Jess Curtis/Gravity Competitors

Ballet Hispánico New York is the nation's leading American Latino dance company, recognized by the Ford Foundation as one of America’s Cultural Treasures. For over five decades, it has championed artistic excellence through its three pillars: the Professional Company, The Ballet Hispánico School, and Community Arts Partnerships. Founded by Tina Ramirez in 1970, Ballet Hispánico quickly became a force in the dance world, blending classical ballet and contemporary techniques with Spanish and folkloric traditions. The Professional Company commissions works from leading and emerging choreographers, captivating audiences worldwide. In 2009, Eduardo Vilaro, a former Company dancer and founder of Luna Negra Dance Theater, became Artistic Director & CEO, expanding the organization’s impact. The Ballet Hispánico School, a beacon of excellence for more than 50 years, trains over 1,000 students annually and awards $450,000 in scholarships. Its curriculum fosters technical mastery, creativity, and cultural appreciation. Through Community Arts Partnerships, Ballet Hispánico brings dance education and performance to 30,000 people annually—75% from Title I schools. Since its founding, it has connected with 2.3 million audience members, awarded $5.5 million in scholarships, and served 750,000 New Yorkers. In 2024 alone, Ballet Hispánico reached 24 million people globally, performed 60 times nationwide for 38,000 attendees, and provided 1,100 free tickets to NYC performances. Ballet Hispánico continues to push the boundaries of dance, inspiring audiences with performances that honor tradition, embrace innovation, and redefine the future of the art form.

ODC is a groundbreaking contemporary arts institution, delivering its mission through a world class dance company, an innovative presenting theater and digital platform, a dance school for movers of all ages and abilities, and ODC/Heath with initiatives including a fee-free diagnostic and educational Healthy Dancers’ Clinic, and a fitness program for all levels and abilities. Guided by Founding Artistic Director Brenda Way, ODC is nationally recognized for its entrepreneurial spirit and artistic innovation. Unique for its fully integrated vision, ODC strives to inspire audiences, cultivate artists, engage community, and foster diversity and inclusion through dance performance, training and mentorship. ODC operates a two-building campus consisting of a Dance Commons and the ODC Theater in San Francisco’s Mission District (when in-person activities are allowed), and a robust digital program for classes, performances and engaging dialogue. ODC’s programs and activities have contributed to community development, arts education, and access to creative art-making for 50 years.

Alonzo King LINES Ballet is comprised of an internationally renowned contemporary ballet company, three education programs that serve pre-professional dancers, and a dance center that provides adult drop-in classes for all levels. The LINES Ballet mission is to nurture dynamic artistry and the development of authentic creative expression in dance, through collaboration, performance, and education. We accomplish our mission by: 1. Supporting visionary choreographer Alonzo King in creating works of illuminating beauty and sharing them with audiences around the world. 2. Cultivating the gifts of developing dancers through our educational programs. 3. Providing 80-100 classes per week for the community at the Dance Center. 4. Offering outreach activities to a variety of communities, both locally and nationally.