Not just a dance, or a culture, but people coming together to share who they are. This idea is the main theme presented in Ballet Hispanico which performs at Stephens Auditorium tonight.

“I want people to come to our ballet with an open heart and mind so we can teach people who we really are through dance,” Tina Ramirez, founder and artistic director of the ballet said.

The ballet consists of 11 dancers who have made their way to 21 nations, and now, Ames to share their story.

The ballet is performed in traditional Afro-American musical form called The Son, an ancestor of the salsa.

The carnival-like introduction opens the scene to Cuba’s Spanish and African roots and then leads in to show the patterns and changes of Cuban culture through the 20th century.

When the ballet began, it consisted of 75 students called The Ballet Hispanico School of Dance. It now provides over 750 inner-city children with professional training in classical ballet and traditional Spanish dance.

Through the programs, Ballet Hispanico teaches children to build skills for the future.

The ballet’s nation wide public school program, Primeros Pasos (First Steps,) brings dance and culture to over 25,000 public schools each year. Each school participating develops its own multi-session unit which includes performances, dialogues, workshops, and the instruction of many dance techniques.

Ramirez, who has been with the ballet for 25 years, began her dream when she was teaching dance classes. It was her pupils who encouraged her to go farther. She knew they wanted to become professional dancers. They also wanted people to gain exposure to their culture — so they created Ballet Hispanico.

“I see dance as a way to express ourselves and a language to say who we are,” Ramirez said.

She said it is sometimes a struggle to get the audience to see what she is trying to convey, but she believes that all people are alike. She also believes that if they come together to learn about each other, they see how similar we all are.

“I just want people to see the humanity in all of us,” Ramirez said. “I see the audience as part of our work.”

Tickets are still available for tonight’s 7:30 p.m. show. Tickets for students are $7.50, $10 and $12.50.

Call 294-3347 or charge by phone at 233-1888.