Eduardo Vilaro is a Cuban-American dancer, choreographer, educator, and artistic director & CEO of

Ballet Hispánico Ballet Hispánico is an American dance company based in Manhattan, New York. It was founded by the Puerto Rican-Mexican-American dancer and choreographer Tina Ramirez in 1970 and presents dances reflecting the experience of Hispanic and Latino A ...

. He first joined Ballet Hispánico as a principal dancer in 1985, leaving for Chicago a decade later to further his education and found the Luna Negra Dance Theater, for which he was artistic director. He returned to Ballet Hispánico in 2009 as artistic director, the second since the organization's founding in 1970, and has also served as CEO for the company since 2015 when a reorganization merged these artistic and administrative roles. His vision for Ballet Hispánico draws on the Latin dance traditions and educational outreach set forth by founder Tina Ramirez while responding to the more complex cultural landscape of the 21st century with a greater focus on diversity, inclusion, and community engagement.

Early life

Born in

Havana, Cuba Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. in the borough of Marianao (home of the Tropicana), Vilaro is the middle child of three brothers. His parents—Pascual Vilaro, an engineer, and Georgina Fernández, a homemaker—left Cuba with their children to seek political asylum in 1969, when Vilaro was five years old, during the second wave of refugee migration from that country. They arrived first in

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, and a few days later, joined Vilaro’s family in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The family settled in the Southwest

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, where Vilaro’s father translated his education degree by attending night classes while working for Brooklyn Union Gas Company, and his mother trained and worked as a cosmetician. There, Vilaro attended St. Mary Margaret Elementary School and then

Fordham Preparatory School Fordham Preparatory School (commonly known as Fordham Prep) is an American, independent, boys' college-preparatory school in the Jesuit tradition located on the Rose Hill campus of Fordham University in the Bronx, a borough of New York City. ...

. His immigrant experience and the example of his mother’s fortitude as she established her family in a new country later provided a model for Vilaro's dedication to dance, the arts, and community work.

Dance education

While childhood memories of dancing with his mother embedded Latin dance and Caribbean music as early cultural influences, Vilaro credits an eighth-grade production of ''You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown''—he played Linus, and was assigned the task of creating his own choreography with a blanket for a “partner”—as the event which awakened his desire to perform and enter the arts. He attended

Adelphi University Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York, United States. Adelphi also has centers in Downtown Brooklyn, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County in addition to a virtual, online campus for remote students. As of 2019, it had ...

Garden City, New York Garden City is a village located in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 23,272 at the time of the 2020 census. The Incorporated Village of Garden City is primarily located within the Town of Hempstead ...

, majoring in dance under the direction of Norman Walker, and studying modern dance as well as classical technique with former Ballets Russes instructors. He graduated with a Bachelor in Fine Arts. Additionally, Vilaro took class at the Martha Graham Contemporary Dance School (part of the

Martha Graham Dance Company The Martha Graham Dance Company, founded by Martha Graham in 1926, is both the oldest dance company in the United States and the oldest integrated dance company. The company is critically acclaimed in the artistic world and has been recognized as " ...

) and the Ailey School (affiliated with

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Founded in 1958, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) is the largest modern dance company in the United States.Dance Data Project (October 2024) 2024 Largest Contemporary and Modern Companies Report Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater ...

). Soon after graduation in 1985, while attending a company class at

, founder and then-director Tina Ramirez took note of the young dancer, and invited Vilaro to join the company. This introduction initiated an ongoing mentorship by Ramirez and a decade of first-hand exposure to the management of an established dance company. Vilaro was a principal dancer, originating roles in a range of works by choreographers such as

Talley Beatty Talley Beatty (22 December 1918 – 29 April 1995) was born in Cedar Grove, Louisiana, a section of Shreveport, but grew up in Chicago, Illinois. He is considered one of the greatest of African American choreographers, and also bears the titles da ...

George Faison George W. Faison (born December 21, 1945) is an American dancer, choreographer, teacher, and theater producer, and winner of a 1975 Tony, a Drama Desk Award, and a 1991 nominee for the Emmy Award for choreography. He was a featured dancer with ...

