Ballet Folklórico STC, Community Learn from the Best

McALLEN – Ballet folklórico dancers and community members from around the Rio Grande Valley enjoyed a one-day master class with world renowned Artistic Director of the Ballet Folklórico de México Amalia Viviana Basanta Hernández on Nov. 23 at the South Texas College Pecan Plaza Wellness Center in McAllen.

“They were very enthusiastic and there’s a lot of interest to keep getting better,” said Basanta Hernández after the workshop. “There is a lot of well-prepared dancers here with a very good level of talent.”

Basanta Hernández is the daughter of Amalia Hernández, who founded the Ballet Folklórico de México in 1952, and recently selected four Ballet Folklórico South Texas College dancers to be part of the Academia de Danza Amalia Hernández (ACADEZ-USA) that will begin in 2014.

“It’s a pretty amazing experience that not a lot of people get to have in their lifetime,” said Ballet Folklórico-STC Coordinator Norma Silva. “I’m proud to have been able to be here and participate in a workshop like this and with someone of her caliber. Every different type of technique that we learn from all the teachers that we’ve had help us build on what we had before.

“Right now, we did a little bit of Jalisco and Oaxaca, but we worked with ballet techniques, a little bit of modern, skirts, zapateado, everything works and everything helps for other regions, not just what we learned here,” she added. “We’re growing and learning from the best.”

Among those that also wanted to continue to grow and learn from the best was a group of dancers from The University of Texas-Brownsville’s Ballet Folklórico company.

“I had the opportunity to take a class with her previously through ACADEZ and I invited along some of my dancers to the workshop,” said UTB Ballet Folklórico Co-Director Jesús Eduardo López. “It was a new experience and we really loved the workshop.

It’s something different from what we do. We’re a little more traditional, but they have a little twist of the modern and more contemporary style. She’s one of the icons of the ballet folklórico. It’s something you take with you. Not everyone gets that type of experience, it’s awesome.”

Prior to the weekend workshop that was open to the public, STC’s Ballet Folklórico company had the opportunity to work with Basanta Hernández and her coordinator Rafael Ornelas.

“They are a young group, but they have very talented dancers,” said Basanta Hernández. “This group has progressed a lot in a short period of time, and they know how to use the talent that they have and that they’ve developed.”

“They are part of a school and the college knows that through a good education, they are going to have good students come out of here, and you can see that by the students that are here in the company,” she concluded. “They have the talent to go very far.”

Ballet Folklórico STC debuted in April 2012 at Austin and recently performed on the international stage during the Mexican Independence Day “El Grito” celebration, also at the Texas capital, that was broadcast live internationally by Spanish-language network Univision in September.

For additional information about the Ballet Folklórico South Texas College, call (956) 872-2070 or visit http://lass.southtexascollege.edu/hist_phil/mas/.