Teatro Avante was established in 1979 as a vehicle for preserving and presenting our Hispanic cultural heritage through the production of the highest quality universal theater in English and Spanish.  Through the years we have staged productions by great playwrights, including Garcia Lorca, Valle-Inclán, Tirso de Molina (Spain), Piñeira, Triana, Cabrera Infante, Matas, Alomá Ferrer (Cuba) Chocrón, Pinto (Venezuela), and Vargas LLosa (Perú),.  We have also presented master playwrights from other cultures including Miller, Albee, Williams (USA), Cocteau (France) and Orwell (England).Our programs have grown in depth and sophistication in the past few years while we continue to strengthen our ties to the community.  Through our growth as professionals we have entered and international dialogue regarding the artist community interaction.  A core group of audience members participate in our educational programs, volunteer and generally support the work of Avante.  This is no easy feat in an area home of over two million residents (51% Hispanic, 23% Afro American non Hispanic 24%, white non Hispanic, 2% other).  These statistics are rapidly changing but offer a current view of our community complexity.  Our programs consciously reflect the cultural profile of Miami's Hispanic community.  As an artist driven organization, one of our main motivations is to create an environment where Florida artists can work and flourish.  During our twenty five years as a company we have employed more than 800 artists including actors, directors, playwrights, composers, choreographers, designers and technicians.  Increasingly our company has been asked to represent Hispanic theater in the US and national and international festivals.  We have performed in Mexico, Japan, Costa Rica, Spain, France, Colombia, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Argentina.

In the US, Teatro Avante has performed in New York City, Buffalo, NY Winston-Salem, NC and several cities in South Florida.. We are active participants in the local theater scene (Spanish and English).  In past years we have produced a Hispanic talent directory, we convened a seminar on AIDS, and we have worked with numerous cultural groups in the community.  We also took a leadership role in Theater League of South Florida and the International Iberoamerican Festivals, and collaborated with other non profit groups in their fundraising campaigns.  We have presented our work to hundreds of students at Miami Dade Community College, Wolfson Interamerican and Homestead campuses, National Black Theater Festival, Florida Dance Festival, Tigertail Productions, Miami Light Project, Spanish Center for Iberoamerican Cooperation, New Theater,  Area Stage Productions, Mary street Dance Theater, Black Cultural Alliance, and the Black Coalition, Coconut Grive Playhouse, The Little Stage Coalition of Hispanic American Women, Miami Public Libraries, and the Miami Public Schools among others.Avante has gone beyond the typical role of a Miami based theater company.  We strive to bring the best work of our artists to as many audiences as possible and participate in the development of South Florida performing arts community.  By partnering with other organizations to involve the public in the educational component of theater, we hope to make going to the theater more than simple entertainment.Teatro Avante was chosen by the Performing Arts Center Trust (PACT) as the Hispanic artistic organization representing the needs, prospectives, resources and cultural heritage of Miami Dade County Hispanic American arts organizations and their audiences.