Interview with Ballet Hispánico’s director Eduardo Vilaro on the eve of CARMEN.maquia in the UK
Leicester’s annual dance festival returns with ‘Let’s Dance International Frontiers 2025′ presented by the Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage. One of the highlights of the festival is the appearance of New York City’s Ballet Hispánico at the city’s Curve Theatre on 16-17 May.
Ballet Hispánico is the USA’s leading Latinx/Latine/Hispanic dance company and the largest cultural institution of its kind in the United States. Its Artistic Director, Eduardo Vilaro, a former Ballet Hispánico dancer and now choreographer, carries forward the vision of company founder Tina Ramirez, who launched Ballet Hispánico in 1970 to celebrate the beauty of Latino cultures through dance.
Five decades later, the company thrives and has been praised for its bold repertoire as well as its extensive training programmes. When the company was in Leicester three years ago, The Guardian’s Lyndsey Winship called it “a company with a proud sense of heritage, and an accessible approach to dance, questioning identity and society with bite and humour”.
Now, Ballet Hispánico returns with its reimagining of Carmen. The choreography fuses contemporary dance with Spanish paso doble and flamenco flavours, and movement of the Latin American Diaspora. It is choreographed by Gustavo Ramírez Sansano, whose work, 18+1 was seen in the Let’s Dance festival in 2022.
In an interview before the company’s UK appearance, Eduardo Vilaro says:
I’m thrilled to be celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Carmen opera. For Ballet Hispánico to take on such an iconic story is a powerful moment. We’re honouring a narrative that has woven itself into the cultural fabric of so many, and we get to bring our unique perspective to it. There’s a little bit of Carmen in all of us, whether we’re men or women. She represents perseverance and a challenge to the status quo – qualities we can all relate to.
And after the company’s success three years ago, you are back in Leicester.
I’m so happy that we’re returning to Leicester for the Let’s Dance festival – we had such a great time on our first visit in 2022 when we performed Gustavo Ramírez Sansano’s 18+1. Gustavo’s choreography for Carmen is beautiful and I can’t wait for LDIF and Curve audiences to experience this electric production.
Oh – and I’m looking forward to drinks at the Gresham!
A bar and restaurant near the theatre.
We’ve seen many versions of Carmen told through dance – how is your Carmen… or CARMEN.maquia?
Suspenseful, passionate, and humorous. Those elements define not just Carmen’s story, but also the energy we bring to this production. It’s a dance between intensity and levity, a constant interplay that makes the narrative so dynamic and timeless.
The story itself doesn’t change, but the perspective does. We’re bringing a more authentic Spanish flavour to it. Our choreographer is Valencian, and our dancers’ movements and expressions are deeply rooted in their cultural experiences. It’s not just a ballet that’s performed externally or gesturally – it’s something we feel in our bodies. That level of authenticity gives our version a unique, nuanced energy that’s distinctly ours.
Prosper Mérimée wrote his novella Carmen based on a story he heard while on a visit to Spain, and fellow countryman Bizet turned this into an opera – two Frenchmen created one of the world’s most famous Spanish characters.
It’s fascinating, isn’t it? The opera was created by two Frenchmen who were inspired by the exoticness of Spanish culture which was very much a trend at that time. They immortalised us through their lens, and for me, it raises questions about how we’ve been ‘othered’ through storytelling. Carmen, for example, is often reduced to a harlot who uses her sexuality for power, but I see her as far more complex. She’s intelligent and strategic. For Latine communities, this version allows us to reclaim and reimagine a character who’s often misunderstood, and through her, reflect on our own legacies of being misrepresented or appropriated.
So what does your version of the story say to a modern audience?
It’s a timeless narrative, a masterwork that has entered the artistic canon. Carmen’s story holds immense relevance when you look at it through a modern lens. The way we approach this production is by deconstructing and reconstructing the narrative, allowing us to explore how past stories inform our future. Carmen challenges societal norms, fights for her autonomy, and navigates the complexity of power dynamics – all themes that still resonate today.
16 – 17 May 7.30pm
Curve Theatre, Rutland Street, Leicester
Ballet Hispánico – USA Carmen.Maquia
Let’s Dance International Frontiers 2025
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Carla Fracci.
Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.
He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.
