Ballet Hispanico

Saturday at 8 p.m.

Byham Theater

Tickets $10.50 to $23.50 if… Ballet Hispanico

Saturday at 8 p.m.

Byham Theater

Tickets $10.50 to $23.50 if purchased through Pitt Arts by noon, otherwise $19.75-$45.75

412-456-6666

The growing influence of Latin culture in the United States must not be ignored. At least, that’s the belief of Ballet Hispanico, a New York City-based dance company that aims to show Pittsburgh — and the world — the many ways in which Hispanic heritage has influenced the art form.

Since its founding in 1970 by dancer Tina Ramirez, Ballet Hispanico has distinguished itself by fusing elements of classical and contemporary ballet with Latin movement and music. Its mission statement is to explore, preserve and celebrate Latin culture through dance and to engender a discussion of the culture’s growing influence throughout the world.

For its show in Pittsburgh, Ballet Hispanico will showcase three different choreographic works, each one representing a different facet of Hispanic life and culture.

The first, “Tres Cantos,” is, as Ballet Hispanico artistic director Eduardo Vilaro sees it, a bittersweet celebration of the culture that has emerged from the 14th-century Spanish conquest of Mexico.

The second act is “Mad’moiselle,” an Annabelle Lopez Ochoa-choreographed piece that examines femininity in Latin culture through the character of Maria, meant to represent various important women in Latin culture. The act probes both the sacred and the profane elements of these iconic figures and how they represent Hispanic women as a whole.

“It includes the whole company, and it’s a very contemporary piece. It explores the idea of ‘Maria’ and the different roles and characters of ‘Maria’ in Hispanic culture,” said company dancer Lauren Alzamora. “Maria the mother, Maria the daughter, a friend, even a whore at certain points, a goddess.”

The third and final act is Ballet Hispanico’s signature work, “Club Havana.” Less narrative-driven than the first two pieces, Club Havana is set in a club in 1940s Cuba and focuses on the interaction between different couples. Based in a ballroom, the balletic-style piece employs components of the rumba, cha-cha and mambo interweaved into the choreography.

“It’s contemporary work that is accentuated with a Hispanic flair, because of the music and the choreographer’s heritage,” said company dancer Nicholas Villeneuve.

While Ballet Hispanico’s primary goals are to preserve and celebrate Latin dance, another aspect of the company is to combat stereotypes about their heritage.

“You can’t put a culture in a capsule, you can’t just say, ‘This is it.’ You can’t just say, ‘We wear beautiful white skirts and we’re always stomping our feet — there’s much more. And so it makes it easier with the contemporary movement and concepts to open the imagination of what ‘Latino’ could be and what the Latino artist is thinking today,” Vilaro said.

For Vilaro, Ballet Hispanico represents a new movement in contemporary dance — a new way to celebrate Latin culture without turning it into a gimmick. Instead of relying entirely on folklore and traditional dances stereotypically associated with the Latin world, the dancers of Ballet Hispanico try to find different ways to utilize Latin dance to show audiences how their culture permeates the world around us.

“Latinos today are the fabric of society, and we made strides to help change society,” Vilaro said. “So what we do is add that contemporary flavor that opens up dialogue to different essences of Latino. We have to represent a new style. Art is a reflection of the environment, and if we don’t move along with our environment, then we stagnate and we become just a pretty picture.”