The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
Ballet Folklórico de México
Mexico’s national dance company. It was founded in 1952 by the dancer, choreographer, and teacher Amalia Hernández. Sponsored by the Mexican government, it is headquartered at the National Institute of Fine Arts in Mexico City and regularly tours worldwide. It began as a company of eight dancers that produced dances based on Mexican folklore for television and concert performance. Greatly enlarged, today it is recognized as one of the world’s preeminent “ethnic” ballet companies and presents a wide range of colorful dances that spotlight Mexico’s regions, history, and culture. The company also runs a dance school.
