For four nights a week in East Chicago, Indiana, Debra Bolaños and her apprentices, Alejandra Bolaños, Alyssa Calderon, and Diana Gutierrez, practiced Ballet Folklórico (traditional Mexican folk dances) at Xel-Ha Dance School. Through their apprenticeship Debra taught Danza Azteca, a form of indigenous dance that exudes strength and power. Her apprentices perform wearing ankle rattles, accompanied by huēhuētl drums. “It brings out where it all began. We came from indigenous blood,” Debra explains. “It touches on the spiritual part of each of us and brings tranquility to your soul.”
Debra has taught many young students. “I live through their life events—communion, confirmation, quinceañeras… They know that they can come to me if there’s a problem.” Debra’s students often start dancing as early as age five, and stay active into their teens and twenties. “It’s something that’s in my heart,” Alejandra says. “I can’t see myself stopping.” Alyssa agrees, “This is what I want to do. This is what I love.”