IPN Dance Showcase Blends Folklore and Tribute

Zenaida Alzaga / Photos: Courtesy of the Directorate of Cultural Outreach

Sixty dancers from the José Emilio Pacheco School of Artistic Initiation, affiliated with the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (INBAL), took part in the performance.

As part of its ongoing efforts to promote the arts within its community, the Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN), through its Directorate of Cultural Outreach, presented the first Dance Showcase, “From Shadow to Light: A Rose for Beatriz,” on February 27 at the “Ing. Alejo Peralta” Auditorium of the Jaime Torres Bodet Cultural Center in Zacatenco. The event was coordinated by instructor Adriana Salazar.

The showcase brought together 60 dancers of various ages and academic levels from the José Emilio Pacheco School of Artistic Initiation, affiliated with INBAL. The performers were guided by directors and choreographers Ricardo Calderón, Angélica García, and Madeleine Tafur.

The program featured three segments: “Dance Legends,” “Folk and Classical Dance Repertoire,” and “From Shadow to Light: A Rose for Beatriz,” an adaptation of The Divine Comedy by Italian poet Dante Alighieri.

The opening segment paid tribute to iconic figures in dance, including Mexican pioneer Nellie Campobello, a key figure in the development of ballet in Mexico; renowned Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, celebrated for her interpretation of The Dying Swan; and Amalia Hernández, founder of the Ballet Folklórico de México.

The performance continued with choreographies set to traditional music from Oaxaca and Sinaloa, northern Mexican polkas, as well as classical pieces such as The Nutcracker, Spanish melodies, and the waltz Sobre las olas by Mexican composer Juventino Rosas. Dancers, dressed in costumes appropriate to each piece, executed their movements with precision, elegance, and expressive artistry.

The showcase concluded with “From Shadow to Light: A Rose for Beatriz,” adapted to the setting of Tlalnepantla and narrated through a character inspired by The Divine Comedy. The piece follows a young girl as she questions the images she encounters while walking through streets marked by old flour mills and railway stations, symbolically journeying through hell and purgatory before ultimately finding the light.

María Teresa González Vargas, dancer and member of the Department of Artistic Promotion, as well as founder of the IPN Folkloric Dance Company, emphasized that initiatives like this aim to bring the arts closer to the Polytechnic community as part of students’ comprehensive education.

She noted that dance workshops offered both at the Directorate of Cultural Outreach and across IPN schools and academic units provide students with tools to strengthen personal and professional skills, manage stress, and enhance their overall development, underscoring dance as a discipline of life—much like music, visual arts, and theater.