Despite the gloomy drizzle outdoors as of late, inside the Walsh Black Box, there’s a fiesta?literally. What else, then, to better welcome these early spring showers than Ballet Folkl?rico Mexicano de Georgetown’s annual Fiesta Mexicana. Complete with brightly hued costumes, gleaming swords and blaring mariachi music, the BFMG gracefully steps, twirls and kicks away any thoughts of a soggy evening.
Ballet Folkl?rico can be vaguely described as a cross between tap dancing and step dancing. The steps are fast and intricate, much like tap dancing. However, the steps are meant to keep rhythm with the mariachi music, unlike much of tap dancing where the step-ball-changes are meant to be the beat.
Before the dancing begins, however, the evening’s hosts welcomed the audience, giving a little historical background to anyone new to Folkl?rico. The group performs selections from different states and cities of Mexico, each of which has a different style of dance. BFMG’s program features dances from the city of Veracruz and the state of Jalisco, whose styles are visibly contrasted not only by the traditional dress, but by the music and mood as well.
The evening’s first dance, called “La Bruja” (The Witch), sets the mood for the rest of the first act. Four female dancers, dressed in lacy white dresses embellished only by a flowered black apron, slowly take their places balancing lit votive candles on top of their heads. What follows is an intricately woven piece of slow taps, stiff shoulders and graceful dips, often picking up speed in time to the music.
Although unsynchronized at times, the creative dances overshadow such errors, such as “La Iguana,” where Joe Carrillo (SFS ‘03) darts across the floor imitating the actions of a lizard while swatting at the female dancer’s dresses. Other highlights of the Veracruz region include the nearly 200-year-old folk song “La Bamba” (yes, the same one made popular by Latin rock pioneer Ritchie Valens). Performed by troupe members Densita Apostolova (CAS ‘02) and Tony Garcia (CAS ‘02), “La Bamba” is the tightest of the five first-act performances. It is a complex piece, with many rapid turns done with stiff arms and quick taps. The popular wedding dance ends when the couple ties an unraveled cumberbun ribbon into a bow using their feet, signaling marriage.
The second act, showcasing dances from the state of Jalisco, are even livelier. The female costumes are brilliant shades of the rainbow, with extra cloth to fan out and twirl, reminiscent of the flight of a butterfly. The men are decked out in pinstripe pants, starched white shirts, and sobreros. All the dances from this section are seemingly more complex, but the troupe easily rises to the challenge, even more so than the first act. With what seemed like faster tapping and tighter twirling, the dancers fell in sync with each other much more comfortably. Despite obvious fatigue after a shortened intermission, the dancers pushed on, scuffing the floor with every shake of the maracas.
Two dances in particular stand out, including “Los Machetes.” Performed by the male members of the group, it adds a new dimension of seriousness and rivalry to the rest of the otherwise romantic and playful show. Each member carries a machete or two and carves it at his fellow dancer as well as the audience. With squat kicks ? la Fiddler on the Roof and weaving the machetes through their legs, it is easily one of the night’s most difficult dances. Again, the dancers seemed to drift from the natural beat of the song, but with the possibility of losing a finger, it’s almost excusable. The evening concludes with what is described as a “hard” movement dance, called “Tranchetes” (Knives). As seven of the 10 members of the group faced the audience and commenced dancing, the dance’s title perfectly described the performance given: sharp, quick and sturdy. The steps were decisive, the dancing in sync and the dancers beaming and confident.
The troupe formed in 1996, with the intent to “enrich and unite the university community in cultural celebration,” and a celebration indeed it is. Now under the direction of Laura Ortiz, a professional Folkl?rico dancer herself, the group is an intimate size of 10, comprised of dancers from different ethnicities, ages and majors. Despite their own cultural differences, the dancers have found a passion for the classic folk dances of Mexico, which has led them to BFMG.
This Friday and Saturday night is a party not to be missed: live mariachi music, fresh Mexican food and, most importantly, folkl?rico dancers on point and ready to stamp out the post-spring break blues.
