It is a pride that has jumped the Atlantic Ocean and spanned the centuries. Their art is not a matter of style, but of heat. Every serious dancer and lover of dance needs to see Ballet Hispanico. Ramirez is creating a new dance form, not ethnic nor modern nor classical, that can not be seen in any other company. Besides its artistic content, which was high, Ballet Hispanico's concert was some of the best pure entertainment of the season.
Golden sunlight pours through a wall of windows onto the hardwood floors of the second-floor studio.
The two other walls are white brick with a barre running their length. Four male and four female dancers slide toward each other as the taped music begins, while Talley Beatty, the choreographer, sits cross-legged on the floor, uttering a direction now and then. Watching the dancers, Ramirez takes notes on a steno pad. This dance is a story of the Mexican people before the arrival of the Europeans, and the tragedy brought about by the conquest of the people by the newcomers. The first part of the dance is gay and light, as the Indians are depicted on their native soil.