Auditorium Theatre 2021-2022, Issue 4, Ballet Hispanico

AUDITORIUM THEATRE :: BALLET HISPÁNICO | 17 Ratmansky, Taylor, Cunningham, Kylian, and Donald McKayle. Additionally, he has been a part of new creations by Marcus Jarrell Willis, Jamar Roberts, Bobbi Jene Smith, and Ohad Naharin. This is Hugo’s 1st season with Ballet Hispánico. Omar Rivéra is originally from Los Angeles, CA. After moving to Dallas, Texas, Rivéra trained at Prodigy Dance & Performing Arts Centre under the direction of Camille Billelo. He graduated from the prestigious Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing & Visual Arts, and was a part of HSPVA’s dance ensembles Repertoire Dance Company I & II, where he performed a variety of works by choreographers such as Robert Battle and Desmond Richardson. Rivéra was a scholarship student at the University of Arizona — School of Dance and graduated with a BFA in Dance in 2018. Rivéra was one of eight men selected to perform at The Joyce Theater for the José Limón International Dance Festival, and danced works by guest artists including Christopher Wheeldon’s The American , Darrell Grand Moultrie’s Boiling Point , and Bella Lewitzky’s Meta4 , among others. This is Omar’s 4th season with Ballet Hispánico. Isabel Robles grew up in Reston, Virginia, where she began her training at Classical Ballet Theatre. During her high school years, she went on to attend The Houston Ballet Academy on scholarship for their year-round pre-professional program. She also trained at The Washington Ballet and Joy of Motion Dance Center before attending James Madison University to obtain her B.A. in Dance under Dean Rubén Graciani. While at JMU, Isabel had the pleasure to work with Kyle Abraham, Christian Warner, Omar Román De Jesús, Julie Nakagawa, and Ballet Hispánico. This is her first season with Ballet Hispánico. Gabrielle Sprauve was born in Queens, NY and raised in Savannah, GA where she attended Savannah Arts Academy for the Performing Arts, studying at the Ailey School and the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance during the summers. She earned her BFA at Marymount Manhattan College in 2017. While at Marymount, Gabrielle performed works by Larry Keigwin, Alexandra Damiani, Norbert De La Cruz, Paul Taylor, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Adam Barruch, and Jo Strømgren. This is Gabrielle’s 5th season with Ballet Hispánico. Dandara Veiga is originally from Brazil where she began her dance training at Projeto Social Primeiros Passos, before training as a scholarship student at Escola de danca Ballerina. She also studied at Studio Margarita Fernandez in Argentina, Opus Ballet in Italy, and Annarella Academia de Ballet e Danca in Portugal. Dandara continued her training as a scholarship student at The Ailey School in 2016/2017. She has participated in dance festivals around the world and received scholarships from San Francisco Ballet and Ballet West. She has performed for the Vibe Competition, Assamblé International, Harlem Arts Festival, and the Ailey Spirit Gala. She has had the opportunity to work with artists Charla Gen, Robert Battle, Caridad Martinez, Claudia Zaccari, Jean Emille, Ray Mercer, Raul Candal, and Melanie Futorian. This is Dandara’s 5th season with Ballet Hispánico. Lenai Alexis Wilkerson is from Washington, D.C. where she attended the Baltimore School for the Arts. Lenai graduated from the University of Southern California as a Glorya Kaufman scholar with a BFA in Dance and a minor in Political Science in 2019. She is one of the seven 2016–17 dance scholars to be awarded a scholarship from Nigel Lythgoe’s DizzyFeet Foundation. At USC Kaufman, Lenai performed the works of Forsythe, Kylián, Graham, Marshall, Barton, Balanchine, Grimes, and Rhoden, among others. Additionally, she has trained seasonally with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Bolshoi Ballet, Miami City Ballet and with legendary ballerina Suzanne Farrell. This is Lenai’s 3rd season with Ballet Hispánico.