Ballet Hispánico soaked

Eduardo Vilaro’s office last week was home to several bags full of Ballet Hispánico t-shirts, which he had taken home to wash. The shirts had been soaked by an unexpected flood caused by a water main break on Aug. 29 near the dance school’s home on West 89th Street, between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues.

Though it’s unclear who or what was responsible for the incident, Vilaro, Ballet Hispánico’s artistic director and CEO, called it heartbreaking.

“What I do know is that our school office was under four feet of water, where the main was,” Vilaro says. “Our basement was soaked through, and two of our studios on the first floor had standing water in them.”

Vilaro said it’s a situation where “everybody points a finger to everybody else.” He added, “Something was happening underneath, we just don’t know what.”

A sinkhole he mentioned partially swallowed a parked car. Several other buildings nearby were flooded, though none as badly as Ballet Hispánico.

The most dramatic water damage was to the school’s nearly 4,000 costumes and sets, some of which have been ruined beyond repair.

“We can take some of them to be cleaned and see what happens, and those that are ruined we have to get rid of,” Vilaro said. The costumes that kids in Ballet Hispánico’s after-school programs wear for their performances, unfortunately, are unsalvageable.

In addition to the approximately 600 students who take classes at Ballet Hispánico, the organization also conducts programs for public school students and offers rehearsal space to smaller dance companies and even Broadway productions.

Kate Lear, the chair of Ballet Hispánico’s board, emphasized the tragic nature of the situation, as many costumes had been created specifically for Ballet Hispánico. Only a year ago the “neighborhood gem,” as she described it, was reopened after a considerable renovation, but at least one of the new dance floors will have to be torn up and replaced.

So far, a flood recovery fundraiser on Ballet Hispánico’s website has raised about $20,000.

According to Valero and Lear, a more formal campaign goal will be sent out to supporters soon after they get a better idea of how much all the repairs and cleaning could cost. Though they were hesitant to guess, Lear said the final tally could easily add up to tens of thousands of dollars.

“We had just finished a sparkling renovation and had an opening ceremony last year,” Lear said. “There was this beautiful space which we had just opened and which reflected who we are today and then all of a sudden it was full of water and debris and garbage.”

This is not the first time Ballet Hispánico has lost some of its inventory to water damage; in 2012 Hurricane Sandy struck a warehouse full of costumes the school was storing in New Jersey.

“Nowhere’s safe now with Mother Nature,” Vilaro said. “We’re reaching out to industry folks to see where they keep theirs. We’re a 46-year-old organization, so archival information is important to us.”

The Spirit’s inquiries to the Department of Environmental Protection went unreturned, but Lear said the city has been “unbelievable in their immediate response” to the organization’s plight.

In spite of everything, Valero said he felt blessed to have the support of the community, including Ballet Hispánico’s partners Alvin Ailey and the Dance Theatre of Harlem, P.S. 80, P.S. 1 and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, who has been a friend of the organization since she represented the Upper West Side on the City Council.

“The city has been very good about reaching out to us,” he said. “Certainly there’s no shadiness going on. We’re hopeful to figure out what can be done.”