 Former Company member Eduardo Vilaro was Founder and Artistic Director of Luna Negra Dance Theater before taking the reins as Artistic Director at Ballet Hispanico when Ramirez stepped down.Ramirez drew on the resources of the Company and School to create Ballet Hispanico's innovative educational program, "Primeros Pasos" ("First Steps"), which provides public schools with custom-tailored units of study in dance and Hispanic culture and offers a broad range of other educational activities for the public.This wide-ranging initiative regularly reaches 15,000 students and adults in New York City and across the nation.