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Luna Negra Dance
Theater
Devoted to the creation
and presentation of contemporary dance by Latino choreographers, Luna Negra
Dance Theater is an amazing blend of contrasts, serious and funny, passionate
and serene, adventurous and subtle. The company’s distinctive style blends
ballet
 and modern dance techniques, strongly flavored by Latino and
Afro-Caribbean dance forms. Luna Negra has received wide critical acclaim for
its remarkable collaborations with artists of other disciplines such as world
renown Afro-Peruvian singer Susana Baca and Grammy award nominee Angel Melendez
& the 911 Mambo Orchestra.
Luna Negra has performed
at New York City Center, Ravinia Festival, the Harris Theater for Music and
Dance, The Dance Center at Columbia College, Dance Cleveland, College of St.
Benedict, as well as Mexico and Panama.
In addition, Luna Negra
conducts extensive outreach and education programs, encouraging students to
explore the world around them, examine their own history and find their own
voice to express their unique identity.
EDUARDO
VILARO,
LUNA NEGRA FOUNDER & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
BIOGRAPHY
Eduardo Vilaro (Luna Negra
Founder and Artistic Director) was born in Havana, Cuba, and immigrated to New
York City where he grew up in the Bronx. He received his dance training at the
Alvin Ailey American Dance School and the Martha Graham School of Contemporary
Dance and then received a BFA in Dance from Adelphi University in 1988. Mr.
Vilaro was a principle dancer with Ballet Hispanico of New York where he taught
and performed until 1996. Under the mentorship of Tina Ramierz, Eduardo
developed as an educator by creating and implementing outreach and education
programs in New York City. He has taught and toured throughout the United
States, Europe, Central and South America, and the Middle East. In 1999 after
receiving a Masters degree from Columbia College his passion for his heritage
and dance led him to establish the Luna Negra Dance Theater. Vilaro’s work with
Luna Negra is devoted to capturing the spiritual, sensual and historical essence
of the Latino culture. He creates work that explores the Latino culture’s
racially and ethnic diverse movements through contemporary dance, as well as
music of Latin and Caribbean countries, in fresh ways that speak to modern
audiences. The result “is something rich and irresistible, with choreography
that is exceptionally fluid, dramatic and revealing,” according to the Chicago
Sun Times. His work often includes collaborating with artists of other
disciplines and he has created works with artists such as Susana Baca, Afo-Peruvian
singer, visual artist Luis Delatorre and soprano Harolyn Blackwell. Mr. Vilaro
has also received commissions to create works for other arts organizations such
as the Ravinia Festival, the Chicago Sinfonietta, the Lexington Ballet, New
Jersey Dance Theater Ensemble, the Civic Ballet, and Same Planet, Different
World. In 2001 he was a recipient of a Ruth Page Award in choreography and in
2003 was honored at Panama's II International Festival of Ballet for his
choreographic work. Mr. Vilaro has been on the faculty of the Dance Center of
Columbia College and the Chicago Academy of the Arts and currently serves on the
board directors of Dance/USA.
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LUNA NEGRA DANCE THEATER
EDUCATION AND OUTREACH PROGRAMS
Luna
Negra's philosophy is that dance can be a powerful tool for exploring cultural
identity, promoting self-awareness and creating positive self-esteem. Through
their education and outreach programs Luna Negra encourages students to explore
the world around them, examine their own history and find their own voice to
express their unique identity.
The goals
of Luna Negra's education programs are to:
-
Provide opportunities for superior quality dance education
-
Build
awareness of and appreciation for the rich diversity of Latino cultures
-
Provide positive role models for Latino and other minority students
-
Develop performing arts audiences of the future
Luna
Negra education and outreach programs include:
Dance
RESIDENCIES On Tour
Luna Negra
conducts a variety of residencies at home and abroad. Instruction is conducted
by Luna Negra’s artistic director and the company dancers, and can culminate
with a performance created by the students. Our residency programs are developed
in collaboration with the teaching faculty and are tailored to the needs and
resources of each specific school or community. Below is a sample of what a
residency can include:
Luna Dance Classes
Students are first taught folk and social
dances such as mambo, merengue, and samba. They are then introduced to concepts
of contemporary dance. During this process, they learn how to appreciate their
body through movements emphasizing spine work, articulation of the limbs and
warm up exercises.
Duration: 20 minutes to 1 hour
Maximum number of participants: 30
Space and technical requirements:
These classes can take place in a classroom, dance studio, gym floor or stage.
