EDINBURG — The lights inside the UTRGV Performing Arts Complex dimmed, and audience members were met by the silhouettes of three people on stage.
The center light overhead dimmed and reignited, and revealed a woman at center stage who began dancing in a style that seemed like a mix between Spanish flamenco and Irish step dance, all to the soundtrack of Lindsey Sterling’s “Round Table Revival.”
This was the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Ballet Folklórico’s presentation of Ouroboros, a reimagining of Mexican folk dance. In lieu of the bright, vibrant colors and the traditional songs that are commonly associated with traditional Mexican folk, dancers appeared onstage in dark costumes and danced to music from several different genres.
Ouroboros is the creation of Miguel Angel Peña Caballero, the director of UTRGV Ballet Folklórico. It started as an idea for Peña in 2014. By 2017, he had expanded the idea into an hourlong show for his thesis for his master’s degree in dance. Over time, the show slowly evolved and took on more styles and dances, evolving into the performance viewed on stage over the weekend.
“We are trying to blend different genres, different dance styles into a single show,” Peña said. “In this performance, we have salsa, we have flamenco stuff, we have some Irish styles, some tap as well, and some step dancing. We’re trying to globalize dance into one single performance.”
The name, Ouroboros, is an ancient Greek word that stands for destruction and rebirth. It is typically depicted as a circular symbol of a dragon or a serpent devouring its own tail.
“We are trying to reimagine the Mexican folk dance into something more globalized,” Peña said. “We are trying to cultivate the Rio Grande Valley to show something different. Here in the Rio Grande Valley, there is a really strong traditional Mexican folklórico influence, so now that we have those very strong roots within ourselves, we’re trying to go a little bit further— one step forward— into creating these more integral, more globalized dances where you can see not just folklórico but some other genres as well.”
Peña’s influence is seen throughout much of the performance. He had a part in choreographing 10 of the 12 dances in Ouroboros.
He said that UTRGV’s Ballet Folklórico had two months to prepare for Saturday and Sunday’s performances. Since the show has become an annual part of the program’s calendar, Peña said that it is more of a matter of fine-tuning each performance and filling in any open spots.
For Javier Garcia, who graduated four years ago with a dance major in education, this weekend’s shows marked his third time participating in Ouroboros.
“It’s a lot of hours of practice,” Garcia said, who performed a dance that combined hip-hop with Mexican folklórico. “My piece in particular, we put that in one day. It was very hectic. I only do one piece. I don’t practice as much as they do, but I know they put a lot of work into it.”
Garcia said that Ouroboros was a way of showing that Mexican folklórico is multidimensional and constantly evolving.
“Folklórico is not just your traditional folklórico dance,” Garcia said. “Dance is evolving, and so is folklórico. I think that Ouroboros is a great reminder that dance is evolving in general. Nobody was open to this five years ago. … People need to keep in mind that folklórico isn’t just traditional. It can be evolved. It can be fused into something different.”
Tirzah Claus was a guest choreographer for a performance called “Soul,” which saw a fusion of Folklórico Zapateado with flamenco. She said that she felt honored and intimidated to be onstage with UTRGV Ballet Folklórico and being part of such a progressive take on traditional Mexican dance.
“Given how widely and nationally recognized this group is, honestly it’s a little intimidating for me to share the stage with them,” Claus said. “I used to be a part of the company when I was at UTRGV a couple years ago. It was always an honor to share the stage with them, and I still feel that way to this day. This feels a little, almost full circle because I’m coming back as a guest, contributing my own style to the show. It just feels good that I can still contribute to this group in my own way.”
