Amanda Castro doesn't mince words when she answers why she thinks there is so much expectation about the presentation of the musical “West Side Story” in Los Angeles.

“Because the themes of this show have everything to do with the issues we are going through right now with the current administration and in our lives,” said the dancer, who plays Anita in this musical that will premiere on Saturday at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. “First, we have the opportunity to come together to see this work of art, and that coming together is at stake. And second, there are a lot of Latinos in the show, and it’s an opportunity to shine, an opportunity for us to be seen.”

This musical theater classic couldn’t be more relevant now as it addresses themes such as discrimination, prejudice, xenophobia, poverty, and migration, all centered around a tragic Romeo and Juliet-style love story.

Above all, Castro said, “there’s this music that has been performed so many times around the world and still moves people, still makes people cry, still makes people happy.”

Leonard Bernstein’s work, choreographed by Jerome Robins and featuring songs such as “America,” “Somewhere,” and “I Feel Pretty,” will feature James Conlon leading the LA Opera Orchestra, while Francesca Zambello directs the musical.

Castro, who She has been dancing since she was 4 and is also a choreographer, having studied this at the California Institute of the Arts, although she was born and raised in New York.

“Both [careers] exist simultaneously within me,” she said. “I’m very grateful to my younger self for making that choice.”

She owns a dance company, Soles of Duende, with two other dancers; a female percussion dance group called Soles of Duende.

Anita, Castro says, has a lot in common with her, and it’s a great challenge to portray her.

“She tells the story of a lot of my family,” she said. “My dad was born on the island [Puerto Rico]. My mom was born in New York, but she was sent around depending on my grandparents’ convenience when there was work,and when not.”

And despite all the drama Anita goes through, “she still lives with optimism for the love she finds, and finds a better way to do things,” he maintained.

In Detail

What: West Side Story

When: Sunday through October 12

Where: Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles

Information: www.laopera.org