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Learn to salsa with Ballet Hispanico, or just watch

Spangles and flash, high kicks and higher lifts, swiveling hips and percussive twists are the stock-in-trade of Ballet Hispanico, if this YouTube preview any indication.
The New York-based company (which includes Eric Rivera, a former dancer with D

Spangles and flash, high kicks and higher lifts, swiveling hips and percussive twists are the stock-in-trade of Ballet Hispanico, if this YouTube preview any indication.

The New York-based company (which includes Eric Rivera, a former dancer with Duluth’s Minnesota Ballet) performs two works at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday evening. “Palladium Suite” (choreographed by Willie Rosario) is reportedly a blend of ballroom and Latin dance that evokes — through movement and characterizations — the Palladium Ballroom during the 1950s, when it was Manhattan’s hottest location for Latin and ballroom dancing to big-band music.

The other work on the program, “In Ritmo y Ruido,” was choreographed by none other than the Tony Award-winning Ann Reinking. Set to Afro-Cuban music by Philip Hamilton and Tobias Ralph, the work blends jazz dance and ballet in a dynamic kaleidoscope of choreographic design.

Critics have applauded the 11-member company’s vivacity and passion, while lamenting a certain lack of choreographic development and technical articulation. Still, the show will no doubt be entertaining, and offer the kind of live movement experience more frequently seen on television.

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For those who wish to try out the moves themselves, a special event called “A Night at the Palladium” will feature a dance class taught by Ballet Hispanico members with a dance party following: Saturday, Jan. 10. Latin social dance class (8-9 p.m.). Latin social dance party (9 p.m.-midnight). Cinema Ballroom, 1560 St. Clair Ave., St. Paul. $10-$15.

Ballet Hispanico. 7 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 11, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, 345 Washington St., St. Paul. 651-224-4222. $25-$35.