Dancing through generations: Las Abuelitas de Oro mentor youth folklórico group to pass on traditions

In a unique partnership that bridges generations through dance, a group of elderly ballet folklórico performers known as Las Abuelitas De Oro is teaching their cherished Mexican folk dance traditions to elementary school students at Hawthorne Academy.

The program, one of the few art-based intergenerational partnerships in Texas, pairs dancers aged 72 to 86 with pre-K through second-grade students in a group called Los Rayitos del Sol.

“Most of the time is with the way we move, and we move our skirt, our feet, our hands,” said Mary Cimadevilla, 84, a member of Las Abuelitas De Oro.

For these seasoned performers, the dance form represents more than just movement.

Her fellow dancer, Dolores De Leon Savage, also 84, finds personal vitality in the practice.

“Dancing just helps me move, and