Juanita Rojas has had a common goal with all her students throughout her three-decade teaching career. She wants to help her students form a “sense of belonging,” she said.
“Sometimes some of these kids come to school, day in and day out, and they still don’t feel connected,” she added.
On a Thursday morning, over 20 Golden Valley High School students made up of diverse backgrounds, ranging from freshmen to seniors, began to tap their feet in unison onto the polished wooden floor while Mexican music played in the background. The students were dancing ballet folklorico, a cultural dance that originated in Mexico.
The students were shy, but a few smiles formed when they realized they fully memorized the choreography. Rojas, along with her right-hand man Octavio Barba, a folklorico dance instructor, was there to help clarify the technicalities such as how to correctly place their arms or stomp their feet.
The Golden Valley Ballet Folklorico De Oro program was started a year ago as a club with only a few members. Due to the high number of students interested, Rojas advocated that the club be turned into a physical education class.
The students now earn credits, but the experience is much more than that. In the program many of the students take the time to learn more about themselves and their culture, build a community based on similar interests, and learn to overcome unique challenges through the art of dance.
Senior Brian Mazon migrated to the United States approximately five months ago from Guerrero, Mexico.
“[In Mexico] the dance is practiced a lot,” he said in Spanish. When asked about why he joined the program this fall he responded, “It’s a beautiful dance … I’ve been dancing this at school [in Mexico], and I heard GVHS had the program, and I joined.”
Freshman student Allisson Cedillo added in Spanish: “I wanted to be surrounded by people that come from different experiences of life, like [Mazon] who came to the United States, and [others] to just learn, [and] learn more about the dance that is practiced in various parts of Latin America.”
Mazon and Cedillo said they love to hear the roaring applause and the excitement from the audience after each performance. It’s important for them to witness how people who may not know about ballet folklorico and its culture leave their performances with a positive outlook.
Sophomore Kaylani Jones wanted to create a better connection to her mother’s side of the family and the vibrant colorful dresses worn by the dancers during a performance at La Mesa Junior High School caught her attention.
“I really liked the pretty dresses … Everyone likes really pretty dresses,” she said as she giggled.
But within her personal experience she’s learned to overcome her stage fright, and it has helped her become more sure of herself.
“It really helped me get over my fear like, being in front of people and performing, which I think is very helpful,” adding that soon she’s required to have a presentation in front of people for a scholarship and she’s overcome the challenge with the help of the program.
“The people here are really welcoming. It was really easy to make friends and the [current] group we have right now feels like a family. We all talk, we all get along really well,” Jones added.
But for some, the program serves as a completely new experience with no correlation to family cultural ties.
“For me, this is a completely different culture,” said sophomore Rafael Zabala, who is of Philippine descent. “Dance in the Philippines doesn’t have much emphasis on footsteps so it’s like a completely different experience,” but he’s come to learn and appreciate something new that he didn’t think he would be exposed to.
Every Friday during their regular class time, Rojas takes the time to also educate her students about the historical significance of the dance and how it changes within the different regions of Mexico.
“We talk about the songs, what it means, the different style of footwork, the culture in the region,” she said. They also learn appropriate vocabulary and the significance of the attire.
Rojas wants her Golden Valley Ballet Folklorico De Oro students to gain skills that they could apply in different areas of their academic and personal lives while simultaneously forming new connections within their community and beyond.
“It just means so much for me to have them have a sense of belonging,” she said. Although she’s taken the unpaved road and created something new at the school, the students having a positive experience makes it all worthwhile for the passionate teacher. Even when she stumbles on a few challenges, she’s unafraid to tackle them.
The dance program may be in its early stages, but Rojas has big plans for her students before she is set to retire in five years, she said. “It’s been quite the ride.”
