"Behind the Scenes" is a Latin Post feature series offering an inside look at Latino stars, films, and the everyday members of the entertainment industry 

Ballet Hispanico's 2015 New York season launched on Tuesday, April 14 with a program featuring new works by such choreographers as Miguel Mancillas, Rosie Herrera and Gustavo Ramirez Sansano.

Ahead of the big night, Latin Post had an opportunity to speak with the company's artistic director Eduardo Vilaro, who has been in charge since August 2009. Vilaro spoke about his championing of young Latin American artists as well as his viewpoint on what arts organizations need to do to strengthen their relationships with audiences and communities.

David Salazar: Let's talk about the process of putting the entire season together. Let's start with program. How do you select and organize what kinds of programs you will be putting on? Who is involved in this decision-making process?

Eduardo Vilaro: It all starts with the vision of the organization. The artistic vision for the organization. And the mission is to explore and develop Latino Culture through dance. And for me as the artistic director, I see that and have to look around the environment and ask, "Who are We? Where are we? Where are we going?" This is a 45-year-old organization and it started at a very different time with different sets of challenges and possibilities for Latinos. We are a different place right now.

For me, as an organization with that history of giving voice to Latino artists, that is the challenge. For me, as a contemporary Latino, I have to look at works that speak to Latino artists and who they are today in a very contemporary viewpoint and all the while acknowledging our past and our folklore. And our essences as Latinos.

DS: So when you look for these kinds of pieces, where do you go? Who do you speak with?

EV: I've been in the business for over 25 years. So I have seen a lot of choreographers. I have a network of schools, theaters. I travel and visit people. I sit on panels for foundations and organizations and watch a lot of video. I go to the theater all the time to see who is doing something relevant to this vision that I have for the company.

For instance, Rosie Herrera, who we have a New York premiere with "Show.Girl.," I had seen her work because I was invited to go to Miami to be in a panel. And I saw her work and I literally went "Stop! Who is that?" And I stalk people. So I started stalking her and I asked her if I could see something.

So we started this relationship and we're friends now. I invited her to be part of our Instituto Choreografico, which is another vehicle that I made in order to nurture and develop Latino Choreographers. And during these two weeks she had time to take risks and she started developing this work called "Showgirl" and now it is a full-fledged premiere.

DS: So how far in advance do you start thinking about the seasons?

EV: Three years in advance.

DS: There is a nice mix for audiences of diverse ranges with opera fans getting a nod from "Carmen.maquia" and "Show.Girl." being for a wider audience. Do you find that it is essential to diversify in your approach to reach a wider audience?

EV: Absolutely. Not only wider audiences but my Latino audiences. Because we are not just one. We have different takes. And there is the whole immigrant situation. Our older folks look for one thing and the younger ones look for something else. So balancing that is tough and difficult. So "Carmen.maquia" is actually more appealing for a wider audience. First of all, it is an old story. But if you see it it is actually very contemporary. So that mix appeals to a wider audience.

But with "Show.Girl.," I thought it would appeal to a younger audience, but watching it, I think it will also appeal to a broader group of people.

DS: What excites you most about the NY program? Any particular one that is close to you? Why?

EV: I am a choreographer so I have one work, "Asuka," which is an homage to Celia Cruz. And that is close to me because we were just in Cuba in November and we took that work to Cuba. It was a big deal because Celia Cruz was banned from Cuba by Fidel [Castro]. So it was like bringing Celia back to Cuba. And everybody in the audience was really moved by it.

DS: You have a few premieres going on this season, but Miguel Mancillas' "Conquer" will be making its world premiere this season. Can you speak a bit about how this project came to be? Where did the idea originate for the project? Did Mr. Mancillas approach you or did the company approach him?

EV: I went right up to him. I have known Miguel for some time. I worked with him in Chicago and I've commissioned works from him before. But he's never been to New York. We don't have many Mexican choreographers here in New York so one of my visions is to develop a repertoire of Mexican choreographers. So I asked him and he spent time at the Instituto Choreografico and started developing this work with us.

DS: Gustavo Ramirez Sansano has two works in the program this season. Can you talk about the collaborative relationship with him and what makes his work so special?

EV: I have a collaborative relationship with all the artists I work with. So with Gustavo I commissioned his very first work. That was in 2001. So it's about nurturing young artists. We have a long history of working together. What it is is that I love to see an artist develop their voice. For me it was important to show his development, for people to see how his voice is different from "Carmen" to "El Beso."

DS: What are the greatest challenges for your company in putting together the season? When do you guys start preparing?

EV: The artistic challenges are getting everyone in the same place at the same time. Getting the dancers and choreographers there. The second thing is making sure the dancers are healthy. Sometimes we get a dancer who gets injured and then you have to find someone else to step up. But usually that part flows.

The other side is that you have to have an administrative machine behind it. You have to market it and get people in the seats. And to put it out there is tough because you have to figure out what the goals of the branding are. It's a ton of work.

DS: When did rehearsals start?

EV: We started in August.

DS: So you go all the way from August?

EV: Until today.

DS: It is it intermittent?

EV: It's not intermittent. We do have a winter break but we are back on in January.

DS: So once you guys are done in New York on April 26, you go on tour?

EV: We are going to be appearing in Puerto Rico. We will be at some summer festivals in the Hamptons, Fire Island.

DS: The Arts Index notes that there has been a general trend of decline in audience attendance to classical music and art programs in general. What do you feel is essential for art organizations, such as your own, in order to revitalize them and reach out to new audiences?

EV: This is a big conversation that is going on now. Michael Kaiser just did a big speech and he said something that I agree with. He said that we need to continue making better art. Not cut back. Just because the audiences are cutting back doesn't mean that we should cut back on artistic excellence. We need to reconnect with folks. That's why I think that Ballet Hispanico is a perfect point in our time. The demographics are shifting and guess what? We are right there with them. We are the Latino company. We need to reflect who we are. Our job is to get into our community more. So I think that arts organizations need to be more diverse, more collaborative with the community and also reach out deeper into that community.

I love opera, but I think that people are not going to the opera because it does not relate to them anymore. No one is making new opera. Everything is old. So make new opera.

DS: Talking about reaching out to the community, we have a rather strong outreach involved, including summer camps. Can you talk about how that initiative has changed over the years?

EV: This is one of my favorite things about being part of this organization. Ballet Hispanico was founded on education. The founder Tina Ramirez took a bunch of kids and started training them. They became so good that they founded a company. We have always had a school since 1970. We serve over 3,000 kids a year, 600 in the school and the rest in our education and outreach program, going anywhere from summer camps to public school program and residency programs where we bring artists into the schools and share the joy of Latino culture and dance. And when we are on tour, the professional dancers are trained to do the same things in the schools that we visit. It is multi-layered.

For thousands of years, the arts infiltrated our lives because it brought us together. Over the years it became a separate thing because of money it separated. So we need to bring that back. We have to be more creative about where we perform and how we give back to the people.

DS: Has the program changed under your leadership?

EV: It's been tweaked a little in the way we approach the pedagogy and methodology. It is more in tune with what young people need to today. It used to be that you teach kids what they don't know. And now it is about sharing because we recognize that kids can also teach us a lot. So when we teach we go to the child, we don't have the child come to us. That methodology instills pride, discipline and gives voice to those young people.