Fowler uses one kind of art to promote another
By Colleen Koestner
Aug. 10, 2008 9:01 p.m.
Those familiar with the streets of Los Angeles may recognize countless museum banners that line the sidewalks, enticing potential museum-goers. However, the Fowler Museum prefers a more active form of advertisement.
This summer marks the third year that the Fowler is offering a free dance series to promote an upcoming exhibit.
Preceded by a North African folk art/belly dancing combo, the current series combines traditional Baile Folklorico (or “folk dance” in Spanish) with the Fowler’s upcoming exhibit “Silver Seduction: The Art of Mexican Modernist Antonio Pineda” (Aug. 24 through March 15) for a well-rounded insight into Mexican culture. The choreographer for the series, Alondra Ramirez, will be teaching four traditional folk dance classes, titled El Son de La Negra, every Thursday this month at 7 p.m.
“We always use our exhibitions as a jumping-off point to explore different types of programming. Since this class is offered in the summer, we usually offer what I call light-hearted fare,” said Bonnie Poon, the Fowler’s manager of public programs.
To Poon, light-hearted fare stretches to include dance, and Ramirez agrees that dance is just the medium that attracts people to the benefit of an expanded global view.
“Dance is very particular to a culture, a region. When people want to go out of their way to learn something that’s different than their culture, (dance) helps to bring them together,” Ramirez said.
The dance originated in Jalisco, a state in western Mexico, and like most other dances of Mexican origin, flourished as a means of courtship.
Ramirez believes that the meaning of the dance, which involves intricate footwork, has evolved since the first dancer flipped her skirt coquettishly at a ranchero. “It represents the beauty of a culture that’s extinct,” she said.
Ramirez utilizes the dance as a tool for expression ““ from basic laws of attraction to a pride for one’s heritage.
“You can be flirtatious, you can express everything you want depending on the dance,” she said, “I get to show people what my culture is about, and my culture has this beauty that everyone can see.”
Ramirez, a 19-year-old student from Santa Monica College, believes that age has nothing to do with her ability to teach. She has 14 years of experience as a dancer for the nonprofit organization Ballet Folklorico Flor de Mayo, which educates the L.A. community about Mexican culture and tradition through dance and music, and currently works as assistant director of the group.
Of La Negra, she said: “It was the first dance I knew, so it’s a part of me. All the steps I know how to break down already because I’ve taught it again and again.”
The classes are organized to accommodate beginners as well as those who wish to attend classes out of sequence. Ramirez reviews the steps for the first 20 minutes of class to catch anybody up and to ensure that every participant weans benefits from the program.
Gerardo Ferrero, fellow assistant director of Flor de Mayo, said that Ramirez’s lively spirit is a quality that inspires her students. “She’s free and happy when she’s dancing,” he said.
Poon asserts that these summer dance series generally attract the same crowd of people, from UCLA staff and students to Los Angeles residents and friends of Fowler. But whether students of the dance class are associated with UCLA or not, Poon expects that most of them will share a dedicated interest in learning about another culture.
“For each session, you get people who are interested in it from the first (class) and see them continue all the way through,” she said.
Ramirez believes that the rewards are well worth the dedication required of students.
“They know that it requires a little more work than they expected. I think in the end, once they get over their doubt, they’ll be happy they put the work into it and learned something they didn’t know before.”
But for all the talk of dedication, Poon believes that the summer dance series offers the solution to anybody looking for a light agenda for the day.
“It’s really a chance for people to come to the museum, perhaps come early, see our exhibition, and get an activity in before the end of the day.”
