Johan Rivera (Associate Artistic Director and Latinx Dance Institute Director) was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico and began his dance training at the School for the Performing Arts, Puerto Rico under the direction of Waldo Gonzalez. Johan graduated magna cum laude with his BFA from the New World School of the Arts/University of Florida in 2013. While there, he had the opportunity to perform the works of Robert Battle, Kyle Abraham, Peter London, Daniel Lewis, Merce Cunningham, and Doris Humphrey as well as simultaneously working with local dance companies in Miami, Florida. During his tenure with the Ballet Hispánico Company, Johan had the pleasure of performing the ballets of choreographers such as Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Gustavo Ramírez Sansano, Pedro Ruiz, and Eduardo Vilaro. In addition, he was a vital member of Ballet Hispánico’s Community Arts Partnerships team as a teaching artist while on tour and at home in NYC. Aspiring to further his knowledge and skills, Johan ventured into the world of higher education. In 2016, he received a Master of Arts in Executive Leadership with high honors, an achievement he dearly treasures as the first member of his family to have this opportunity. Upon graduation, Johan had the honor of mentoring and directing second company BHdos in the fall of 2016 before taking over as rehearsal director for Ballet Hispánico’s main Company. After four seasons as the rehearsal director, Johan transitioned to Ballet Hispánico's marketing department as the digital marketing manager, playing a key role in the development and creation of the organization's virtual programming. Now, as the associate artistic director and Latinx Dance Institute director, Johan supports the artistic curation for the Company and Ballet Hispánico's thought leadership programming alongside Artistic Director and CEO, Eduardo Vilaro.