Parish's folklorico dance group earns acclaim

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Some of the girls of the Ballet Folklorico of Saint Francis of Assisi Parish are shown on the float that won the Mayor's Award at the Orem City Summerfest.

OREM — Girls from the ages of 4 to 18 have gathered every Wednesday evening at Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Church since 2015 to learn ballet folklorico, a style of Mexican folk dancing.

The parish’s ballet folklorico was born as part of the small communities’ initiative, which gathers parishioners into small groups for faith formation and evangelization.

“Little by little we have been organizing ourselves better and better. ... All the work is volunteer,” said Sonia Mancera, one of the organizers of the ballet folklorico.

Their efforts where recognized by a wider community when on June 9 the parish’s ballet folklorico group performed as part of the Orem City Summerfest in the morning. Later that day the dancers participated in the parade on a float that earned the Mayor’s Award.

“It was very emotional,” said Mancera, with a smile on her face.

Judith Lorenzo, a professional dancer, has donated her time, abilities and professionalism to teach the group’s members since the beginning.

“She is amazing. ... The moms help her, organizing the ballet by age groups and practicing with them during rehearsals, so Judith teaches the dances steps and then the moms practice with the girls,” Mancera said.

About 30 women volunteer with the group.

“For the parade each one of the moms created the flowers and donated the wood to put together the float,” Mancera said.

For the children’s costumes, the mothers have set aside monthly savings, which help them buy the materials necessary to make the dresses.

“The costumes are hand made by the moms. ... When they have a chance they buy whatever they need and find and then they cut and sew everything together,” said Mancera, who designs the dancers’ hair accessories.

The Mayor’s Award that the group received meant the world for the kids, Mancera said.

“One girl said to me that it was very important because, despite the fact that she was born here in the United States, she wanted to represent Mexico, her parents’ traditions. ... My own daughter tells me that when she hears the music she feels a joy in her heart that she cannot describe. This ballet means the world for them and being recognized just made them feel more committed to the rehearsals and presentations,” Mancera said.

Consistency, traditions, culture, respect, discipline and time management are just a few of the qualities that the ballet is teaching the girls.

“We are sharing our traditions, our culture, and at the same time we are teaching our youth very important values. ... When we were parading and hearing the cheering and the support of the people that brightened our day, our lives,” Mancera said.

Representing the Catholic Church in Orem was a privilege and an honor, she said.

“We made noise. Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Parish was recognized,” she said. “It was impressive to see how people came to us to ask us where the Catholic parish was located, because they had no idea that there was Catholic parish in Orem, but now they do.”

The group is starting to perform at other events outside the parish, and their next step is to start integrating boys into the ballet.

“Everyone is invited to participate; they just have to commit to the rehearsals,” Mancera said. “Never forget that everything is possible. ... Never stop dreaming. ... If we put our heart and trust in God, everything is possible.”