Taking a hesitant step off the stage.

During Ballet Hispanico's season at The Joyce Theater in November, Pedro Ruiz received a star's glorious farewell from an enthusiastic audience. After 20 years with the troupe, the elegant 42-year-old dancer will no longer tour with the company. Missed will be the dignity and the emotional meaning that he brought to each role. To allow more time for his expanding choreographic and teaching activities, Ruiz's performances with the company will be limited to New York.

Calling his time with Ballet Hispanico "a dream career," Ruiz did not sound ready to stop touring. "I might not be able to dance three ballets a night," he said, "but I'm in good condition and could continue full-time." Still, he acknowledged that choreographing had begun to cut into his time. In May at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center, Ruiz will premiere a new work. Among his four works for Ballet Hispanico, the most moving, Guajira, pays tribute to his native Cuba. "Dancing is how I've always expressed myself," Ruiz said. "It's then I feel free.