, Vincente Nebrada, Ramón Oller, and

Graciela Daniele Graciela Daniele (born December 8, 1939) is an Argentine- American dancer, choreographer, and theatre director. A stage musical based on her life, title '' The Gardens of Anuncia'', premiered in 2021, created by Michael John LaChiusa. Biography ...

, and performing throughout the U.S. and in Latin America and Europe. He also assisted Ramirez in the development of dance education residencies, and eventually became an instructor at the company’s School of Dance, where he composed short sequences for the students. After a decade with Ballet Hispánico, Vilaro moved to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

to pursue educational and artistic goals.

Graduate studies and Luna Negra Dance Theater

In 1996, Vilaro enrolled at

Columbia College Chicago Columbia College Chicago is a Private college, private art college in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1890, it has 6,493 students (as of fall 2021) pursuing degrees in more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. It i ...

for a Master’s in Interdisciplinary Arts. In tandem with his graduate work, he studied with master dance teacher Anna Paskevska, who offered instruction in the classical training and development of young dancers, an experience that laid the groundwork for Vilaro’s next endeavor—starting a dance company to offer Latino arts and culture to a Midwest audience. Vilaro founded Luna Negra Dance Theater with his life savings in 1999, right after graduating from Columbia College. There, Vilaro choreographed full-length dance programs, and the fledgling company initially performed with 4–5 dancers (Vilaro occasionally among them) in small, sometimes partially filled, venues. Over time, the company became more established, performing at Chicago’s NEXT Dance Festival, the

Chicago Cultural Center The Chicago Cultural Center, opened in 1897, is a Chicago Landmark building operated by Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. The Cultural Center houses the city's official reception venue, where the Mayor of Chicago, M ...

, the

Ravinia Festival Ravinia Festival is a primarily outdoor music venue in Highland Park, Illinois. It hosts a series of outdoor concerts and performances every summer from June to September in a wide variety of musical genres from classical to pop. The first orche ...

, the

Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum The National Museum of Mexican Art (NMMA) is a museum featuring Mexican and Chicano art and culture. It is located in Harrison Park in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The museum was founded in 1982 by Carlos Tortolero and opened ...

, and the Pritzker Pavilion, while eventually acquiring a permanent home at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance as one of its first resident companies. Vilaro choreographed over 20 works for Luna Negra; commissioned works from other Latino choreographers, such as

Annabelle Lopez Ochoa Annabelle Lopez Ochoa (born 30 April 1973) is a Belgian-Colombian international ballet dancer and choreographer based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Dance background Born in Antwerpen to a Colombian father and a Belgian mother, Lopez Ochoa completed ...

and Miguel Mancillas; and collaborated with Peruvian singer

Susana Baca Susana Esther Baca de la Colina (; born 24 May 1944) is a prominent Peruvian singer-songwriter, school teacher, folklorist, ethnomusicologist and three-time Latin Grammy Award winner. She has been a key figure in the revival of Afro-Peruvian ...

, Brazilian jazz vocalist

Luciana Souza Luciana Souza (born 12 July 1966) is a Brazilian jazz singer and composer who also works in bossa nova, pop, classical and chamber music. She won a Grammy Award in 2007, and has been nominated for seven others, most recently in 2024. Souza is con ...

, Cuban-American saxophonist

Paquito D’Rivera Francisco de Jesús Rivera Figueras (born 4 June 1948), known as Paquito D'Rivera, is a Cuban-American alto saxophonist, clarinetist and composer. He was a member of the Cuban songo band Irakere and, since the 1980s, he has established him ...

, musicians Tiempo Libre, the

Chicago Sinfonietta The Chicago Sinfonietta is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. The orchestra was founded in 1987 under the guidance of conductor and music director Paul Freeman (conductor), Paul Freeman (1936–2015) to address the disconnect be ...

, and

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891, the ensemble has been based in the Symphony Center since 1904 and plays a summer season at the Ravinia F ...

. When Vilaro departed to take on the directorship of Ballet Hispánico, Luna Negra was a company of a dozen dancers, an eclectic repertory, and Gustavo Ramírez Sansano—a choreographer who began his work at Luna Negra—at the helm.

