Guayaquil Celebrates World Day of Dance

To celebrate the international day of dance, ecuadortimes.net interviewed prominent dancers of different genres in Guayaquil.

Margit Peguero and Daet Rodriguez

Our first interviewee was Margit Peguero, better known as “Mayita”, a ballet dancer from Cuba. She has lived in Guayaquil for 17 years with her husband, also dancer Daet Rodriguez.

From a very young age, Mayita always participate in cultural activities of her school. At the age of 10, Mayita began her ballet training to become a professional dancer and teacher.

“Ballet is my passion, is like the food and the air that I need to live. It is a privilege to be a dancer and I really feel important in this Art, when I come on stage and that magical world being, is really wonderful. It’s a dream fulfilled. “

Today, Mayita along with her husband Daet, run the academy Cuballet, in which their students have represented Ecuador in national and international competitions.

“Last year we were in Argentina participating in Danzamérica 2011, which left an excellent image of dance in Ecuador. We won gold, silver, bronze and honorable mentions.”

Ana María Alvarado and her two daughters

Ana Maria Alvarado was our second interviewee. Her passion is the Spanish Dance, which has been practiced since she was 2 years old.

His teacher and mentor was Janet Vivar, responsible for turning Ana Maria in one of the leading dancers of this genre in Guayaquil.

“(…) When I was 7 years, (Janet) gave me a scholarships. I consider her as a second mother.”

This year, Anne turns 40 years of artistic life and that is why with his academy undertake the VII festival “Varieties of dance”, in honor to the International Day of Dance, where 16 schools will participate and dance groups in three different editions.

Neme Quintero

“Being a dancer is not a hobby, not a profession; Being a dancer is a way of life” are the words of Neme Quintero, Arabic dancer and owner of academy DANZÁRABE.

Neme talked with us about her beginnings in the discipline. She started dancing at age 4 due to the influence of his grandmother, mother and aunts. Then, Neme studied flamenco at Sonia Levy academy. Parallel, she continued learning arabic moves at home. At age 11, Neme began studying Arabic dance professionally.

“It’s my life, my passion, is the reason I wake up every day. I love Arabic dance with every beat of my heart.I respect and defend what it is: the cultural representation of an entire civilization and one of the oldest art forms, fuller and more complex than exists. “

Today Neme Quintero is one of the leading exponents of Arabic dance in Ecuador, mainly in Guayaquil. She currently manages his school Danzarabe.

Hugo Guerrero

Our latest interview is with Hugo Guerrero, is the prestigious ecuadorian jazz dancer, Hugo Guerrero.  He told us that he fell in love with Jazz Dance and Musicals after seeing the movie Grease in 1978, starring with John Travolta and Olivia Newton John.

“That’s what I want to be, a Dancer,” was what Hugo said with only 8 years old. At the time of elementary and high school, Hugo unfolded in modern dance groups and folk, but it was was 16, he saw an advertisement in a local newspaper which called for young talent in dance at the Casa de la Cultura.

“I came from hundreds and thank God I managed to become a student of the dance school of the Casa de la Cultura de Guayaquil”

After several years of study with dance professionals nationally and internationally, Hugo began to join the cast of dancer and theater director, Jose Miguel Salem to work in the musical Theatre Royale. Later, he studied modern jazz, latin jazz and musical theater at the Academy Broadway Dance Center in New York.

Behind Hugo has a long list of professional achievements. He has performed works such as Cats, The Wizard of Oz, Little Orphan Annie, Beauty and the Beast, among others. He currently teaches at the University of specialty Holy Spirit (UEES) in addition to running the academy Danzarte.

For the growth of dance in the city of Guayaquil, Hugo believes that “Guayaquil has become more and more popular in the city of Guayaquil, not transcendence.” Consider what is perhaps “because we are a very commercial city and lack assume dance as an art discipline.”Believes that many take to the dance and fitness routines to lose weight or stay fit”.