Students at Rice Elementary School in Santa Maria are discovering their cultural heritage through a new after-school Ballet Folklórico program that combines dance with cultural education.
"The memory is going to be good, because like we did a bunch of things," said Mario Garcia, a student in the program. "Sometimes I messed up [and] they helped me."
At Rice Elementary, that's the kind of moment this program aims for — giving kids a low-pressure way to try something new, perform in front of others and grow from it.
"I feel nervous and I feel confident that I could do this at the same time," said Sofia Salgado, another student participant.
The Santa Maria-Bonita School District says this new program is an after-school option for grades 1-6, designed to teach culture through dance.
"It was very fun. I really liked learning about this dance and some of the songs were kind of familiar," said Penelope Cruz, a student in the program.
Penelope's father, Juan Lopez, says he felt that familiarity sitting in the crowd and was proud to see his daughters connected to their heritage.
"Me being born here, my parents from Mexico, they were big with the traditions and making sure that we don't lose sight of our roots," Lopez said. "As our girls get older, we try to make sure that they're still connected."
So what makes Ballet Folklórico different from a regular dance class? Instructors say they include cultural lessons in the six-week program.
"A lot of the time we see these dances and we notice like little symbolisms in each dance but we don't really understand the meaning behind them," said Eddie Herrera, dance instructor.
"It's important to connect to other people like our family members and the people that we care about through the stuff that we can bond over," said Paola Aldama, dance instructor.
The dance instructors will next head to Adam and Arellanes elementary schools as the program continues through the spring and wraps up by the end of the school year.
