Colorful, flowy, loud with colors and ribbon dresses and creative dance sequences that express the feelings of the dancer and the music: welcome the MACES’s Folklórico club!
This Folklórico group, also known as Los Jirasoles, was founded by senior Merari Morales. She has been dancing since 5th grade. “When I joined the Folklórico club in 5th grade, [I fell] in love with dance,” said Morales. Now she shares her love for dance with her students here at MACES.
As reported on a website created by a professional dance teacher, dancespirit.com, gives a bit of background on Folklórico. “…Folklórico can be traced all the way back to the ceremonial and social dances of indigenous people living in Mexico.” There are different dances and different dresses that are used in Folklórico that represent the different regions in Mexico.” Currently, Morales is teaching her students dances from Jalisco, Chapas, and Nayarit.
“Merari makes practice feel less like a chore and more like a game,” said senior Mia Gonzalez, one of Morales’s students. “She’s still strict when she needs to be, but even on my bad days, practice is something I look forward to,” she said. Gonzalez gives an example of one of the many ways Morales makes practice fun with simple games. “One time we played musical chairs except while we walked around the chairs we had to walk in a Folklórico step,” Gonzalez added.
Ulises Pardo, a junior, describes his experience when he began learning Folklórico. “Our coach Merari made me feel welcomed every single time, she made me feel comfortable being myself whilst teaching simultaneously.” Pardo, being the only boy in the group, felt nervous when he joined; but under the guidance of Morales, he was able to become more confident in his steps from what he learned from her.
“I get to see my students learn and memorize everything and the looks on their faces when they step down, it makes me happy,” said Morales. She feels happy whenever she teaches her students a new step and they are able to learn and then perform the steps without her help. “It’s amazing to see all their hard work being performed on stage with the beautiful flowy dresses, the elegant yet bold makeup, and their confident steps,” Morales added.
Pardo and Gonzalez agree that Morales is a wonderful teacher. “Merrari takes the time before practice to bond and to get to know us,” said Pardo. “Shes always there to lighten the mood and get us motivated during practice!” said Gonzalez. They all agree that even as their dance teacher, she takes the time to get to know her students, and make them feel welcomed into Los Jirasoles.
Students who are interested and who would like to visit or join Los Jirasoles, go to the dance room 2-115, after school on Tuesdays and Fridays to learn more about the different regions in Mexico. They have two upcoming performances in May and their main performance in June.
