Wearing gold-glitter eye shadow and extra-long fake eyelashes,
Stephanie Solorio smiles wide after the grand finale of her first
dance performance at Gavilan College.
Wearing gold-glitter eye shadow and extra-long fake eyelashes, Stephanie Solorio smiles wide after the grand finale of her first dance performance at Gavilan College.
The 20-year-old student from Morgan Hill, who is studying criminal justice, signed up for the ballet folklorico class last fall thinking the three hours of dance practice every Saturday would be a good workout. Indeed, the class leaves her catching her breath at times. It also turned out to be an unexpected lesson in history.
“It brings me back to my roots, because I am Spanish,” she said, “It taught me a lot about the cultural differences in Mexico. There are some subtle cultural differences.”
Folklorico is the traditional folk dance of Mexico – the 14th largest country by area – but the styles and dress vary from region to region. During the recital, students danced to songs from Nuevo Leon, Chiapas, Michoacan, Jalisco and Sinaloa, changing into different colorful costumes for each number. During the semester, students learned a total of eight different dances from five regions of Mexico.
In February, the group completed its second annual Fiesta Mexico concert at the Gavilan College Theater to raise money for the Theater Arts Department. Joined by artists from Ballet Folklorico Mexicano Fuego Nuevo, more than 50 musicians, singers and dancers in colorful costumes took the stage.
During a recital of “El Gallo” from Sinaloa, the women merrily twirled their flower-patterned, tropical skirts like pinwheels. For a song from Chiapas called “Las Mujeres que si Pintan,” they wore a lace embroidered floral gown, holding a yellow handkerchief while sensually swaying with one hand on their hip.
“Each dance has its own story, and they’re all different,” said Benny Valles, dance instructor for Gavilan College Folklorico. “You can have dances that are happy. You have dances that are sad. The revolution dances – they are serious dances.”
Something as simple as the placement of a woman’s hair piece carries meaning.
“If the hair piece is to the right, you are married,” he said. “If you wear the hair piece to the left, you are a single girl. It depends on what state you go to.”
Through dance, the 22 students in the class learned about the geography and history of Mexico. Although several students are of Hispanic heritage, they speak only a little Spanish and don’t know much about their homeland.
“It gives a lot of students a sense of pride in their culture, which maybe they didn’t have,” said guest instructor Steven KoneffKlatt. “It also reinforces the value if they do have pride in their culture.”
KoneffKlatt’s mother forced him to go to folklorico dance lessons when he was 8 years old, he said.
“There were periods when I went kicking and screaming,” he said.
Then, he suddenly started to enjoy the physical art form – “I was the ballet folklorico guy,” he said. He went on to dance professionally in Mexico with its national ballet, Ballet Folklorico de Mexico, before founding Ballet Folklorico Costa de Oro – a dance studio in San Lorenzo – last July with Valles.
Like his associate, Valles wasn’t immediately drawn to folklorico. Growing up in Arizona, his mother played Spanish corridos on her guitar and danced for the family. But it wasn’t until he came to California in 1983 that Valles began performing and teaching folklorico.
Both men were astonished at the enthusiasm the Gavilan College students exhibited for folklorico, coming to class every Saturday for three hours. If sick, they would sit in the audience and take notes on the dance steps. Classes were broken into 2.5 hours of dance and half an hour of history.
“I was moved because I didn’t expect a college class to be as involved in something like this,” KoneffKlatt said. “They were there for personal enrichment. It wasn’t just about getting the credit or getting the grade.”
In addition to meeting new dance partners, they also made new friends.
“There was a sense of community that was built over 15 weeks, which is surprising since they’re only meeting once a week,” KoneffKlatt said.
Students earned two credits for the class and the college plans to continue offering the class.
“They all had fun. They all say, ‘We’re coming back,'” KoneffKlatt said.
That’s no surprise, as folklorico has been rising in popularity in the U.S. for the past 15 years, KoneffKlatt said.
“Because of what happened at the recital and in the class I see the need for this type of class,” Valles said. “They’re hungry for it.”
