The Schaefer Center Presents Series Opens Spring Season with Ballet Hispánico’s CARMEN.maquia

The Schaefer Center Presents Series Opens Spring Season with Ballet Hispánico’s CARMEN.maquia

Celebrate 150 years of Bizet’s masterpiece in this revolutionary fusion of art and dance, Saturday, Feb. 8 at 7:30pm at the Schaefer Center.

BOONE, NC — The Schaefer Center Presents (SCP) performing arts series, presented by Appalachian State University’s Office of Arts Engagement and Cultural Resources, welcomes acclaimed Latino dance company Ballet Hispánico in CARMEN.maquia, a revolutionary fusion of art and dance, Feb. 8 at 7:30pm at the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are $45 Tier 1, $35 Tier 2, $25 Tier 3, $15 children/students; 10% off all tiers for App State faculty/staff. Enter Code BOGO at checkout for a Buy One Get One free offer on all tickets. Buy tickets at TheSchaeferCenter.org, in person at the Schaefer Center box office (733 Rivers Street), or by calling 828-262-4046.

Georges Bizet’s Carmen has seen countless interpretations over the past 150 years, but never one like this. Acclaimed choreographer Gustavo Ramírez Sansano brings this full-length ballet to the stage, inspired by tauromaquia—the art of bullfighting—breathing a modern life into this legendary character. Since her debut in 1875, Carmen, the titular character from Bizet's opera, has become a timeless cultural icon, inspiring generations of composers, choreographers, and writers to attempt to capture her elusive and alluring nature. Ballet Hispánico honors the powerful Spanish leading lady with Sansano’s electrifying CARMEN.maquia. One of today’s most sought-after choreographers, Sansano’s quintessential ballet invigorates this timeless tale with an unrelenting energy that leaves you breathless. Highly original and full of explosive movement, CARMEN.maquia is a bold reimagining of this tragic tale.

Carmen has enjoyed many interpretations over the past 150 years, but Eduardo Vilaro, Ballet Hispánico’s Artistic Director and CEO, explains why this CARMEN.maquia is different: “The story itself doesn’t change, but the perspective does. We’re bringing a more authentic Spanish flavor to it. Our choreographer is Valencian, and our dancers’ movements and expressions are deeply rooted in their cultural experiences. It’s not just a ballet that’s performed externally or gesturally—it’s something we feel in our bodies. That level of authenticity gives our version a unique, nuanced energy that’s distinctly ours.”

Choreographer Sansano explains the meaning behind the title CARMEN.maquia: “The title for me was important. Because I saw a lot of Carmens, and I didn’t just want to call it Carmen. A lot of things went through my mind. The art of bullfighting is [called] ‘tauromaquia.’ And Picasso used to say that Carmen was like the bull that nobody could domesticate or control, no? So, we found that similarity where Carmen is like the bull, so we just took ‘tauromaquia’ and took ‘tauro’ out and put ‘Carmen’ in.”

From the Press

● “This Carmen has a spare, elegant, Modernist look.” —The New York Times

● “Ramírez’s movement is refreshingly unique.... Ballet Hispánico’s ensemble plays many parts and maneuvers through humorous and nuanced moments with ease and clarity.” —Broadway World

● “An experience unlike any other in the Latin dance space we’ve seen in quite some time…. CARMEN.maquia continues to haunt us in the most beautiful way.” —Latina Magazina

About Choreographer Gustavo Ramírez Sansano

Gustavo Ramírez Sansano was Artistic Director of Luna Negra Dance Theater (2009-2013), and now combines his work as a freelance choreographer with the direction of Titoyaya Dansa, the company he founded in Spain with Veronica Garcia Moscardo in 2006. Sansano has received numerous awards for his choreography, including first prize at the Ricard Moragas Competition in Barcelona (1997), Prix Dom Perignon Choreographic Competition in Hamburg (2001), and Premio de Las Artes Escénicas de la Comunidad Valenciana (2005). Sansano has been commissioned to create works for many companies such as Nederlands Dans Theater, Compañía Nacional de Danza, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Luzerner tanz Theater, Ballet BC, The Hamburg Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Ballet Hispánico and Luna Negra Dance Theater, among others.

About Ballet Hispánico

Ballet Hispánico was founded on the principle that everyone deserves dance, quality dance training, and innovative performances. In creating the company in 1970, Tina Ramirez shattered a glass ceiling – challenging iconic representations and exposing the joy and celebration to be found in Latinidad.

Today, as the largest Latino cultural organization in the United States and one of America’s Cultural Treasures, Ballet Hispánico’s three main programs — the Company, School of Dance, and Community Arts Partnerships — bring together communities to celebrate the ever growing and multifaceted Hispanic diasporas. The company engages audiences with the work of Latino and Latina choreographers, opens a platform for new cultural dialogue, and nurtures inspiring young dancers of all ages. Ballet Hispánico’s New York City headquarters provide the space and cultural heart for Latinx dance in the United States.

