Who we are

History of Ballet Concierto of Puerto Rico

Currently, Ballet Concierto has established itself as the Dance Company of greatest importance on the Island. It has achieved this recognition through the excellence of its productions, the technical quality of its dancers, and the prestige of its international guest artists. It is a pioneer in its genre as it is the only dance company in Puerto Rico that:

· Presents works of the classical repertoire in their entirety as conceived by its authors (number of acts),

· Invites great dance artists to star in the classics it produces,

· Uses the Puerto Rico symphony orchestras to accompany its productions,

· For 29 years the Choreographers Festival annually exposes the Puerto Rican viewing public to modern global trends in ballet and contemporary dance.

· It is the only Company in Puerto Rico that presents the Christmas classic The Nutcracker for 40 years.

A unique quality ...

In this way, Ballet Concierto offers the public, and the dancers, the best aspects of world dance with high artistic quality.

Throughout its 42 years of experience, it has demonstrated its ability to maintain an excellent level of quality in its local productions and tours abroad. The goal of the Company is to present a calendar of annual productions that provide a safe source of employment for dance workers.

THE MAIN OBJECTIVE OF Ballet Concierto IS:

· Offer representative of classical and contemporary ballet to the Puerto Rican populace.

· Train outstanding artists in their genre, providing free workshops and training as part of the daily work.

For this, it performs four (4) annual seasons (spring, summer, autumn and winter), generates outstanding programming. The seasons are presented at the Performing Arts Center in Santurce and on tours to theaters across the Island. Functions for the general public and special functions for discounted students are offered, as well as special communities from different geographical areas of the Island (gratis performances)

Main Achievements

Among its main achievements are commissioning successful productions whose world premieres were held in Puerto Rico. For these world premieres, the Company received high praise from critics and the international public by performing in the United States, Europe, Egypt (Cairo) and Taiwan. These productions are:

Carmen: premiered in March 1994, at the Center of Performing Arts in Santurce. This opera was translated to ballet with a musical arrangement by Rodion Shchedrin and choreographed specifically for Ballet Concierto by the distinguished Peruvian choreographer, Jimmy Gamonet de los Heros. Carmen's performance was made possible under the auspices of the National Dance Repertoire Enrichment Program Grant after Ballet Concierto was selected from among eight other Companies across the US.

The Phantom of the Opera: choreographed by Cuban Alberto Méndez and commissioned by Ballet Concert for ballet star Fernando Bujones. Its world premiere came in 1997 and was toured in several states of North America (1998) and Taiwan (2002).

La Calinda: premiered in Puerto Rico in 1989. Choreographed by Cuban Alberto Méndez and music composed by Héctor Campos Parsi. This production was commissioned by Ballet Concierto in tribute to Maestro Campos Parsi.

Pico Rico Mandorico: based on the story of Puerto Rican writer Rosario Ferré, its world premiere was held in Puerto Rico in 2001. It was the second collaboration of choreographer Jimmy Gamonet de los Heros and Ballet Concierto. The music was composed by André Caple and Louis M. Gottschalk.

A Midsummer Night's Dream: Its world premiere was held in Puerto Rico in March 2012. It featured the choreography of Jimmy Gamonet de los Heros and the music of Felix Mendelssohn, based on William Shakespeare's story “A Midsummer Night's Dream” .

Other achievements:

1990 - Ballet Concert was the recipient of the highest honor in ballet when a member of the Company won the Gold Medal at the Jackson, Mississippi International competition.

2011 - During the International Dance Week, the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture and the Musical Performing Arts Program paid recognition to Ballet Concierto for 32 years of successful local and international career performing in theaters in North America, Europe and Asia.

2012 - Ballet Concierto made history in Puerto Rico by participating in the 23rd International Dance Festival in Havana, Cuba. The sponsorship received by the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture allowed, for the first time, a Puerto Rican dance company to be presented at this prestigious Festival that brings together the best dance companies from around the world.

2013 - It was successfully presented at the 11th International Ballet Gala in Nicaragua.

2014 - As part of the celebration of the 35th anniversary of Ballet Concierto, Carmina Burana was choreographed by Septime Webre, Artistic Director of Washington Ballet, and with the participation of the San Juan Children's Choir, Lyric Coral of Puerto Rico and the Sine Nomine Group , among other guest artists.

2014 and 2015 - Ballet Concierto was invited for two consecutive years to the EDANCO International Festival in the Dominican Republic.

2016 - For the first time in Puerto Rico, the prestigious intensive summer camp Cuballet was offered. This culminated with the presentation of Swan Lake, in its full version, performed by students of the Conservatory of Ballet Concert and other dance schools in the country. In addition, Ballet Concierto was invited by the Hostos Community College in New York to perform during the month of November at the Hostos Center for the Arts and Culture where a varied repertoire between classical and contemporary took place.

2018 - Ballet Concierto was the only company in Puerto Rico invited by the Australian Ballet, and one of the only two selected in the Caribbean, to participate in the live broadcast of the prestigious World Ballet Day event. In addition, he makes his first presentation, after the passage of Hurricane Maria, in collaboration with Susan G. Komen Puerto Rico in celebration of its 15th anniversary in the month of breast cancer awareness.

2019 - Ballet Concierto celebrated it’s 40th anniversary with a Don Quijote performance. The Festival of Choreographers is brought back after 5 years of absence. Victor Gili, former principal dancer of the National Ballet of Cuba is named Artistic Director of the company. Ballet Concierto is invited once again for a second year in a row to the World Ballet Day LIVE by Australian Ballet.

2020 - Due to the COVID-19 situation, BCPR explores new virtual opportunities. We continue our educational program through ZOOM. Both ballet classes and other disciplines. Likewise, we had a Virtual Summer during the month of June with different local teachers and guests. On the other hand, the members of the BCPR company join Unidos por la Danza, an initiative of the artistic director of Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico, Víctor Gilí Méndez. This movement began with the invitation to principal dancers and former international dancers such as Osiel Gouneo, Yosvani Ramos, Valeria Alavez and Hayna Gutiérrez, to teach classes virtually and continue with the training that a dancer requires despite the social isolation caused by the pandemic.