Latin Ballet of Virginia
What makes the Latin Ballet of Virginia popular is their use of the expressive movements to in a beautiful way to tell the many tales and traditions that makes the Hispanic culture unique. This dance troupe can excellently perform with a soulful depth of emotion and a strong commitment to education, diversity and overall progress of the Hispanic community.
History of the Company
The Latin Ballet of Virginia began in 1997 under the supervision of Ana Ines King – a native South American. This was established with creating a school of dance in mind – a place to facilitate multicultural dance programs; teach and perform for a diverse community. LBV is considered as Virginia’s pre-eminent Hispanic dance company that performs statewide and in selected locations in North and South America.
As of today, the company offers various classes that is facilitated by 13 faculty members and taught in 2 different dance classrooms. As LBV grew they have developed 11 professional dancers worldwide, featured 6 professional musicians and now mentoring about 25 apprentice dancers. LBV accepts around 400 students of different ages annually. They also have 5 professional dance productions every year, provides support to 85 long term residencies and 120 short term residencies and conducts master classes and lecture demonstrations at the same time.
LBV’s Mission
LBV was established to promote and build strong connections to Hispanic cultures through expressive dance-inspired education and programs. They work toward their objectives and mission by making the arts accessible even to low-income families. The company continues to provide culturally diverse performances and classes – fostering the Hispanic and minority children toward success; making their professional performances and educational classes available internationally.
The Company’s Program
- Expressing the Spanish Language through Dance – this is a bilingual class which emphasizes the rich culture of Hispanic countries.
- Music as Therapy – this is especially designed for children with learning disabilities such as high-functioning autism and mild cerebral palsy.
- Use English as a second language through Dance – this program encourages Hispanics to improve their English communication skills, especially those who are new to the country.
- Everybody Reads – this program serves as a curricular supplement to the mentioned programs above.
- Healthy ‘love for me’ – this is a scholarship program that provides health support to children at risk.
- Verde – this is a special production by LBV which promotes love and respect for mother Earth.
- Youth Philanthropy – this is a development program wherein students are paired with instructors to provide input about the curriculum. The student will also be assigned to hold a class of his or her peer with one semester.