Eduardo Vilaro joined Ballet Hispánico as a Company dancer in 1985 and became the organization’s second Artistic Director in 2009 and CEO in 2015. Vilaro is building on Ramirez’s impact: expanding and deepening a legacy of showcasing the depth of our cultures, and exposing the intersectionality found in the Hispanic diasporas by focusing on nurturing Hispanic leaders. Through programs like the Instituto Coreográfico, the Latinx Leaders Summit and Diálogos, Ballet Hispánico has become a center for artistic leadership development.

Ballet Hispánico is an ambassador for our community worldwide. The company has now performed for more than 2.5 million people in three continents. As it looks to the future, Ballet Hispánico is committed to continue nurturing artists, teachers, students, arts leaders, families, and communities through the power of dance.

About Eduardo Vilaro

Eduardo Vilaro is the Artistic Director & CEO of Ballet Hispánico. He was named Ballet Hispánico's Artistic Director in 2009, becoming only the second person to head the company since its founding in 1970, and in 2015 was also named Chief Executive Officer. He has been part of the Ballet Hispánico family since 1985 as a dancer and educator, after which he began a 10-year record of achievement as founder and Artistic Director of Luna Negra Dance Theater in Chicago. Mr. Vilaro has infused Ballet Hispánico’s legacy with a bold brand of contemporary dance that reflects America’s changing cultural landscape.

Born in Cuba and raised in New York from the age of six, Mr. Vilaro’s own choreography is devoted to capturing the Latin American experience in its totality and diversity, and through its intersectionality with other diasporas. His works are catalysts for new dialogues about what it means to be an American. He has created more than 40 ballets with commissions that include the Ravinia Festival, the Chicago Sinfonietta, the Grant Park Festival, the Lexington Ballet and the Chicago Symphony.

COMING SOON…

Interpreti Veneziani: An Evening of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons

Saturday, March 28 (doors open at 7pm; program begins at 7:30pm)

Summit Trail Solarium, Plemmons Student Union

Special event, limited seating

$40 standard, $35 App State faculty/staff, $20 students (price includes complimentary sweet at intermission)

Experience the beauty of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons as you’ve never heard it before. Playing over 300 concerts a year in Venice, Italy’s San Vidal Church since 1987, Baroque ensemble Interpreti Veneziani, who has gained a reputation for the “...exuberance and all-Italian brio characterizing their performances,” will make its Boone premiere. Immerse yourself in the rich sounds of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, a group of four violin concerti by Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi, each of which gives a musical expression to a season of the year. This special performance takes place in an intimate venue with limited seating and includes a complimentary light dessert.

Gillian Welch & David Rawlings – SOLD OUT

Friday, April 4 at 7:30pm

Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts

$60 Tier 1, $50 Tier 2, $40 Tier 3, $25 App State Students; 10% off all tiers for faculty/staff

Marcus King Band – LIMITED TICKETS REMAIN

Saturday, April 12 at 7:30pm

Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts

$65 Tier 1, $55 Tier 2, $45 Tier 3, $25 App State Students; 10% off all tiers for faculty/staff

Formed in South Carolina in 2013 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Marcus King, the Marcus King Band is a Southern rock and blues band with a devoted fan base. The Greenville, SC native’s 2020 album El Dorado received a nomination for Best Americana Album at the 2021 Grammy Awards ceremony.

Tickets

Tiered tickets range from $25-$65 with specially priced App State faculty/staff and student tickets available for all performances. App State Faculty/Staff can call the box office for exclusive ticket discounts. Buy tickets at TheSchaeferCenter.org, in person at the Schaefer (733 Rivers St), or by calling 828.262.4046.

About The Schaefer Center Presents

“The Schaefer Center Presents” is a series offering campus and community audiences a diverse array of music, dance and theatre programming designed to enrich the cultural landscape of the Appalachian State University campus and surrounding area. By c

reating memorable performance experiences and related educational and outreach activities, the series promotes the power and excitement of the live performance experience; provides a "window on the world" through the artistry of nationally and internationally renowned artists; and showcases some of the finest artists of our nation and our region. Musical events range from symphony orchestra and chamber music performances to jazz, folk, traditional, international, and popular artists. Theatre productions run the gamut from serious drama to musical comedy. Dance performances offer an equally wide array of styles, from ballet to modern dance to international companies representing cultural traditions from around the world. For more information, visit http://theschaefercenter.org.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

App State Campus Store, Explore Boone, Courtyard by Marriott, Graystone Lodge, Hampton Inn & Suites, Our State Magazine, PBS North Carolina, High Country Radio (WZJS and WATA), WDAV 89.9 FM, WFDD 88.5FM, WKSK The Farm, and WASU 90.5FM