Leadership at Ballet Hispánico

In 2009, Vilaro became the second artistic director of

, a New York-based, American dance company founded in 1970 by Tina Ramirez who served as its first artistic director. In 2015, he also assumed CEO responsibilities. When Vilaro rejoined Ballet Hispánico, the company was poised to reassess and expand its cultural vision and community role. Steeped in Ballet Hispánico’s founding principles of education, outreach, and performance as vehicles for cultural exchange, Vilaro has adapted the company's mission for a more global and multi-faceted cultural landscape. “Culture is not static,” he says, “and our community engagement keeps us connected to the realities in our communities.” Over its history, Ballet Hispánico has performed for over 3 million people in 48 U.S. states and territories, 11 countries, and three continents. In furthering the artistic scope of the company, Vilaro has overseen expanded programming, such as: the creation of the ''Instituto Coreográfico'', established to support and cultivate emerging Latino choreographers; participation as one of four American dance companies in the ''

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

at the Movies: Great American Dance'' series, streamed to over 600 U.S. cinemas; the opening of Ballet Hispánico’s newly renovated home in the Arnhold Center on the Upper West Side; community educational programs, such as Latin social dance classes, offered at the

United Palace Theatre The United Palace (originally Loew's 175th Street Theatre) is a theater at 4140 Broadway in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. The theater, occupying a city block between Broadway, Wadsworth Avenue ...

Washington Heights, Manhattan Washington Heights is a neighborhood in the northern part of the Borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is named for Fort Washington (Manhattan), Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the Bennett Park (Ne ...

; and Ballet Hispánico Communities, satellite sites for educational programs, performance, and community engagement, the first at

California State The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a public university system in California, and the largest public university system in the United States. It consists of 23 campuses and seven off-campus centers, which together enroll 461,6 ...

University in Los Angeles, with plans to develop similar partnerships in other Latino and Chicano hubs, such as Houston and Miami.

Arts advocacy

As artistic director & CEO of

, Vilaro has used this platform to promote dance and Latino arts more broadly. His local arts advocacy activities have included participation in public awareness campaigns and other community forums, such as #CelebrateImmigrants and New Yorkers for Dance. He has also served on grants panels for the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

and the

New York State Council on the Arts The New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) serves to foster and advance the arts, culture, and creativity throughout New York State, according to its website. The goal of the council is to allow all New Yorkers to benefit from the contribution ...

; advised arts organizations as a member of the advisory board of Dance/NYC and a board member of Dance/USA; undertaken speaking engagements in venues such as the

Salzburg Global Seminar Salzburg Global (formerly known as Salzburg Global Seminar) is a non-profit organization that convenes programs on its five pillar topics of Peace and Justice, Education, Culture, Health, and Finance and Governance. Programs regularly occur at Sc ...

’s Young Cultural Innovators Forum and the

National Association of Latino Arts and Culture The National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC) is a San Antonio, Texas-based, non-profit organization dedicated to Latino art and culture. It is the United States' primary arts organization dedicated towards the promotion of Lati ...

; and served as an arts/dance spokesperson and community leader addressing the growing need for cultural diversity and dance education. Vilaro sees the arts as “a necessity,” and arts advocacy as “everyone’s responsibility.”

Philosophy

Vilaro’s philosophy of dance stems from a basic belief in the power of the arts to change lives, reflect and impact culture, and strengthen community. He considers dance to be a liberating, non-verbal language through which students, dancers, and audiences can initiate an ongoing conversation about the arts, expression, identity, and the meaning of community. In addition, Vilaro acknowledges the deep connections and contradictions inherent in Latin American history which derive from indigenous, European, and African sources and play out against a legacy of

colonization 475px, Map of the year each country achieved List of sovereign states by date of formation, independence. Colonization (British English: colonisation) is a process of establishing occupation of or control over foreign territories or peoples f ...

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...

, assimilation,

globalization Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...

, and current hybrid identities (a phenomenon he refers to as “the identity mambo”). Addressing these factors, Vilaro has said, “For me, culture and the cultural dialogue is about inclusion. I want to make everyone feel that they can come in and be a little Latino. Ultimately, my goal is to expose ur audiences and communitiesto the variety, diversity, and intersectionality of this diaspora.”

