Students Emilio Medina and Fatima Rodriguez and the World Famous Folklorico Director Silvia Lozano. Courtesy photos.
SANTA MARIA —About 20 PVHS and SMHS students recently attended the Los Danzantes De Atzlan Folklorico Workshop with world famous Ballet Folklorico National of Mexico Director Silvia Lozano at Fresno State University.
The environment allowed the dancers to learn more about folkorico and its history of Mexican traditions through dance from world experts, according to Panther and Saint Beginning Mexican Dance/Folklorico Teacher Angel Hoyos.
“Going to the Danzantes De Atzlan Conference was such a great experience,’’ said student Juan Antonio Martinez. “I had the opportunity to meet Silvia Lozazno as well as Victor Torres who are beyond great folklorico directors. I gained so much knowledge from these teachers about various regions and steps. Que viva mi cultura.’’
“Going to the Festival De Los Danzantes has taught me that the beauty of dance, folklorico namely, that folklorico unites people together,’’ said student Monica Rodriguez. “It does not matter whether you’re white, brown or any color, the meaning of a dancer is the passion they share with people both onstage and off. As dancers, our job is to invite people to share in the fun and educate public and enlighten their spirits, this for me is what dance is all about. In folklorico, although there is diversity of steps and regions, there is always a space for one to be themselves on stage and show their true colors.”
asmin Jimenez, Itzel Aguirre, Edith Montano, Alejandro Pena, Deanna Blanco and Luz Guzman
“After all the workshops, I learned that it is important to remember to dance with your heart because even though I do not speak the Spanish language, it is still my home heritage,’’ said SMHS student Deanna Blanco. “By dancing, I feel that I can still communicate with others in this method of folklorico dance by pouring out my heart in every dance that I dance. My instructor at Fresno State reminded me of something by saying: Disfruten, which means to enjoy what you do and in this case enjoy dancing with all your passion.”
“I enjoyed every single moment dancing in El Festival De Los Danzantes,’’ said SMHS student Jose Gudino. “Their instructors and dancers were amazing. I got very inspired learning from them. The traditional dances that were taught were extraordinary. This whole event was inspiring in so many ways.”
Hoyos could not be prouder of his students who “shined” during their performances for folklorico experts.
“This event was an honor,’’ Hoyos said. “Director Lozano commented that she admired my work with students as she considers it diverse and original. The experts also praised the dedication and hard work of our students.’’