Rodolfo Méndez
In Ballet East Dance Theatre, Rodolfo Méndez created a community arts organization in the truest sense of the term: Its work is as much about the community as the art; the two are inextricably intertwined. Méndez’s vision for the company grew out of his experiences as a Peace Corps worker in Costa Rica and Chile, where he helped develop dance and theatre programs for students in primary and secondary schools. After returning to Texas, the Austin native founded Ballet East in 1977 and has been bringing dance to underserved communities in his hometown ever since. The company provides a crucial training ground for young dancers and choreographers on the Eastside, giving them a place where they can develop their skills and flourish, working in a variety of modern styles with guest artists that range from local choreographers with Ballet Austin and the UT Department of Theatre & Dance to national dance makers from the Alvin Ailey American Dance School, Joyce Trisler Danscompany, and Philadanco. To see the effectiveness of Méndez’s efforts, one need look no further than Ballet East’s assistant artistic director, Melissa Villarreal, who got her start dancing with Méndez at age 14. Since 1989, Méndez has also reached more than 5,000 young Austinites through Dare to Dance, a theatre/dance program that uses performance to enhance a child’s self-assurance and critical thinking skills and has been repeatedly recognized by the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities as an outstanding arts education program.
This article appears in June 2 • 2006.