As I mentioned in my first post, I have been dancing for years.  My dance experience has been both formal and informal.  I started dancing when I was quite young in my parents’ living room with my siblings.  We would create lavish dances with unique choreography, inspired by the musicals we watched over and over.  The only reason we knew the word ‘choreography’ existed was because of the song by that title in “White Christmas”. 

When I was ten, I began performing traditional Mexican folk dances with a semi-professional youth dance troupe.  Even though we were young dancers, our director taught us on a level that was as professional as one can get for ten to fifteen year olds.  We learned the valuable lesson of stage presence, and she encouraged even the most shy dancers to overcome their fears.   

I took a break from dancing during high school.  Actually, I should say I took a break from performing dance during high school, when I decided to try my hand in other areas.  Somehow, my sister and I managed to find time to teach ourselves how to swing dance, thanks to the movie “Swing Kids”. 

After high school, I took different dance classes here and there to learn the basics of the various styles: ballet, jazz, modern, ballroom, latin, and irish; but never pursued one form over another.  I didn’t think a career in dance was possible since I had gotten such a late start, but that didn’t matter.  I loved to dance and wanted to learn as much as I could. 

Even as I took these other classes, my desire to return to folklorico dancing grew stronger and stronger.  I returned to the stage as a folklorico dancer in June of 2008 after a fifteen year absence.  I continue to perform traditional Mexican dance at various festivals and private parties in my hometown.