Carrying on a Mother’s Spirited Work

One of the hottest topics in dance these days is how to preserve it. The Martha Graham company went to court over ownership of the Graham name. Twyla Tharp made a plea from the stage at the Music Center this spring for help in documenting her works for posterity.

The issue got a little more intense recently for Ballet Folklorico de Mexico, when its founder and guiding visionary, Amalia Hernandez, died in November at 83.

But Hernandez’s legacy appears to be secure. While she was still alive, she had begun turning over the reins to her two daughters. Norma Lopez, the company’s artistic director, and Viviana Hernandez, head of the school and a choreographer, say audiences should expect to see a familiar company during its upcoming monthlong tour of the States, which includes a stop at Universal Amphitheatre next weekend.

Indeed, the sisters’ motto for the company, which celebrates its 50th anniversary next year, could very well be “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The company, which now boasts a touring unit of 65 dancers and musicians and a resident company of 85, will perform 11 works on the U.S. program; all but two have been danced here previously.

“We think that many of these ballets have been such a great success over the years and are still a great success,” Lopez explains. “We see the reaction of the public, and people have accepted [us] all over the world. We have wonderful dancers and people who have worked for us for 20 years or more.”

At the same time, the two women, who grew up with and in the troupe, are well aware that evolution is part of their mother’s legacy.

Talking by phone from the company’s headquarters in Mexico City, the two grapple with the balance of tradition and change. After dancing with the company since its inception, Lopez, 63, became the artistic director of Ballet Folklorico since 1962 (she shared the title with her mother, who also called herself the company’s director general).

“I think what we have to work on is the development of the company, renewing all this work that she did and experimenting with new things,” she notes. “We still have lots of pieces that have not been in performances for many years. We’ve tried to revive them and correct as much as possible with the sense and style that she taught us how to do.”

Viviana Hernandez, 45, danced with the company for 20 years and, as director of its school, now trains up to 400 students a year. She also choreographs new and remounted dances.

“Mother always wanted to make new things,” she says. “She was always changing things--the dynamic [might be] more quick or sometimes slower. She was making changes to be alive [so] even the dancers wouldn’t be bored to do the same thing.”

One of the “renewed” pieces Folklorico will perform on the current tour is “Carnival in Tlaxcala,” a suite that the sisters based on a dance their mother created but never programmed. It reflects the way popular culture and musical styles have influenced traditional Mexican folklore, and includes a tango, a funeral dance and a “Waltz of Love.”

Explains Lopez: “With the ‘Carnival’ piece we eliminated some things, but we didn’t change anything. My mother had not been happy with its [length], but I think she would approve [now]. It’s a good result, and I like it very much.”

Another work on the program that will be new to U.S. audiences is “Sugar Harvest in Tamaulipas,” based on fertility and harvest dances that Amalia Hernandez researched in northern Mexico. Viviana recalls performing in the piece, which has been out of the repertory for 10 years.

“I was working with the people that danced it originally. We remounted this piece, but the clothes are new. It’s a sweet dance.”

Besides preserving and revising the 70 dances their mother created, the sisters also see the troupe moving forward through the work of Lopez’s son Salvador, 41, the executive director of Ballet Folklorico who has also appeared on stage as a rope-twirler over the years. Part of his contribution, Lopez says, is technological--advanced lighting, staging and sound design.

Brand-new works are also being planned. “Christmas in Mexico,” which will have its premiere in 2002, is an original suite that includes holiday celebrations from various regions of the country. Although again based on research begun by their mother, in this case, most of the specific choreography will be in the sisters’ hands alone.

In Viviana’s words, her mother was “a real investigator” of the history of such dances. But Amalia Hernandez was less a folklorist or anthropologist than a sophisticated choreographer--adding and taking away from the folk tradition to create the kind of theater that, according to the New York Times, “can make viewers want to rush right off to Mexico.”

Last year, in an appreciation of Amalia Hernandez, Los Angeles Times dance critic Lewis Segal explained her achievement this way: “Ballet Folklorico de Mexico represents a dream of Mexican culture, and those artists who can put their dreams on a stage and make audiences believe them deserve every honor.”

Since 1999, the company began using Amalia Hernandez’s name as part of its moniker--Ballet Folklorico de Mexico de Amalia Hernandez--the better to distinguish it from the many imitators spawned by its success. Now, the biggest challenge may be to live up to that name on all levels.

“It’s very hard. She was a very talented woman,” Lopez says.

Meanwhile, the sisters also must deal with their personal loss.

Says Viviana Hernandez: “We were very close [but] I think she’s with us, with all the teachings.”

Lopez agrees. “Of course, we miss her a lot, but we are working with the things she did with such passion and with all her feelings. The way she worked was so intense. We have it here all the time, in every rehearsal, every performance. That’s a very important way to feel her presence.”