About Us
Ballet Folklorico de Chicago was founded by Ofelia Guerra, Executive Director.
Other board members include:
- Andres Ochoa, Director
- Maria Guerra, Director
The organization was founded in 2018 by these three Latino college-educated professionals raised in the north side of Chicago. The three had a desire to enroll their children in cultural/artistic programs; however, despite the large and growing population of Mexicans living on the north side of Chicago, there were no such programs. Too busy to travel and convinced that there were other parents searching for the same cultural experiences for their children, they decided to start their own. Tapping into their network of friends, they began to offer low-cost Mexican folkloric dance lessons for children and adults out of a park district auditorium. The response was so overwhelming that the school quickly outgrew the park district auditorium. In fact, BFC is now the largest folkloric organization that offers Mexican ballet folklorico in Illinois and the entire Midwest with approximately 215 students currently enrolled. In studio and approximately 100 in CPS after-school programs.
We are responsible college professionals. Our goal is to provide a premier Mexican Ballet Folklorico school and also take pride in making it an all-inclusive organization for future generations. We offer classes to kids ages 4 and up as well as to all age ranges of adults. Our students come from all over the city and suburbs and we even have a student that drives in from Michigan on the weekends!
We strive to teach and retain all parts of our culture including our valuable dance, language and traditions. We also volunteer and give back to our community and have long-term philanthropic aspirations. We invest in our community by providing college scholarships to high school seniors to continue pursuing their academic and artistic dreams . We care about the community we serve and take this responsibility seriously. We are committed to getting more people involved in the arts and expanding the folklorico universe.
Our Instructors
Maestra:
Miriam Janet Gomez
Miriam is our lead instructor and is orginally from Guadalajara Jalisco. She studied at the University of Guadalajara and has danced since the age of 6 specializing in Mexican Ballet Folklorico, Modern Jazz and Hip Hop. She worked in Mexico for the cultural house of Guadalajara, DIF Guadallajara and some SEP and private schools. She is currently the instructor for the “La Academia” class at Ballet Folklorico de Chicago teaching all our adults as well as a couple of kids classes. She is also a highly rated independent choreographer of Quinceaneras.
Miriam es originaria de Guadalajara Jalisco. Estudio en la Universidad de Guadalajara y ha estado bailando desde los 6 años de edad. Las categorías de Baile Folclórico Mexicano, Jazz Moderno, Baile de Salon y Hip Hop. Trabajo en México para la casa de la cultura Guadalajara, DIF Guadalajara, y algunas escuelas de la SEP. Y escuelas privadas. Actualmente maestra de “La Academia” en ballet Folklórico de Chicago, da clases en Christine Belpedios School of Dance y coreografa de Quinceañeras independiente.
Maestro:
Cecilio Garcia
Cecilio Garcia is both a dancer and instructor at Ballet Folklorico de Chicago. He has been dancing since the age of 7 and has accumulated 15 years of dancing experience. He loves his Mexican roots and hopes that as an instructor he can influence his students to love and appreciate Mexican culture as much as he does. He has taken various classes with instructors from different regions of Mexico and is billingual. Maestro Garcia loves seeing all his students grow as dancers and develop their self-esteem as well.
Maestra:
Regina Camacho
Regina is 25 years old and has been dancing for 7 years. She is both a dancer and instructor for La Escuelita at Ballet Folklorico de Chicago. She also danced while in college with Ballet Folklorico Mexicano de Northwestern: Ritmo de mis ancestors where her love for folklorico began. Regina is from Michoacan, Mexico and is passionate about her culture. She wants to help students learn more about their Mexican roots through dance. Regina can’t wait to see how these little dancers grow into more professional and confident dancers.
Maestra:
Betsy Corral
Betsy is 22 years old and has been dancing ballet folklórico since she was 4 years old. She is from Durango, Mexico and loves to spread and share her culture everyone. She gets her passion for dancing from her mother since she also danced the majority of her life. She worked for Neiu 21st century pathways to help start and teach a folklórico program in Berwyn Middle Schools. Besides dancing, she loves working with kids and is currently a preschool special education teacher.
Maestra:
Sacha Bravo
Sasha Bravo is 22 years old and has been dancing Mexican folklore since she was 5 years old. Her family is from Mexico City and her passion for Mexican folklore is driven by her love for her Mexican culture and it’s traditions, especially, being able to express herself through art and culture. She has worked as an instructor with the NEIU TRIO UB and 21st century programs for 3 years. She looks forward to meeting and teaching those who are motivated and willing to learn. As well as those, who want to have fun!
