Like a raging bull, these dancers charge

At times, during the spring show of the Ballet Folklórico Mexicano de Yale College, it seemed I was watching a party onstage, albeit a much better choreographed party than those I usually attend. The cast would slow to a stand still, form a semi-circle, and make way for one pair to take center stage. Then, with feet flying, the couple would perform to the claps and cheers of their fellow dancers. At these moments, the production itself seemed less a traditional dance recital than a combination dance festival, concert and primer lesson in Mexican culture and geography.

KATHERINE ALDRICH/YH These dancers give new meaning to spin-the-bottle.

The focus of the evening was the series of five elaborately costumed dances, each complemented by an equally impressive singing performance on the part of one of two folk singers and accompanied by either El Mariachi Real de Nueva York or guitar. Cultural history entered into the mix with the design of the performance itself, as its segmented structure honored the traditions of five Mexican states: Chiapas, Zacatecas, Vera Cruz, Chihuahua, and Jalisco.

The evening began with an all-female dance for Chiapas—one of the few that emphasized group dynamics. The five dancers wove and circled their dance-line in synchronous patterns around the stage, brightly colored skirts billowing above quick feet. Its end came when a dancer, masked and costumed as a bull, charged onstage to disrupt the carefully patterned footwork and herd the women off. It was the only narrative dance of the night.

Shortly after the musical portion of the Chiapas dedication, the women reemerged in striking red dresses accompanied by men. The state of Zacatecas was suddenly the honoree, and the dance centered upon couples weaving in and about each other, locked into identical fast-paced folk-dance.

From then on, the pieces ran the gauntlet from leisurely promenades to densely packed circle dances. There was whirlwind footwork by eight women in white gowns with lace seemingly overflowing the edges of the stage. There were women lifted to men's shoulders and spun in a tight communal circle, arms joined. There were moments clipped straight from a dance hall, as couples spun the stage, eyes locked. And there were those pairs who took control and danced center stage, as the party atmosphere heated up, and all others drifted to the sides. A male dancer spun slowly in a circle, as a red sash rolled off of his hips and fell to the floor. He and his partner danced the line it created to the calls of those surrounding. Finally, dancing all the while, they used their feet to push it into a pile, and somehow into a bow. This bow was lifted from the floor with pride and paraded around the stage.

Dance

Mexican Ballatos Harkness Theater Sat., Apr. 1, 7:30 p.m.

In the middle of the Zacatecas dance, the men placed bottles in front of their partners and proceeded to have a showman's competition. Each hopped across his own bottle, stomped his boots around its edges, and crisscrossed his legs across its top. Then the women hiked up their skirts and took their turn jumping back and forth across the floor. Moments like these seemed to encapsulate the fun of the evening. As the rounds continued, the rhythmic clapping grew ever louder, and it's hard to imagine an audience not joining in powered by the excitement of those on stage.

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