Folklórico Styles
Mexican folk dance is defined as, “a stylized, choreographed art form designed to display the cultural diversity of Mexico with energy, heart, and intricate technique. Rooted in the post-revolutionary period, folkloric dance blossomed in the 1960s, becoming a thriving phenomenon in Mexico and the United States, and is now performed all over the world,” Dra. Olga Nájera-Ramírez.
Mexican folk dance has three main styles that stem from these three groups/directors: Ballet Folklórico de Amalia Hernández, Ballet Folclórico Nacional de México de Silvia Lozano, and Ballet Folklórico Universidad de Colima under the direction of Rafael Zamarripa. Below you will see all three companies dancing El Son de la Negra so you can compare and contrast the different styles. It is important to recognize the different styles and choose the one you enjoy. Ballet Folklórico Sol Huasteco most closely emulates the style of the University of Colima.
Ballet folklórico de méxcio de amalia hernández
Amalia Hernández began her company in 1949. Maestra Hernández’s style is balletic in nature. Although she used the color and magic of Mexico to produce her cuadros, Maestra Hernández used ballet as a basis to engage the world in Mexican folk dance. In this company’s dancing, you will see many vueltas de plato. In other company’s these types of spins are reserved for the states of Nayarit and Sinaloa. Seen as La Madre de Folklórico, Maestra Hernández also helped guide Silvia Lozano and Rafael Zamarripa perfect their crafts and carry the legacy of folklórico in their own, unique artistry.
The vestuario you see Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández perform in, is a stylized version of the vestuario from Puebla and its jarabes poblanos. These dresses have become the trademark of the Ballet. It has been said that the designer of the dresses was a very good friend of Maestra Hernández’s, who was Russian. The dresses began as a soft pink and have evolved into the red and yellow dresses you see here. The vestuario is accompanied by red shoes and ornate tocados with Spanish flamenco influence. A traditional traje de charro is worn by the men.
ballet folclórico nacional de méxico de Silvia Lozano
Maestra Lozano’s style is a good middle ground between Maestra Hernandez’s and Maestro Zamarripa’s. The company uses an Amalia Hernández aesthetic, but a Zamarripa ideology. When she was a young girl, she danced with Maestra Hernández, but after her dad pointed out that what she was performing wasn’t exactly traditional, Maestra Lozano set out to create her own company. Her company does not use ballet as a basis for their performances, but does use the vueltas de plato and some other stylization that may not be seen as strictly traditional.
As you can see in this video of El Son de la Negra, the dresses are still red and all match, such as those of Ballet Folklórico de México, but they have a more traditional style, with multiple ribbons and colorful patterns. The tocados are still a bit extravagant and are clearly visible on the dancers. The men wear traditional trajes de charro.
ballet folklórico de la Universidad de colima de maestro rafael zamarripa castañeda
Maestro Zamarripa uses a very traditionalist approach to folklórico. His technique is the most grounded and zapateado-based. El Son de la Negra is based on partner work and has a smoother quality to the faldeo. The dance style focuses on keeping the dances of Mexico’s people as original as possible, even though Maestro Zamarripa acknowledges that his platform is a stage.
The vestuario used by the dancers in Ballet Folklórico de la Universidad de Colima are also traditional Jalisco dresses, influenced by the escaramuzas. The multiple ribbons are also present, but only on the olán of the falda, and not above it. Also, the most obvious difference is that El Son de la Negra becomes very colorful as every female dotes a different color of the rainbow. The tocados are much more simple and natural looking. Trajes de charro are worn by the men.