Debbie Rubalcaba swirls in her Ballet Folklorico costume.
Photo by Ken Sakamoto, Star-Bulletin
The troupe, which grew out of Maryesther Correa's Spanish class at Waianae High School, will be performing at the 8th Annual Latin-American Music Festival of Hawaii 1996 tomorrow.
Correa, who trained with the original Ballet Folklorico in Mexico, thought music and dance would be a good way of getting Hispanic culture across to high school kids. Soon, it became a more formal organization, and former dancer Debbie Rubalcaba was hired to assist in the training.
"The Spanish classroom is kind of a feeder to the troupe," said Correa. "Almost all the kids at least try to learn the steps."
The dancing is basically Mexican, based on the Ballet Folklorico model. But Mexico is a big place. Each Mexican state has its own steps and costumes, and the Waianae troupe touches on as many of these as possible.
The kids are Filipino, Samoan, Hawaiian and "from all over," said Correa. "They've never been exposed to this kind of dancing before, and they take to it. They take the initiative, and practice at lunch and recess.
"When they get good enough, they join the performing group and there they learn to be professional and disciplined and they earn self-esteem. They can also earn a little bit of money, which helps. But academics comes first."
All the kids are from Waianae High, except one girl from Campbell High, and a Waianae graduate who goes to Leeward Community College.
It also allows them to travel a little, see the other side, which "broadens their outlook on life," said Correa. "They get enthusiastic about performing in front of thousands, like the Kapiolani Hispanic festival in October, and that does wonders for their self-esteem as well."
The kids do their own research, and many work on their own costumes. And yes, they do the Macarena. It's the only non-Mexican dance they do. But salsa is salsa. Take a dip.
The facts
What: 8th Annual Latin-American Music Festival of Hawaii 1996, featuring Rolando Sanchez, Salsa Hawaii, Second Time Around, Conjunto Tizok, Los Amigos Ballet Folklorico de Waianae and others