Why Dance? The Path of Folkloric Dancer Andreina Mendoza

Twenty-two-year-old Andreina Mendoza used to dream of becoming a ballerina as a child. Yet it would be much later, through her own Colombian heritage, that she would fully embody the art form of dance.

“I was 16,” she recalls, “at my cousin’s quinceañera [a traditional Latin American celebration of a girl’s 15th birthday]. I saw her dancing the cumbia [a courtship dance]. She wore a long beautiful skirt. I thought it was so beautiful. I asked my mom if I could take cumbia lessons, too.

For a year Mendoza attended dance classes at The Colombian American Cultural Society, Inc. – a nonprofit organization that preserves and promotes Colombian heritage and traditions throughout the New England region. She would also meet her mentor there – Nader Molina – who would encourage her to explore dance and theatre as a career.

“I chose Rhode Island College because it was local,” she says. “I also chose it because it was the only school I could find that had a dance program that wasn’t elitist, that taught dance in a way that was accessible to me.” 

“I applied to RIC’s dance program knowing nothing about modern or contemporary dance,” she says. “I had never been exposed to it. Yet Professor Angelica Vessella still encouraged me to email an audition video to show her what I did know. Just hearing that she was open to seeing me do folkloric dance made me feel extremely welcome.”

“As a Colombian American, our heritage is a mix of African, Indigenous and European roots, which is reflected in our dance,” she says. “Most countries in Central and South America have the same mixture due to the history of colonization.”

These dance customs are carried on through Raices (Roots), her mentor’s (Molina’s) dance group. As a folkloric dancer, the thrill of performing in festivals and other public events and connecting with the audience through movement has been deeply rewarding for Mendoza. 

At the same time, being a part of the RIC Dance Company has brought life-changing experiences. 

“RIC’s Dance Company has provided me with opportunities to dance in concerts that I would not have had otherwise,” she says. “It’s a privilege that not many people get. I’ve also choreographed two pieces for the company that are a mixture of folkloric and contemporary dance,” she says.

Classes in the dance program incorporate a wide range of dance forms taught by faculty and guest artists. “I’ve learned so much,” says Mendoza. Dance performance majors are also required to take technical theatre courses to understand all aspects of a production. “The experience of working with a professional technical crew here has been invaluable,” she says.

Now a senior, Mendoza works hard at her craft, practicing six days a week. She develops her modern and contemporary dance techniques with the RIC Dance Company and her folkloric dance techniques at the Raices studio. At the latter, she also teaches dance, creates choreography, sews costumes and makes props and hair pieces.

Raices performs throughout Rhode Island, receiving a great deal of support from the many Hispanic communities in Central Falls, Pawtucket and Providence.

Last year the group performed in Portugal and have other trips lined up for festivals in Bulgaria and Czechia or South Korea later this year. To add to her repertoire of folkloric dance, Mendoza has been studying traditional Mexican dance with Grupo Misol-Ha: Unidos Por el Folklore Mexicano. She says dance plays a significant role in different cultures and can be a way to explore and share cultural traditions:

“As a dance performance major with a minor in cultural anthropology, I see dance as both movement and culture. I’d like to continue to learn folkloric dance, teach, travel and perform.”

Learn more about RIC’s B.A. in dance performance major.