Coinciding with Hispanic Heritage Month, the McAninch Arts Center (MAC) welcomes back Ballet Folklorico Quetzalcoatl, the internationally renowned, Aurora-based Mexican folk-dance troupe at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12. Guest vocalist Goyo (“Goyito”) Cruz joins the 70-person troupe for this performance featuring brilliantly colored costumes, joyous dance numbers and beautiful music. To encourage families to share this rich cultural experience with their children, tickets for youth under the age of 18 are only $10.
Baile folklórico is the Spanish translation of “folkloric dance.” The term encompasses a variety of traditional Mexican dances that incorporate ballet characteristics creating the beloved cultural Spanish dance category. Each dance style is taken from different Mexican region’s local folklore and can vary widely from one another. Often performed by children in schools during holidays or other special occasions, folklore dancing is meant to bring people together and is passed down through generations.
Ballet Folklorico Quetzalcoatl was founded in 1983. Since then, Ballet Folklorico Quetzalcoatl has performed in national folkloric dance competitions garnering honors including a first-place trophy, three second-place trophies, and one third-place trophy at the Buc Days Folklorico Competition in 2011.
Ballet Folklorico Quetzalcoatl is led by director and choreographer Juan Manuel “Nery” Cruz. Originally from San Luis Potosi, Mexico, he resides and practices with the troupe in Aurora, Ill. Every year, Cruz travels to San Luis, Potosi to polish up on his skills by taking lessons to learn new steps and dances from different regions of Mexico.
Guest vocalist and Mexico’s-own Goyo (“Goyito”) Cruz is the brother of Nery Cruz. Career highlights include performances at the San Luis Potosi International Festival, Palenque's of Mexico’s national fairs and the Paramount Theatre in Aurora, Ill. Throughout his career, he has acted in 14 plays at the Insituto Potosino De Bellas Artes (IPBA) in San Luis Potosi, Mexico and photonovelas with artists including Ofelia Medina in Mexico City.
Tickets
Ballet Folklorico Quetzalcoatl returns to the McAninch Arts Center, located at 425 Fawell Blvd, on the campus of College of DuPage at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12 in the Belushi Performance Hall. Tickets are $35 for adults and $10 for youth. For tickets visit www.AtTheMAC.org or call 630.942.4000. The McAninch Box Office is open Tuesday – Saturday, noon – 6 p.m. and two hours prior to performance.
Related Event: Olmec Trails: “Culture and Legacy”
Attendees arriving early to Ballet Folklorico Quetzalcoatl MAC performance are invited to visit the educational exhibition in the MAC lobby supporting the current Olmec Trails: “Culture and Legacy” DuPage County-based public art project, featuring work by 33 artists from Mexico, the U.S. and Canada. The exhibition is on display through Oct.15. For info visit www.olmectrails.com.
About the MAC
McAninch Arts Center at College of DuPage is located 25 miles west of Chicago near I-88 and I-355. It houses three indoor performance spaces (780-seat proscenium Belushi Performance Hall; 186-seat soft-thrust Playhouse Theatre; and a versatile black box Studio Theatre), outdoor Lakeside Pavilion, plus the Cleve Carney Museum of Art and classrooms for the college’s academic programming. The MAC has presented theater, music, dance and visual art to more than 1.5 million people since its opening in 1986 and typically welcomes more than 100,000 patrons from the greater Chicago area to more than 230 performances each season.
The mission of the MAC is to foster enlightened educational and performance opportunities, which encourage artistic expression, establish a lasting relationship between people and art, and enrich the cultural vitality of the community. For more information about the MAC, visit www/AtTheMAC.org or @AtTheMAC on Facebook and Instagram.
Support for the McAninch Arts Center is provided in part by Brookdale Senior Living Glen Ellyn, the DoubleTree by Hilton Lisle/Naperville, Anonymous, Sullivan Taylor Family Trust, The DuPage Foundation, Ball Horticultural, Enjoy Illinois, Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; WDCB 90.9 FM and College of DuPage Foundation.
Established as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charitable organization in 1967, the College of DuPage Foundation raises monetary and in-kind gifts to increase access to education and to enhance cultural opportunities for the surrounding community. For more information about the College of DuPage Foundation, visit www.foundation.cod.edu or call 630.942.2462.