Selecta 1320 serves as a voice and advocate to the Hispanic Community in Richmond. The company was started in 2003 with the help of current Senior Producer Selvin Paredes. The station is located on West Broad Street, sharing a building with three other local stations. The station works to provide musical programming and awareness to opportunities for Hispanics in the Richmond community. The station was in attendance for the July 2008 job fair to make sure Hispanics had the opportunity to apply for U.S. citizenship, explore new job opportunities and participate in company promotions. The station offers programs with legal advice and discusses issues effecting Hispanics, such as equal opportunities and employment.

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Dance director continues to inspire

 

Ana Ines King has worked for over a decade to create a Spanish influenced dance culture in Richmond.

She is the founder and director of the Latin Ballet Company. The company works to promote Latin American and Spanish cultures. The company travels and performs in North and South America. Also, the company has extensive educational programs in dance. The company has two locations in the Richmond, area including the Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen on Mountain Road. and Chesterfield School of the Latin Ballet in Richmond on Courthouse Road.

There are currently 12 professional company members and 25 junior company members. The junior company participants include ages 7-16. “They serve as role models to new students by embracing them as family members,” said King.

King is a native of Colombia with more than 20 years of professional dance experience. She also has teaching, directing and performing experience in the United States.                                                                                                                                                                         

She originally came to the Richmond area in 1994 because of her husband, William King. She met him in Colombia while she was employed with a merchandising company.

“At the time I worked for the company and danced in Venezuela, so meeting my husband was a pleasant accident,” said King.
King began dancing at the age of 3 because her family on her mother’s side had a strong cultural arts background. “My mother was a dancer, she served as an inspiration for me since I was a small child and my grandmother was a popular poet in Colombia,” said King.

One of her true inspirations came from her brother, Carlos Augusto in the mid-1990s before starting the company.

“I made a promise to him before he died to produce my own play, which laid the foundation for the creation of the dance company.” King said her brother suffered an accident, which resulted in him being confined to a wheelchair.

“My other major promise to him was to offer programs for adults and children with disabilities,” said King, who maintained that promise and also ensured that low-income families have equal access to the programs.

With inspiration from her brother, King used word of mouth to spread awareness about the Hispanic culture.

“I was invited by friends and students at Virginia Commonwealth University to talk to their Spanish classes about different cultures, mainly the Latin and Hispanic cultures,” said King.

King knew she would not be able to continue educating students on her own.

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The Latin Ballet Company is located in the Richmond area. The company was started in 1997 by Ana Ines King and works to educate people on the Latin American and Spanish cultures through dance. The company has two locations in Glen Allen and Chesterfield. The company offers educational dance programs to underprivileged families and programs to adults and children with disabilities. The company is separated into a professional side and junior side. The professional company performs throughout North and South America. The junior dancers are between the ages of 7-16 and are selected based on their potential and promise shown in dance classes. There are currently 12 professional dancers and 25 junior dancers.

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“The education program began growing in popularity so rapidly that I began collaborating with other artists, dancers and musicians, and slowly the transformation occurred to become a dance company,” said King.

But King does not take all the credit for starting the company.

“William Sterling, who is in charge of the junior company, along with Lawanda Raines, was one of the inspired individuals who assisted in building the company,” said King.

Sterling began his career in dance at the age of 14. Before teaching and dancing professionally with the company, he danced for the Richmond Ballet Company for four years.

Sterling met King about ten years ago while performing for the Richmond Ballet. “I really find Ana to be an inspiration to me because she has a love for dance and life, and she has a desire to spread her influence to as many lives as possible.” 

Sterling believes King is a key figure in the Richmond community.

“I always have found one of the best aspects of working with Ana to be her willingness of working with adults and children with disabilities and various handicaps,” said Sterling. “I feel she has helped create a family atmosphere and I could not imagine working anywhere else right now.
Lawanda Raines, a native of Petersburg and the current director of the junior company, agrees with Sterling on the family atmosphere created within the company.

“I have a busy lifestyle, because along with directing I design costumes for the company, dance for the company and I have a family, which includes my husband and two children,” said Raines. “The encouragement of Ana for family involvement has allowed me to include my two children.” Raines added her goal of involving her two children in the company at a young age will allow them to have an appreciation for dance and the Hispanic culture.

Raines, a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), originally went to school for engineering at Virginia Tech. “I always knew my true calling was dance and meeting Ana has allowed me to continue pursuing my goals and dreams.”

King serves as an inspiration in dance to current students of VCU.

“King has a great spirit about her and she really encourages dancers to improve everyday when in class or rehearsal,” said Nadine Azoulay, a dance major and company member.

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Facts about Hispanics

 

According to visit.richmond.com, the Hispanic population in the Richmond region is more than 25,000 and continues to grow. Virginia is ranked ninth in the United States for the amount of Hispanic business owners. According to the latest statistics from the Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (VAHCC), the amount of Hispanics by county in the Richmond region is: Chesterfield-7,617, Cumberland-150, Goochland-144, Hanover-847, Henrico-5,946, New Kent-176 and Powhatan-184.

There are various services created to provide assistance to Hispanics. The VAHCC was created in 2000 in response to the rapid growth of Hispanic businesses. To raise awareness of the growing population, the Spanish Academy and Cultural Institute in the Richmond area conducts classes in language and cultural training. The Que Pasa Hispanic Cultural Festival is held every year featuring music, dance, crafts and cuisine from a wide-range of Hispanic cultures.

(Reported in July 2008)