Ballet Folklorico De La Rosa

Dancing From the Heart

Ballet Folklorico De La Rosa

Story by Bianca Rawlings | Photos by Felicia Frazar & The Seguin Gazette

Teatro De Artes De Juan Seguin provides more than just dance lessons in their adult and youth programs. The organization offers a strong sense of community, connection, and culture for all ages and races.

Teatro prides itself on offering an experience that stays with someone long after the practices and performances are over. A heart and mind is moved by what is learned at Teatro whether they’re a beginning performer, toe-tapping spectator, or a proud parent.

The staff at Teatro are educators, before all else seek to share their histories with others through art. This inviting form of education started through Folklorico and other beautiful traditional dances. The dresses and costumes used for these dances are truly lovely, but it is the culture and the strong desire to share it with others that shine the brightest at Teatro.

Things have a way of growing when given love and shared. So it is no surprise Teatro has now expanded its lessons to include agriculture and culinary arts, literature and storytelling, and has their sights set on even more expansion and inclusion of all art forms.

Teatro’s current Executive Director, Yvonne De La Rosa, said the organization chooses their dances carefully and consider the lessons that will go along with each program they design.

“We will have a directors meeting, look at all our current costuming, vestuario…then have conversations about the importance of each of the regions in México,” De La Rosa said. These conversations were integral to the curriculum and resulted in a more inclusive, in-depth program whether they are planning the popular Jalisco dance or spearheading a new dance.

“We make sure that we always try to encompass a new state or region that we haven’t done before every year so we can build our own repertoire of dance for the students,” she said. These ambitions to build and grow in order to share the benefits with the community are perfect examples of the mission of sharing and inclusion at Teatro.

Emily Holz, a current dancer in the adult classes Ballet Folklorico De La Rosa, started with Teatro in her youth. “I have lived in Seguin my whole life. I first learned of Folklorico when I attended Ball Elementary [the Ballet Folklorico residency]…I was a very shy little girl and when my mother signed me up for [Folklorico] I was so nervous,” Holz said. Once she got comfortable it felt like a new family for her and she still relishes those memories.

“I still remember our instructor Professor Cruz [Benjamin Cruz Ascencio], he didn’t speak any English and needed a translator at times.” Watching the dances and learning the footwork was like a universal language, it came to her naturally and easily broke through her nervousness, Holz said. “I learned to love it so much, I looked forward to going to every practice.”

Almost 40 years later, Holz has returned to Teatro to reconnect with those memories and share that experience with her children. She is now in Teatro’s adult classes and says the thrill of it takes her back to her childhood and brings her closer to her late mother. “My mother loved everything about Ballet Folklorico and Mariachis,” she said. “As I got older, I had my daughter and when she got old enough, I enrolled her so she can experience this beautiful culture that has grown so much in our town.”

She embodies the desire to pass on the Mexican American culture that first created Teatro, she passed it on to her children and wishes to share her rich identity with anyone and everyone. “I wish more of Seguin knew of this wonderful program Teatro de Artes offers.”

Holz is a shining example of the welcoming, embracing attitude that all can find when they enter the doors of Teatro.