Ballet Folklórico Aztlán has been accepted to perform at the 1st Annual Lost Angeles International Folklorico Festival in July.
Newly formed at NIU, Ballet Folklórico Aztlán is on a mission to promote the cultural heritage of Mexico through traditional dance.
In the past year, the 28-member student group has educated, inspired and entertained on campus and beyond. What’s next? Disneyland.
The dance team was accepted to perform at the 1st Annual Lost Angeles International Folklorico Festival in July. The event includes a full-day workshop and three performances at Plaza Mexico, Downey Theatre and Disneyland.
The trip is a dream, especially for the group’s founder and director, 21-year-old Alyssa Calderon.
“I want to make this the best experience,” said Calderon, a fourth-year junior majoring in early childhood education with an emphasis in special education and English language learning.
A Lansing native and first-generation college student, Calderon grew up dancing. She fell in love with Mexican traditional dancing while visiting Mexico with her family when she was 3 years old and first joined an official dance company in seventh grade.
Upon arriving at NIU in 2020, she sought a group to join. Not seeing one, she created Ballet Folklórico Aztlán.
“I didn’t just want a dance group,” Calderon said. “I wanted our Latin community, especially the Mexican community, to come closer together and learn more about our roots…
“Our dancing is rooted so much into our history and heritage, and I really wanted to bring that to campus.”
The dancers are dedicated to the rich and colorful art of Mexican folk dance, known as “Folklórico.” More than just a dance form, Folklórico is an expression of Mexico’s diverse cultures, traditions and history. Every twirl, step, and costume reflects the beauty and stories of the regions they represent.
It took a bit to get Ballet Folklórico Aztlán going, but interest in it has flourished.
Members have worked hard at fundraising, hosting numerous events, such as a recent Esencia De México performance in the Duke Ellington Ballroom. Other fundraisers have included raffles and food and drink sales, such as Agua Frescas, Hot Dogs y Bebidas en Bolsa and Auntie Anne’s Pretzels.
Even in fundraising, the team has tried to share cultural heritage.
“We love to give back and show the community much more than the basics of Mexico,” Calderon said. “We want to give the full experience. That’s where our heart is at for this group.”
To help with the cost of the trip to Disneyland, costumes and equipment, the group has created a GoFundMe page at https://gofund.me/780d6996.
Joined by the group’s captain, Monica Maravilla, Calderon and her fellow dancers are trying to ease as much of the financial burden as possible. Of the group’s 28 members, 24 plan to go on the trip.
“We started out from zero, and we’ve truly put in the work,” Calderon said.
Members practice four to five times a week, with many putting in extra hours with Calderon in a studio in Neptune North.
Although most started as beginners, all have grown and come together as one dance family committed to the mission, Calderon said.
“My heart is full seeing them fall in love with it the same way I did,” she said. “We all have such a great bond, the love we all have for each other.”
Accepting new members, the group hosts auditions at the end of spring and the beginning of fall.
Calderon looks for potential, an open mind and a positive attitude.
“Our requirements are nothing crazy as far as technique,” she said. “I want to see how much you can grasp what I’m teaching you… I want to get to know you as a person. We love lifting each other up.”
It’s that same desire to inspire that drew Calderon to her major. She has a unilateral hearing loss and initially started out as a communication disorders major.
Having worked with children through the years at a daycare and as a gymnastics coach, she felt she could make bigger difference in the classroom. She now works in NIU’s Child Development and Family Center.
“I want to make that impact for these kids and make them feel at home,” she said. “I want to make them feel loved. I think this is where I belong.”
When she looks at her dance team, she feels a similar pride.
“It’s kind of like a proud teacher moment, seeing how much they’ve grown,” she said.