Influences

Vilaro cites the mentorship of his early teachers and Ballet Hispánico’s founder and first artistic director Tina Ramirez as seminal influences in his dance education. Choreographic influences include

Alvin Ailey Alvin Ailey Jr. (January 5, 1931 – December 1, 1989) was an American dancer, director, choreographer, and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT). He created AAADT and its affiliated Alvin Ailey American Dance Cent ...

Martha Graham Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer, teacher and choreographer, whose style, the Graham technique, reshaped the dance world and is still taught in academies worldwide. Graham danced and taught for over s ...

Nacho Duato Juan Ignacio Duato Barcia, also known as Nacho Duato (born 8 January 1957) is a Spanish modern ballet dancer and choreographer. Since 2014, Duato has been artistic director of the Berlin State Ballet. He is openly gay. Career Nacho Duato st ...

, and

Pina Bausch Philippine "Pina" Bausch (27 July 1940 – 30 June 2009) was a German dancer and choreographer who was a significant contributor to a neo-expressionist dance tradition now known as . Bausch's approach was noted for a stylised blend of dance move ...

. In addition, he has found inspiration in dance forms beyond the realm of the standard canon, such as the Eighties New York dance scene where gay culture and

voguing Vogue, or voguing, is a highly stylized, modern house dance originating in the late 1980s that evolved out of the Harlem ballroom scene of the 1960s. It is inspired by the poses of models in fashion magazines. It gained mainstream exposure whe ...

thrived; the break-dancing and street performances that originated in his home borough of the

; and

Afro-Caribbean music Afro-Caribbean music is a broad term for music styles originating in the Caribbean from the African diaspora. These types of music usually have West African/Central African influence because of the presence and history of African people and their ...

, dance parties, and

capoeira Capoeira () is an Afro-Brazilian martial art and game that includes elements of dance, acrobatics, capoeira music, music, and spirituality. It likely originated from enslaved Mbundu people, of the Kingdom of Ndongo, in present-day Angola. The ...

classes that defined his childhood and teen years. Finally, Vilaro has often turned to theater, opera, music, visual arts, literature (some of his works include spoken text), even nature and wildlife as creative springboards.

Personal life

Vilaro lives in

Irvington, NY Irvington, sometimes known as Irvington-on-Hudson, is a suburban village of the town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, of ...

with his husband, David Norfleet-Vilaro, and their son, Maximiliano.

Honors and awards

* 2018: Dance namesake, Bronx Arts Middle School. * 2017: Arts and Culture Pioneer of the Year,

Hombre (magazine) ''Hombre'' is the only American bilingual, upmarket national magazine targeting Latin men. The bimonthly launched in 2006. The magazine is based in New York City. ''Hombre'' includes interviews with prominent Latin men, news features relevant t ...

. * 2016: Induction into the Bronx Walk of Fame, Bronx Borough President Rubén Díaz, Jr., The South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation and The Bronx Tourism Council. * 2015: Arts Westchester “50 for 50” Recipient. * 2003: Honored for choreographic work at Panama’s II International Festival of Ballet. * 2001: Ruth Page Award for Choreography, Ruth Page Center for the Arts, Chicago, IL.

Selected Choreography

For

: * ''Asuka'', 2011. * ''Danzón'', 2013. * ''Hogar'', 2014. For Luna Negra Dance Theater: * ''Amor y Dolor'', 1999. * ''Ognat'', 2000. * ''Breath in Memory'', 2001. * ''Late…after Siesta'', 2001. * ''Guaci Guari'', 2001. * ''Vuelo del Alma'', 2002. * ''Tiburónes'', 2002. * ''Mujer Llorando'', 2003. * ''Angelitos Negros'', 2004. * ''Imperfect Partners'', 2004. * ''Cantos para un Noche Viajera'', 2004. * ''Vidrio'', 2004. * ''Quinceañera'', 2005. * ''Mi Corazon Negro'', 2006. * ''Cugat'', 2007. * ''Danzón'', 2007. * ''Deshar Alhat'', 2008. * ''Ton Ton'', 2008. * ''Bossa Nova'', 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vilaro, Eduardo American chief executives 1964 births Adelphi University alumni Columbia College Chicago alumni Living people