Sunday, Nov. 02, 2008

A dance in her step

Teaching's just one way Riverbank resident and city worker helps others

By day, Norma Torres-Manriquez works a desk job at Riverbank City Hall. After hours, she slips off her office clothes and dons the brightly colored dresses of traditional Mexican folk dance. Sounds like she lives a double life, but Torres-Manriquez says both her day job and her dancing feed her passion for working with people.

Torres-Manriquez, 37, is a human-services specialist for the city. She puts people who need services in touch with organizations that can help them. With her help, needy families find food baskets, seniors get flu shots and volunteers find places to donate their time.

Eight years ago, she approached the city's recreation department with the idea of teaching traditional Mexican dance classes. The classes were a hit. Now she teaches about 40 students, ages 3 to 18, every Monday night.

The group, Ballet Folklorico Viva Mexico, performs at events such as the Wine and Cheese Expo, after-school programs and fund-raisers. It also has competed at dance competitions as far afield as San Bernardino and Las Vegas.

When she's not dancing, Torres-Manriquez -- who's married and has an 18-year-old daughter -- finds time to volunteer at The Salvation Army, work as a music booster at Riverbank High School and teach catechism at St. Frances of Rome Church. It's no surprise that she was named Riverbank's citizen of the year for 2007.

Q:Why do you teach Mexican folk dance?

A: The whole goal is to keep the tradition alive. Most of our arts are dying down. We know that in schools, we don't have the budget to be able to keep our arts alive.

It's a beautiful art. It's a big part of the culture here. We have a heavy Mexican influence. If we don't keep it alive, it's just going to become something that other groups do from the big cities.

The students don't only learn the dances, they have to learn some of the history behind it. They have to learn the customs and the traditions. For example, my beginning students are working on a dance from the the state of Veracruz. They have to understand why their dresses are white. Veracruz is a very hot area. The white dresses represent the ocean waves.

Q: What parts of your personality does dancing allow you to express?

A: In the dancing, you get to do more of the creative expression. It's physically expressive, it's movement. There's a side of me that I never show at work, that's the side that likes to perform and likes to see people smile. At work, I get to help people, but I don't always get to see that instant gratification.

Q: Does your job with the city ever intersect with your dancing?

A: I think all the parts of my life intersect. God has given me a great passion for people. Everywhere you go, you learn from people, and everywhere you go, people learn from you. I don't really see a big distinction from my day job to my evening. It's just following a gift and sharing it.

Q: How has the community responded to your dance classes?

A: For people of Mexican heritage, it's a great joy for them to see something that's so close to our hearts and so close to home actually here, where they can pass it on to our grandkids. But it's not just our Mexican culture that embraces it, it's everyone being able to see a dying art.

We've competed almost at a worldwide level. Our first year, it was like, "Where's Riverbank?" Now, people run to the stage because they've seen and heard of us. That's very gratifying.

Bee staff writer Leslie Albrecht can be reached at lalbrecht@modbee.com or 578-2378.