Ballet Hispánico Announces Linda Celeste Sims as Company’s New Rehearsal Director

Ballet Hispánico, the nation’s renowned Latinx dance organization recognized last year as one of America’s Cultural Treasures, announces the appointment of Linda Celeste Sims as its new Rehearsal Director. Sims returns to the Company after beginning her dance journey as a student and Company dancer at Ballet Hispánico. She steps into the new role following a 24-year accomplished career at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, in addition to recent remote teaching positions at Marymount College, Ailey Extension, as well as Ballet Hispánico.

“We are so thrilled to welcome Linda back home. Linda is the epitome of the Ballet Hispanico artist, she was trained in our school, danced with our company and returns to us a mature powerful artist,” said Eduardo Vilaro, Artistic Director & CEO. “I am so excited for this journey with her, our artists will flourish from her experience and knowledge.

In her role as Rehearsal Director, Sims is primarily responsible for maintaining and coaching repertory. She will also assist Vilaro in the artistic and aesthetic vision of the daily process. 

“Returning to Ballet Hispánico is like coming home,” said Linda Celeste Sims. “I was welcomed and nurtured first as a student, then as a Company member and a teacher. Now, I look forward to fostering the same community and spirit for the dancers as Company Rehearsal Director. It is a full circle journey for me.”

LINDA CELESTE SIMS danced with the Alvin Ailey Company from1996-2020 as the Assistant to the Rehearsal Director. She began her training at Ballet Hispánico School of Dance, and was a Company dancer from 1994 to 1996. Sims has won numerous awards including Arts Recognition in 1994; Outstanding Performance at the 2014 New York Dance and Performance Award (Bessie); the 2016 Inspiración Award from Ballet Hispánico; the 2017 Dance Magazine Award; and was honored in 2019 at BAAD’s 20th Anniversary. Sims has been featured on the cover of Dance Magazine, New York Amsterdam News, Refinery29 and on So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing with the Stars, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Mo’Nique Show, LIVE with Kelly and Michael, and The Today Show. She has appeared at the White House Series, Youth America Grand Prix, Vail International Dance Festival, Evidence Dance Company. Galas in Budapest, Vienna and Rome. Originated featured roles by Judith Jamison, Donald Byrd, Alonso King, Dwight Rhoden, Ronald K. Brown, Mauro Bigonzetti, Jennifer Muller, Karole Armitage, Lynn Taylor Corbett, Rennie Harris, Christopher L. Huggins, and Azure Barton. Sims teaches master classes worldwide, in Ballet and Modern dance for levels K-12 through University and is a certified Zena Rommett Floor-Barre instructor. 
 
About Ballet Hispánico
Ballet Hispánico is the nation’s renowned Latino dance organization and one of America’s Cultural Treasures. Ballet Hispánico brings communities together to celebrate and explore Latino cultures through innovative dance performances, transformative dance training, and enduring community engagement experiences. Founded in 1970 by National Medal of Arts recipient, Tina Ramírez, the organization emerged during the post-civil rights movement on New York’s Upper West Side, providing a safe haven for primarily Black and Brown Latinx youth seeking artistic sanctuary during New York City’s plight in the 1970s. The need for place, both culturally and artistically, led families to find Ballet Hispánico. The focus on dance as a means to develop working artists, combined with the training, authenticity of voice, and power of representation, fueled the organization’s roots and trajectory. With its strong emphasis on dance, achievement, and public presence, the organization has flourished in its three main programs: its Company, School of Dance, and Community Arts Partnerships. The organization serves as a platform for historically omitted and overlooked artists providing them with increased capacity, voice, and affirmation. Over the past five decades, by leading with Latinx culture at the forefront of performance, education, and advocacy, Ballet Hispánico’s mission is a catalyst of change and possibility for communities throughout our nation.