Photo By Matt Borgerding

Mario de la Nuez contemplated a more cohesive dance community.

During the past couple of decades, the Cuban-born, New York City-raised former dancer has performed with prominent ballet companies on three continents, including Cincinnati Ballet. After spending some years in a more traditional business venture, he's returned to Cincinnati and come back to the arts.

In a bold move, he opened de la Arts Place in Oakley, a multi-purpose dance studio facility destined, he hopes, to become much more.

De la Nuez might be the catalyst Cincinnati needs to round up area dance companies into a more cohesive, relevant and potent force within the arts community. He recognizes that Cincinnati hasn't exactly been "a hotbed of dance," yet he says he's shocked at some of the positive changes since he first came here in 1988. But he adds, "The arts scene in general has suffered, I think, a great deal."

He cites several issues -- from falling into niches too narrow to support real artistic diversity and risk to spotty media relations and artistic decisions being overly directed by board members.

In an economy of ever-tightening budgets, developing audience awareness (and size) and keeping the material relevant are crucial for any arts organization.

"I found a real need for revitalizing the community and maybe galvanizing it a little bit, to bring people together," he says.

De la Nuez's initial efforts include providing rehearsal space for dance companies in need (previously for contemporary jazz outfit Exhale and currently for Moving Art Dance Company) and offering dance classes. With his wife and co-artistic director, Meredith Benson (a celebrated prima ballerina who danced with Cincinnati Ballet, Joffrey Ballet and other prestigious companies), he's presenting DanceCincinnati '06, a showcase of performances from several diverse local organizations, from Cincinnati Ballet and Exhale to ballet tech ohio and Moving Art.

What makes the program unique is de la Nuez's desire to cross-pollinate dance audiences. He also hopes the production will foster relationships between the dance companies.

"(The dance organizations) are going to share not only different styles and different philosophies, they're going to expose their own constituencies, their own audiences," he explains. "Some of these groups have audiences that only faithfully go see one particular style. People who go to see the ballet, by and large, don't go see some of these other things.

"By the same token, these organizations are exposing themselves to different audiences. They get to share their messages with a different audience," he says. "It's a really tremendous opportunity for both people on both sides of the footlights (the dancers and the audiences)."

De la Nuez also speaks the language of a dancer. Words suggesting corporeal and spiritual elements pepper conversation: building energy, gaining momentum, and injecting art with vitality.

"One of things that is needed: A place that is open that is not going to judge," he says. "I really don't care what anyone does (at de la Arts Place) as long as it's legal and doesn't hurt anybody."

He views DanceCincinnati '06 as a springboard for sharing artistic ideas as well as more practical advice. Through his experience starting and running dance companies, he's learned many things the hard way and wants the community to share knowledge.

"There are some new players in town with new ideas, with talent," he says. "Instead of seeing them just whither away or decide to go elsewhere or stop altogether, for them to feel 'Hey, there might be something here that I can hang onto for a little longer to try to make it work.' "

With a relentless love of dance and infectious enthusiasm driving his visions, de la Nuez embodies the much-needed spirit of change in Cincinnati's dance scene.