Directly translated to mean “Folkloric Dance”, Ballet (Baile) Folklorico refers to many traditional dances originating from Mexico’s various regions and states. The dances incorporate local cultures with standard ballet characteristics including pointed toes, exaggerated movements, and highly choreographed sequences. Ballet Folklorico attire can typically be distinguished by a ranchero-designed dress made with bright colors.
Ballet Folklorico has been immersed in the Victoria ISD for more than 22 years, originating at Stroman High School. Since its inception, Ballet Folklorico has been offered to students at Victoria Memorial High School, and now at Victoria East High School. Victoria as a city also has ties to Mexico in its founder, Martin De Leon, a Mexican empresario. Students involved spend their time learning in the classroom about the history of Ballet Folklorico and its importance to Mexican culture, as well as performing for audiences across the city, county, and state.
“The arts, in general, are important to our existence. They educate and satisfy the learner and the viewer in a way unlike any other. Your many different senses are activated and can solidify your understanding of the culture sometimes in one performance,” said Elsa Pina, director, and teacher of VISD Ballet Folklorico, when asked about the importance of Ballet Folklorico to students in our community. “The folkloric dances from any culture, not just Mexico are an art form. They display a way of life and the customs from the past. Today many of my students have family ties to the culture, but not all of my students have those ties. Some simply love the beautiful costumes, the music, and the choreography so much that they want to be in the class and learn the dances and the culture.”
The VISD Ballet Folklorico students spend their time learning in the classroom about the history of Ballet Folklorico and its importance to Mexican culture, as well as performing for audiences across the city, county, and state. They learn about the many different dances, music, costumes, traditions, and customs from many of the states in Mexico. Mexico has 31 states and the capital, Mexico City, and each has many different dances in its regional areas and municipalities.
The students currently have costumes for Aguascalientes, Baja California Norte, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Colima, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Michoacan, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Yucatan and Zacatecas. This year they have learned and performed dances from 11 of the states listed above.
Most recently, the VISD Ballet Folklorico performed at the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT) conference held in San Antonio, where superintendents from around the county were able to experience traditional cultural dances native to our area.
VISD’s Ballet Folklorico’s Spring Show is on April 18 at 7 p.m. at the Victoria East High School Auditorium. General Admission tickets will be available for purchase at the door 30 minutes before the show for $6.
“I believe we must know and be passionate about our city and state,” said Pina. “We must know the past in order to move forward and continue to support and inspire one another in an effort to succeed to improve the future of our city, our state, and the world.”
The VISD Ballet Folklorico is available to book for performances, contact David Edge at 361.788.9335