’s at the Jo Long theater at the Carver Community Cultural Center, and that is Friday and Saturday night at 7 p.m.," Worthen said.
- For more on Ballet Latino visit: www.balletlatinosa.org
