Dance Companies

UTRGV is home to four active dance companies. Learn about each, see performances and see which dance company is right for you.

Dance Companies at UTRGV

The UTRGV Ballet Company offers students the opportunity to perform a wide range of repertoire from classical to contemporary dance works. The Company performs at the University’s Performing Arts Center, serving the RGV community. Through concerts and lecture demonstrations, the Company also provides local public school students with an opportunity to experience dance and develop an appreciation of the arts.

The Ballet Folklórico is a 32-member organization comprised of students who are pursuing degrees in a variety of disciplines. The Ballet presents student and public concerts annually and travels to present programs for local, state, national, and international private and public affairs. The Ballet has jointly produced ballets, concerts, zarzuelas, and musicals with the Valley Symphony Orchestra, the UTRGV Theatre, and the UTRGV Music Department. In 1996, the Ballet traveled to Ottawa, Canada to perform in their Dieciséis de Septiembre Festival. In 1999, the State of Texas House of Representatives honored the Ballet Folklórico with House Resolution N. 510. The Ballet Folklórico has been showcased at state and national dance conferences, such as the Asociacion Nacional de Grupos Folklóricos, the American College Dance Festival, the North Texas Folkloric Festival, the Texas Association of Health, Physical Education and Dance and the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education and Dance. In 2006, the Ballet was one of 100 outstanding Texas artists chosen for inclusion on the Texas Commission on the Arts Touring Roster Program. The Ballet Folklorico has also traveled on a European tour visiting countries such as France and Italy.

The UTRGV Ballet Folklorico has received national recognition through the American College Dance Association (ACDA). Their works have been showcased and selected to perform at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performance Arts in Washington, D.C. in three consecutive national years in 2012, 2014 and 2016.

For information or special accommodations, call (956) 665-2230.

The Dance Ensemble provides students with the opportunity to be a part of quality dance performances as they promote the art of modern dance and ballet. The company gives the Rio Grande Valley residents the opportunity to experience live concert dance through their concerts during the fall and spring semesters at UTRGV theaters. The company is also involved in community outreach with local schools. They provide special performances, master classes, and lecture/demonstrations for Valley middle schools and high schools. The UTRGV Dance Program is a member of the American College Dance Festival, which allows Ensemble members the opportunity to take master classes with various dance artists and perform in festival concerts. The Dance Ensemble also offers unique opportunities for its members to work with nationally and internationally renowned guest artists. Our past guest artists have included: Nina Martin, Raymond Shaw, Doug Elkins, Melissa Rolnick, The Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, Wade Madsen, Christopher Fairbank, Wally Cardona, Carley Conder , Adrienne Clancy, Lynn Ruse, Satu Hummasti, Mary Fitzgerald, Kelly Brown, Jennifer Keller, Tina Marie Custer, Nejla Yatkin, and Karen Schupp.

Ballet Español provides students the opportunity to study the art of Spanish dance which encompasses a great range of styles such as bailes folkloricos representing different regions of Spain; flamenco, the art of the gypsies of Spain and its "palos" such as Alegrias, Tangos, Solea, Bulerias, Siguiriyas; and Escuela Bolera, a style of classical dance and music from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries where classical ballet principles of turnout combine typical Spanish arm movements, with castanets, and flamenco footwork and folkloric steps, to create classical Spanish dance works like "La Boda de Luis Alonso". The Ballet Español presents formal public concerts and school concerts every spring and smaller events on campus and for the community throughout the year.

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Ballet Folkorico

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Dance Companies at UTRGV

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