Our Business Partners
- All Star Painting & Contractor – 4009 N. Nashville Ave., http://www.allstarinc.com/
- Animo Film and Theater Company, https://www.facebook.com/animofilmtheatre/
- Bright Future Realty Chicago – Michelle Hernandez Real Estate Broker , 4332 N. Western Ave, https://brightfuturerealty.net
- Danleys Garages – 1438 Elmhurst Road, Elk Grove, IL 6007, https://www.danleysgarageworld.com/
- Gethsemayne Garden Center – 5739 N. Clark St., http://www.gethsemanegardens.com/
- Shampoodles Dog Grooming – 2942 N. Montrose Ave, https://www.facebook.com/shampoodleschicago
- Taqueria El Chorrito, 6404 N. Clark Street, https://www.elchorrito.com
- Tony’s Finer Foods – https://www.tonysfreshmarket.com/
- Yummiology – https://www.facebook.com/Yummology-795671380523767/
- 51st Ward Books – https://www.51stwardbooks.com/
Mission
Enrich knowledge of cultural heritage and preserve traditions
Ballet Folklorico de Chicago (Chicago’s largest and most inclusive organization) is a non-profit Mexican folkloric dance organization. Our goal is to provide cultural and artistic programming focused on Mexican folkloric dances. We aim to preserve traditions for future generations and improve our community’s involvement in the arts. We engage with each other in rehearsals and event participation to promote wholesome and family-friendly activities that elevate our reputation in the community. We cultivate and invest in our future generations and help our students achieve higher education goals by awarding college scholarships.
Class Schedules
In addition to our classes below, we offer folklorico choreography packages for Quinceaneras!
Please note: we announce all our upcoming registrations on Facebook and Instagram. Please send us an email to inquire about class availability.Please indicate if you would like kids or adult classes and what age ranges for kids. Please let us know if they have experience or are beginners (balletfolkloricodechicago@hotmail.com)
Saturdays
La Escuelita:
9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. – Class tailored for beginner children under 5 years old.
La Academia 1:
10 a.m. – 11 p.m. – Class tailored for adults who are beginners to folklorico
La Academia 2:
11 a.m. – 12 p.m. – Class tailored for adults at the intermediate folklorico level
Intermediate Teens:
12 p.m. – 1 p.m. – Class tailored for intermediate folklorico teen-age dancers from the ages of 13-18
Sundays
La Escuelita:
9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. – Class tailored for intermediate children 4 to 6 years old
La Prepa:
10:30 a.m. – 11:30 p.m. – Class tailored for intermediate children 7 to 9 years of age
La Academia 3:c
11L30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. – Class tailored for Level 3 Adults
2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. – Class tailored for Level 4 Adults
3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. – Class tailored for Level 3 Teens
Mondays
6:00 – 7:00 pm – Class tailored for kids ages 4 to 6
7:00 – 8:00 pm – Class tailored for kids ages 6 to 9
Tuesdays
5:30 – 6:30 pm – Class tailored for kids ages 6 to 9
6:30 – 7:30 pm – Class tailored for kids ages 10 to 12
Thursdays
6 p.m. – 7 p.m. – Folklorico Kids 7-12
7 p.m. – 8 p.m. – Adults Level 1
Fridays
5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. – Folklorico Intermediate Kids 6-9
7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. – Folklkorico Intermediate Kids 10-14
Gallery
Contact Us
Please call (872) 760-6418 or send us an email to: balletfolkloricodechicago@hotmail.com. Please indicate if you are interested in kids or adult classes. If you are interested in kids classes, please indicate what age(s). Also please let us know if the student has any prior dance experience.
All beginner classes are once a week and one hour per class. Intermediate and Advanced level classes practice for a longer period of time.
Classes for beginner kids and teens are $30 per month. Beginner adults are $40 per month.
Porfavor llame a (872) 760-6418 o mandenos un email a: balletfolkloricodechicago@hotmail.com. Porfavor indique si esta interesada en classes para ninos o adultos. Si esta interesada en clases para nihnos, porfavor ponga las edades. Tambien nos avisan si el estudiante tiene experiencia bailando anteriormente.
Todas las classes para los principiantes son de una hora por semana. Classes para los intermediarios y avancados practican por mas tiempo.
Classes para los ninos y teens principiantes son $30 por mes. Adultos principiantes son $40 por mes.