Audio equipment such as a boom box and/or stereo system is required.
Latin Dance Classes
An hour class beginning with the basics
of salsa dancing where students of all ages find the passion of their hips and
the thrill of partner dancing. Luna Negra company members teach the basics of
salsa, merengue and cha cha cha and lead the students in finding their way
through the culture of Latin social dance.
Duration: 1 hour
Maximum number of participants: 50
Space and technical requirements:
These classes can take place in a classroom, dance studio, gym floor or stage.
Audio equipment such as a boom box and/or stereo system is required.
Teacher Development Workshops
Led by artistic director, Eduardo
Vilaro, these development sessions are for elementary, middle and high school
teachers.
Through a series of active movement exercises, Luna Negra's teacher workshops
are designed to give teachers experiential tools that prepare them to take
fullest advantage of Luna Negra's performances and residency activities with
their students. They introduce teachers to the process choreographers use to
create dance, through exploring such concepts as speed, timing, energy, space
and patterning.
Teachers gain insight into new and creative methods
to problem solve, methods that can then be applied to non-dance academic
subjects as well. They also investigate how movement effects emotions and how
both are used to create the language of dance.
Duration: 2 hours
Maximum number of participants: 20
Space and technical requirements:
These classes can take place in a classroom, dance studio, gym floor or stage.
Writing implements, chalk board, index cards and note pads maybe required. Audio
equipment such as a boom box and/or stereo system is required.
Master Classes
Luna Negra company members teach master classes,
lasting approximately one and one-half hours, in ballet, modern or jazz
technique. These classes offer advanced-level dance students the opportunity to
work directly with a professional artist and enhance their technical and
performance skills. Most class can be tailored to include Luna Negra repertoire
as well as conditioning exercises.
Duration: 1 ½ hour
Maximum number of participants: 30
Space and technical requirements:
These classes can take place in a dance studio or stage. Audio equipment such as
a boom box and/or stereo system is required.
Long Term Residencies
Luna Negra Dance Theater’s long term
residencies are tailored to fit the needs of the specific age groups and
institutions served. The artistic director works directly with the school
faculty to formulate residencies that teach movement discovery, dance technique,
dance making and choreography to students from K–12 through pre-professional.
These residencies give opportunities for pre-professional students to perform
with the company as well as creating their own work and usually culminate in a
final student performance. Long-term residencies can include some or all of the
Luna Negra dance residency classes.
Duration: 1 ½ - 2 hours
Maximum number of participants: 30
Space and technical requirements:
These classes can take place in a classroom, dance studio, or stage. Audio
equipment such as a boom box or stereo system is required.
STUDENT MATINEES
Luna
Negra’s Student Matinee Program offers students a memorable and meaningful
introduction to dance and Latino culture, giving students of all backgrounds an
awareness and appreciation of the richness and diversity of Latino culture and
of the arts through dance. This program also gives a unique opportunity to
students who otherwise would not attend art performances to get a real "theater"
experience and see a full professional dance production.
Student Matinees are forty-five minutes to an hour-long concert comprised of
three to four dance pieces, specifically chosen for their cultural and
educational relevance. Artistic director Eduardo Vilaro, a highly skilled
educator with experience teaching dance to all ages, provides an engaging and
interactive introduction to the concert, giving students the necessary tools to
understand the performance and relate its meaning to their own experience. He
explains the cultural or historical context for each piece as well as the dance
moves, music and choreographic principles used. He often asks dancers to
demonstrate for the audience or asks a member of the audience to the stage to
help him make a point. The performance ends with a question and answer session
giving students the opportunity to interact with the dancers. A study guide is
made available to all the participating schools and the performance venue.
Duration: 45 minutes - 1 hour
Maximum number of participants:
limited only to the hall or theater capacity
Space and technical requirements:
The matinees are performed on stage with lights and costumes. The matinees are
geared for ages 6 through high school.
IN SCHOOL PERFORMANCES AND WORKSHOPS
Luna
Negra also conducts in school performances, which are similar to student
matinees, but are conducted on site a school.
Duration: 45 minutes - 1 hour
Maximum number of participants:
limited only to the performance area’s capacity
Space and technical requirements:
The matinees are performed on stage, gym floor or large studio with costumes.
The matinees are geared for ages 6 through high school. A boom box and/or stereo
equipment and a microphone are required for these performances.
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