St. Mary's Ballet Folklorico of Redlands Celebrate 40 Years

St. Mary's Ballet Folklorico of Redlands invited the community to celebrate 40 years with a dance show consisting of five different acts on Saturday, Nov. 8. The first performance began at 3 p.m. at the Redlands Relay for Life, and the night performance began at 6 p.m. There was also a silent auction available to all attendees after the performances. Some of the dancers created paintings and arts and crafts pieces that were up for the auction. “We probably should have spaced the two performances farther apart because the silent auction got a lot of people’s attention because there were so many people still there from the first performance... we didn't know it'd be so popular,” Director of Instruction and Choreography Jenna Aguirre said. She estimated with the combination of both performances that about six-hundred people attended the events. “This was a big deal for us and we’re happy we got to share it with so many people from the community… they were all so enthusiastic,” she shared. Each performance varied from five different folklorico dance groups that ranged from five-year-old’s to young adults. The first dancers to perform were the ‘beginners group’, composed primarily of five-year-olds. The dancers got progressively older as the performances continued. Group four, composed of the oldest dancers, was made of those ages fifteen and up. The entire performance covered different regions of Mexico. According to Aguirre, each group covered a dance based on different time periods. For example, one group covered the time of the Mexican Revolution. The audience ranged from interested community members, families, and even past dancers and directors of St. Mary’s Ballet Folklorico of Redlands. “All of the past five directors attended and we were able to acknowledge them in the middle of each performance,” Aguirre said. She also shared that some of the past dance members were seen in the crowd and acknowledged in front of the audience who gave them a round of applause. “It’s because of them that we are able to continue what we’re doing so we were so happy they were there so we could acknowledge them,” she said. The founders of St. Mary’s Ballet Folklorico of Redlands have passed away: Petra Lopez and her nephew Jose Ruiz-De la Torre. “Between the two of them, this group was started.” All five of the past directors were able to attend: Mary Hernandez (Petra Lopez’s daughter), Delores Cortez (Jenna Aguirre’s mother), Elena Hernandez, Anna Gonzales, Matthew Cortez, and as well as the sixth and current director Ryan Rainbolt. Aguirre mentioned, “We were really excited that we were able to share our progress throughout the years… they were all able to see how we evolved and we were able to see some of the previous dancers and members.”