Black Hills Dance Theatre

11/01/2025

November 1 means we trade in our 🎃 for 🎄! Holiday preparations are in full swing and so are rehearsals today for our biannual Nutcracker!🩰

10/30/2025

🩰🎄We have officially entered our Nutcracker Era! The second week of rehearsals is already flying by and dancers are busy learning their choreography. The shows are now less than a month away—do you have your tickets? 🎟️ Click the link below to get your reserved seats to this lovely holiday production for all ages👇🥰

10/29/2025

Keep in mind there is a demolition derby event all week at the Monument. Parking is only available on the West side of the building.

10/27/2025

🩰✨Introducing our Sugar Plum Fairy: Vianca Palacios!

Vianca Palacios began training at age three at Balleteatro Infantil de Nana Hudo in Puerto Rico. In 2015, she received a scholarship to attend the Summer Intensive of the Joffrey Ballet School in NYC and later in 2016 trained in the Cuballet summer intensive with the company Prodanza in Cuba under the direction of Laura Alonzo, where she got the opportunity to perform the Soloist role of Shade in Le Bayadère.

In 2016, she began her professional career with Balleteatro Nacional de Puerto Rico as an Apprentice and was promoted to Corps de Ballet a year after. During her time with BNPR, she got to perform roles such as Soloist in Les Sylphides, Odalisque in Le Corsaire, Big Swan in Swan Lake, and many others. Later in 2017, the Sarasota Cuban Ballet School offered her a full scholarship. There she got opportunities to perform in many classical and original contemporary works by Ariel Serrano, Tania Vergara, and Delia Ballart, which includes Principal in Flower Festival of Genzano.

In 2019, she joined Ballet San Antonio as Corps de Ballet, then promoted to Soloist by Sofiane Sylve in 2022. Her performance repertoire includes the Witch in Bruce Wells’ Beauty and the Beast, Mrs.Darling in Brian Enos Peter Pan, Helena in Rafael Ferrera’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Cheshire Cat and Tweedle Dee in Brian Enos Alice in Wonderland, Harlot in Edwaard Liang’s Romeo and Juliet, Kitri’s Friend in Patrick Armand’s Don Quixote, Step Sister in Conny Mathôt’s Cinderella, and various other roles in The Nutcracker like Snow Queen and Arabian Coffee.

In addition, Palacios made her musical theatre debut in 2024 as Francesca in West Side Story with the San Pedro Playhouse. Besides dancing, Vianca Palacios is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. She has been an Instructor for the School of Ballet San Antonio since its opening in January 2021 and Rehearsal Assistant for the children’s cast of BSA’s productions of The Nutcracker, Alice in Wonderland, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Peter Pan, Beauty and the Beast, and Don Quixote.

For each Nutcracker we hire professional dancers to play a few of the roles so that our local dancers have the opportunity to dance with talented, established pros and our community gets to see them grace the Monument stage along with our Black Hills performers. It's holiday magic 🤩 and we couldn't be more thrilled to welcome Vianca!

🎟BHDT will present the 2025 Nutcracker at The Monument November 28 and 29! For ticket information go directly to The Monument's website (link in comments below).

10/27/2025

Rush down to the Monument or go online to purchase your tickets for a wonderful holiday show!

🎄TIS THE SEASON🎄

The Black Hills Dance Theatre presents The Nutcracker!

Join us for two incredible performances of The Nutcracker featuring over 100 local dancers and guests from The Joffery Ballet!

📅 November 28th and 29th, 2025
📍 Fine Arts Theatre, The Monument
🎫 Tickets are on sale now!
🔗 https://www.themonument.live/events/detail/nutcracker25

10/22/2025

Introducing our 2025 Nutcracker Creative Director/Choreographer Mauro Villanueva! We are thrilled to welcome him to the Black Hills and are excited for our local dancers to learn from this incredible performer, teacher, and arts advocate!

Mr. Villanueva began his dance training with Shawn Knife and continued his studies at the University of the Incarnate Word Ballet School and The Nutmeg Ballet Conservatory. His extensive career includes a 13-year tenure with The Joffrey Ballet, where he performed in numerous ballets by world-renowned choreographers. Villanueva's work extended beyond the stage, he served as a union representative for the dancers and was one of two artists selected to participate in the search for a new artistic director.

Mauro's versatility as a performer led him to work with companies such as Barak Ballet (now Los Angeles Ballet), Ballet San Antonio, Intermezzo Dance Company, and The Jacksonville Symphony among others.

His passion for teaching has led him to complete the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet Teacher Training and the School of American Ballet National Visiting Fellow program. Mauro has taught at institutions like the Colburn School, Edge Performing Arts Center, North Carolina School of the Arts, The New Jersey Ballet, and Regional Dance America, as well as Ballet San Antonio, The Ballet Alliance, The New Orleans Ballet Association, and The Nutmeg Ballet Conservatory.

An advocate for preserving and advancing the art of concert dance, Villanueva is a répétiteur and board member of The Gerald Arpino Foundation, and is co-director of The Joffrey Workshop.

BHDT will present the 2025 Nutcracker at The Monument November 28 and 29! For ticket information go directly to The Monument's website (link in comments below).

10/20/2025

👏Congratulations to our 2025 Nutcracker cast!🩰🎄Rehearsals with Mauro Villanueva from the Joffrey Ballet School are underway and we can’t wait to see what he has in store for this cast of 170 performers, our largest to date! We are grateful to the many volunteers working behind the scenes to coordinate this educational opportunity for our local dancers that will become a beautiful holiday production November 28 and 29. You can get your tickets from themonument.live now!🎟️ Link in the comments 👇

10/19/2025

So excited for the 168 cast members for our 2025 production!!!

10/19/2025

Our 2025 Nutcracker cast list is posted on our website!!!

10/18/2025

We want to thank Douglas High School ROTC for helping BHDT lay the the floor the dancers will be using for the next 5 weeks.

10/18/2025

These dancers rocked their auditions tonight! What an amazing turn out.

10/17/2025

There are a few events happening at the Monument tonight so be sure to leave yourself enough time for parking and walking in to Canyon Room!!