Latino Youth Dancers Klamath Falls
About the troupe
Since 2003, the Hispanic Advisory Board has nurtured a troupe of grade school through college-age dancers. This ensemble of more than forty youth rehearses and performs traditional Mexican dances. Each year they dance in our Cinco de Mayo Parade down Main Street in Klamath Falls, and at the daylong festival at Veterans Memorial Park.
Our troupe´s mission is to increase awareness of the Hispanic population´s contributions, needs and challenges while strengthening Hispanic leadership in the Klamath Basin through public dance performances. The program promotes Latino leadership and families while highlighting and conserving the rich heritage of the Klamath Basin´s Hispanic population. The only Latino dance group of its kind in Klamath County, this high quality cultural program meets a real need in the community.
This project is community-based, on-going, and brings a deeper understanding and appreciation of ethnic arts and culture. It helps keep our youth alcohol and drug free and increases their self-esteem. The ensemble strengthens the Hispanic Advisory Board´s community leadership abilities through service and public relationships. With consistent growth in membership since its founding, our group successfully engaged forty-three young people during the 2018 season.
Our Latino Youth Dancers invariably wind up on the front pages of the local newspaper in anticipation of our annual Cinco de Mayo Parade and Festival. There is a tremendous amount of good will generated through this event that brings the community’s Latino and non-Latino members together.
Performances
Beginning in January each year, our dedicated group of young people meets twice weekly to begin rehearsing a wide range of traditional Mexican dances.
In the lead-up to our yearly Cinco de Mayo celebration, they dance at a number of organizations throughout the community as a thank you for all the generous support they receive.
Our dancers’ main showcase is the Cinco de Mayo Parade down Main Street and daylong festival in Veterans Memorial Park in downtown Klamath Falls in May of every year.
The troupe also performs at a number of local engagements throughout the year.
For information on booking a dance performance for your event, please contact Dora Hoffmeister at (541) 891-0955.
Costumes
As vibrant as the monarch butterfly in its Mexican winter sanctuary, every performance is a swirling rainbow of color and sound. To the cheerful strains of trumpets and violins, our dancers bring to mind a simpler Mexico of years gone by. With colorful flowers adorning their neatly styled hair, our girls’ embroidered blouses and flowing handmade skirts, accented with ribbon and lace, float and spin, while the boys in their charro-style sombreros and suits keep time with their traditional hard-heeled dance shoes. Each costume represents a different region of Mexico.
Dances
Representing a variety of eras in Mexican history, the troupe performs numbers accompanied by traditional mariachi music.
Join the troupe
All children from grade school through college-age are welcome to join the ensemble. Spanish language skills are not required.
Dancers meet to rehearse two times a week beginning in the month of January in preparation for our Cinco de Mayo Parade and Festival at the beginning of May.
If you or your child is interested in becoming part of our folkloric dance group, please contact Dora Hoffmeister at (541) 891-0955.
Donate
We love our donors!
To cover the costs of dresses, suits, shoes, accessories, transportation and rehearsal space, we rely on contributions from our generous local donors.
If you are interested in contributing to the healthy engagement of these young Latino leaders in the Klamath Basin, please consider donating. For more information, contact Dora Hoffmeister at (541) 891-0955.
The Hispanic Advisory Board received a grant from the Klamath County Cultural Coalition (KCCC) to support our Latino Youth Dancers. Thank you to KCCC for your generous support.