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In 2009, Ballet Hispanico welcomed Eduardo Vilaro as its
Artistic Director. A former member of Ballet Hispanico, Vilaro
founded and led Chicago’s Luna Negra Dance Theater for
ten years. Vilaro’s background in dance education and community
outreach allows him to build on the core values established by
founder and former artistic director Tina Ramirez to
bring Ballet Hispanico into an artistically vibrant future that
explores, preserves, and celebrates Latino culture through
dance.
Vilaro is an accomplished choreographer, having created over 20
ballets for Luna Negra and others. He has worked in
collaboration with major dance and design artists as well as
musicians like Paquito D'Rivera and the Chicago Symphony
Orchestra. He has performed throughout the US , Europe, and
Central and South America . He has taught master classes and
worked with Ramirez to create and conduct arts education and
outreach programs for New York City children, and subsequently
created a broad range of educational programming for the Chicago
community.
Vilaro came to New York City at the age of six from his native
Cuba, and began his dance training as a teenager on scholarship
at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center , and he also studied
at the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance. He received a
BFA in dance from Adelphi University and a MA in
interdisciplinary art from Columbia College Chicago where he
served as Artist-in-Residence at The Dance Center.
Vilaro served on the Board of Directors for Dance/USA, the
national service organization for professional dance. He was
selected as Chicagoan of the Year in 2007 and Alumni of the Year
by Columbia College in 2008. He is the recipient of an NEA grant
and the Ruth Page Award for his choreography.
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