Grupo Folklorico Atotonilco ... takes prestigious honor
A well-loved Kansas City folk dance company is one of just four selected nationwide to dance with the internationally acclaimed Ballet Folklórico de México. Dance instructor and founder of El Grupo Folklorico Atotonilco, Maria Chaurand and 20 of her advanced students will be in Tulsa this weekend dancing with the Ballet.
“To be invited by the Ballet is a very great honor,” Chaurand says. “It’s a very big deal.”
Her students, ages 10 to 18 will attend a master class led by Ballet Folklórico’s artistic director, Amalia Basanta Hernández. Following the last class, student dancers will perform with the famous company.
“This is one of my dreams come true and something these kids have been working very hard at. They really have to be in shape to do this,” Chaurand says. “It will be an exciting and memorable experience for them.”
Also on Oct. 21 in Tulsa, Okla., each of the four dance companies will get to perform from their repertoires. El Grupo Folklorico Atotonilco will present Calabaceado de Baja California, a Mexican folkloric dance style inspired by the “traditional ranch-based life.”
“We’re very fortunate to have such a beautiful art form,” Chaurand says.
This isn’t the first master class her student dancers have traveled to attend. They’ve studied in many places, Chaurand says. The class in Tulsa is unique in that the instructor is the daughter of the ballet’s founder, the late Amalia Hernández.
A dancer and choreographer, she started the Ballet in 1952. Two years later, the dance troupe made its television debut performance, which led to a weekly broadcast. In 1959, Ballet Folklórico represented Mexico in the opening ceremonies of the Pan American Games. For the past 59 years, Ballet Folklórico has been the resident dance company of Mexico City’s Palace of Fine Arts.
In an article marking Hernández’s 100th birthday in 2017, Time Magazine wrote that Ballet Folklórico de México “has been seen by more than 22 million people” since its inception. Time called Hernández “an ambassador of Mexican culture.” She died in 2000 at age 83.
On Nov. 3, her “famed ensemble” will bring “vibrant Mexican music and dance” to Kansas City’s Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in “an eye-popping performance featuring colorful costumes, thrilling live music and spectacular dance moves that showcase Mexico’s rich cultural heritage.” Tickets can be purchased online at www.hjseries.org/events/2018/11/03.
“They’re wonderful,” says Chaurand, who saw them perform last year in Mexico.
The world-famous Ballet Folklórico’s invitation isn’t the first honor Chaurand’s dancers have gotten. Among others, the Asociacion Nacional de Grupos Folklorico in 2016 named the troupe the premier folk dance company in the U.S., the first company to be honored with the award.
Chaurand currently has 36 students, ages four to 18. She and two other instructors, Jean-Paul Chaurand and Juan-Carlos Chaurand teach the classes. El Grupo Folklorico Atotonilco turns 40 next year. Chaurand is already planning events to celebrate.
Besides being well-known for leading an award-winning dance company, she’s co-owner and co-manager of La Fonda el Taquito, a Westside landmark restaurant her parents started in 1972.
Chaurand is wholehearted in promoting Mexican music, dance, dress, history and food.
She says, “We have a very rich culture, an abundance of folklore, and I love to share our culture and traditions.”
For donations, you can go to Credit Union @ Guadalupe Centers Inc, and make a deposit to the Grupo Folklorico Atotonilco’s account. For more details, you can contact Maria Chaurand at (816) 931-7182, (816) 372-1569.
