Chorus Adds New Dimension to Folklorico

Adding to its typically irresistible dancing, Amalia Hernandez’s Ballet Folklorico de Mexico introduced a 14-member chorus in its first program ever at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on Thursday. (Performances continue this weekend.)

The vocal group, which sounded classically trained, appeared in the two selections new to the United States, “Tarasco” and “Aztecs,” as well as in other familiar pieces.

In “Tarasco,” a suite derived from the culture of the people living at the edges of Lake Patzcuaro in the state of Michoacan, the chorus sang an opening lullaby and a haunting a cappella religious hymn as they held candles and flowered cutouts of church windows.

The chorus sang live, but amplification caused disembodied sonic displacements, and at times made it seem as if they were lip-syncing to a recording. When one singer’s mike faltered during the Veracruz segment of the show, it became clear that amplification was a necessary evil.

The “Tarasco” suite, which otherwise traversed the cycle of life from birth to old age, included a humorous depiction of physical decrepitude and a parody of a bullfight (“The Little Bull from Tarimbaro”) in which the bull, dressed in red velvet and emblazoned with the caption “Viva La Vida” (Hurrah to Life), routed the spectators.

The chorus also flanked the dancers in “Aztecs,” singing in Nahuatl, the language spoken by most of the indigenous peoples of Mexico and, indeed, that of the Aztecs, according to a dance company spokesperson. The music recalled a different orchestral setting titled “Sensemaya” by Silvestre Revueltas.

This 14-minute piece, while new, appeared partly familiar since some costumes (the men’s rainbow headpieces) and movement motifs (the men’s linked leg turns) have appeared in other reconstructions of prehistoric cultures by company founder Hernandez.

As in those earlier pieces, based on codex drawings, sculpture and historical descriptions, “Aztecs” suffered from thin choreography, and sections, poses and movements that don’t carry the visceral impact and sweep of the other parts of the program.

But if it seemed an obligatory nod to historical origins, it also prefigured movement motifs seen in later dances. The question, of course, is whether Hernandez is reading the present back into the past, or vice versa. Given the overall sunny energy and grandeur of the dancing, the question might be moot and unanswerable, however.

Selections familiar from previous company visits included a suite from Michoacan and a section honoring the Mexican revolution. Additionally, Claudio Rojas was the lithe and exciting Yaqui Deer Dancer, and Israel Rojas was the expert and indefatigable lariat spinner.

The program ended with the high-spirited “Festivity in Tlacotalpan,” in which huge puppet figures appeared on stage and even ventured into the hall, and the dancers threw paper streamers out over the heads of the delighted audience.

* Ballet Folklorico de Mexico, tonight at 8 and Sunday at 3 p.m., Pasadena Civic Auditorium, 300 E. Green St., Pasadena. $21 to $56. (213) 480-3232.