Even though her day job is keeping her busy in New York, Michelle Manzanales can’t wait to hear how Detroit dance-goers will like her new work.

“I’m excited to see how the audience will respond to the program,” says Manzanales, the Director, School of Dance, for Ballet Hispánico.

Michelle Manzanales focused on the suspension between the two cultures in her own life—the Americanized girl who grew up in Texas and the one who, particularly among friends, often became the exotic Latina.

Her new work, “Con Brazos Abiertos,” made its world premiere in April of this year at the Joyce Theater in New York. It’s one leg of triple bill that will openthe 2017-18 Michigan Opera Theatre dance season when three Latina choreographers debut works for Ballet Hispánico. Each piece will explore flamenco, Mexican heritage and the circularity of the human condition. There are two performances only, Saturday, Oct. 28 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 29 at 2:30 p.m., at the Detroit Opera House.

“There are so many voices behind these works. We’re creating this platform for the female choreographers to tell their story through their lens,” Manzanales says.

The 47-year-old company is more than just a performance ensemble: There is the school, which enrolls 650 students during the academic year, the summer intensive serving 100-150 students annually, an adult program, camps for preschoolers, and a choreo(graphy) lab for dancers 18 and older, which teaches students how to have a career in dance, from participating in an audition to communicating with an artistic director.

Manzanales has done her fair share of choreography but had taken a hiatus over the past few years to focus on her role at the school. “Eduardo [Vilaro, company Artistic Director and CEO] asked me to participate in the Choreographic Institute he started, a program to help flesh out new ideas,” Manzanales tells. “Eduardo really forged the way for this piece. My work there was the first step—the beginning. I was ecstatic that he wanted to develop it into a full piece.”

For “Con Brazos Abiertos,”Manzanales focused on the suspension between the two cultures in her own life—the Americanized girl who grew up in Texas and the one who, particularly among friends, often became the exotic Latina. She wanted to explore the contemporary Latina voice and especially the expectations people have when they hear the Ballet Hispánico name.

“I took my different experiences, which inspired several sections, and used iconic symbols from my background—like Mexican folk dance, the big skirts, and sombreros— and put them into my voice,” says the choreographer. Varied elements—like music by Julio Iglesias, rock enespañol, and even some Cheech and Chong—were used as well.

Manzanales will share the program withchoreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and her work “Linea Recta,” performed to an original guitar composition by Eric Vaarzon Morel, and withTania Pérez-Salas whose work “CatorceDieciséis” is set to music by Antonio Vivaldi and other Baroque composers.

Ballet Hispánico will also offer a master class the morning of the Oct. 28 performance from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Margo V. Cohen Dance Studioat the Detroit Opera House. The class is open to intermediate and advanced-level dance students ages 13 and up. Attendance is $25 or free with a corresponding performance ticket. Pre-registration is required and can be done via email at dance@motopera.org or by phone at (313) 237-3251.

The 2017-18 dance season is made possible by the Lear Corporation.

Tickets for the ballet range from $29 to $89 and may be purchased online at MichiganOpera.org, by calling (313) 237-7464, or in person at the Detroit Opera House at 1526 Broadway, Detroit.

Images courtesy of Michigan Opera

https://youtu.be/6vJPhkUACUI

  Ballet Hispánico, Lear Corporation, Michelle Manzanales, Michigan Opera Theater