Ritmos Academy

December 05, 2005 | CWE Success Story
Hilda Ramirez, Ritmos Academy


Local Dance Academy Teaches Lessons in Lifelong Learning
By Paula Castillo and Kate Hoagland, Center for Women & Enterprise

Entering the lobby of Ritmos Academy, the pounding rhythms of the zapateo, the clickity clack on the palmas, and sonorous string guitar chords stream out of a Flamenco class down the hall. Hilda Ramirez, the founder and owner of Ritmos Academy, a Worcester-based cultural arts academy, greets both children and adult students with a warm Latina welcome in front of colorful walls decorated with traditional paintings of women with long skirts dancing the Cumbia. The academy offers classes in music appreciation as well as dance instruction in Flamenco, Salsa, and Ballet to all ages.

Hilda Ramirez opened the doors of Ritmos Academy over a year ago but has shared her passion for traditional dance as both teacher and dancer for a lifetime. While working late hours in the corporate sector for nearly 16 years, she still found time to put together and coach a Caribbean/Latino dance company of six high school students. As she helped the young dancers develop their talents on stage, it became obvious that the students were not showing off the same star power in the classroom.

“It was frustrating,” recalls Hilda of the students’ poor academic marks. “If we wanted them to go to college, we would help them in the areas they needed most, but too often Latino kids fall through the cracks.” Determined to level the playing field and make a large impact on the Latino community, Hilda left corporate America to earn her Masters in Education at Harvard and then to start Ritmos Academy in Worcester.

Yet, as a new entrepreneur in a new city, Hilda experienced huge difficulties reaching the very Latino community she was trying to help. “I did not know how to penetrate my own Latino community in the Worcester area,” Hilda says. “For a full year, I literally knocked on every door and introduced myself,” she says.

Frustrated and eager for professional advice and support, Hilda turned to the Center for Women & Enterprise (CWE). She took advantage of individualized consulting services and networking workshops to aid her in starting her business. “People were more open to seeing me right away when I went through CWE,” she says. She networked and collaborated with others in the Round Table for Hispanic/Latina Entrepreneurs, a support group for existing Latina business owners where she gained invaluable advice on reaching the Latino market more effectively. “The Latino community is very diverse, there is no one way to work with them,” she says. Through the help of CWE expert advice, Hilda learned how to reach different Latino groups in a more creative manner. “Instead of door to door advertising, I started going to Spanish Mass and soccer games to reach certain Latino groups,” Hilda comments with a smile.

Today, Ritmos Academy enjoys success in the Latino community and classes are filled with students eager to learn more about their own cultural heritage through dance. Hilda often sees the members of the academy as members of her own family. While teaching children and adults the intricacies of dance, Hilda never hesitates to stress balancing dance with academics, encouraging all to work towards a college education.

Meet Hilda Ramirez and see a performance from Ritmos Academy on December 9th at 5:30PM at Worcester’s Union Station. The CWE Worcester marketplace is open from 2 to 8PM and showcases a wide variety of products and services of over 70 women-owned businesses, including exotic jewelry, fine Brazilian linens, handcrafted baskets, and many more interesting gift ideas.

Ritmos Academy is located at 344 Chandler Street Worcester’s Deerfield Plaza. Ritmos Academy can be reached at 508-770-1000, www.ritmosacademy.org.