MEET OUR TEACHING ARTISTS

Alberto Lopez Herrera is a Choreographer, Wardrobe Designer & Maker, and Teaching Artist with over 30 years of experience in Mexican folk dance and story-telling. Mr. Lopez seeks to share his knowledge of Mexican traditions in dance with younger generations.

Originally from San Antonio Chiltepec in Puebla, Mr. Lopez began his studies of Mexican folkloric dance at the age of 12 at the Centro Escolar Benito Juarez de Acatlán de Osorio. At the same time, he began to develop skills in garment making, a craft that would later compliment his dedication to dance. He completed the National Dance Institute’s intensive Teaching Artist training in New York. In the USA, Mr. Lopez was a dancer and choreographer with Grupo Folklórico de Greatneck, Don Juan Dancers, and the Ballet Folklórico Mexicano de Nueva York, working with distinguished choreographers Francisco Nevarez, Daniel Jaquez, and Noemy Hernandez.

Mr. Lopez was instrumental in the founding of Calpulli Community, which offers donation-based dance and music classes across the northeastern United States. In addition to technical training in folk dance and more, Mr. Lopez inspires his students and dancers by focusing on the sheer joy of dance and using that joy to create magic on stage to inspire audiences.

Grisel Pren was born and raised in Cancun, Mexico and always had a strong, passionate love for dance. She began dance training at a young age in local dance studios and the Casa de la Cultura Mexico. She would later become a professional dancer and entertainer in many of the Resorts in the Riviera Maya.

Grisel moved to New York City in 2007 to further her training and follow her dreams. She studied at Broadway Dance Center under the International student program, Steps on Broadway, and The Alvin Ailey School. Along with dance, she studied acting and voice. She performed with Arthur Aviles Typical Theater Company, Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance, Legros Cultural Arts, and appeared as a backup dancer in Music Videos “Yo valgo mas” & “Dance with me” produced by Weras Music and Tiny baby Giants. Grisel made her Off Broadway debut in 2012 with “Zapata! The Musical” at the New York Musical Festival, where she played the role of Curandera and served as Dance Captain and Assistant to the Choreographer.

Her training, teaching and performance skills are varied among Classical Ballet, Jazz, Modern, Mexican Folk Dance and many Latin styles. She is currently a Teaching Artist with the Society of the Educational Arts and, most recently, she completed the Mexican Folk Dance Teacher certification from the Ballet Folklorico de Mexico de Amalia Hernandez.

Grisel joined Calpulli Mexican Dance Co. in 2008 and tours with the Company in numerous venues nationally and internationally. She also serves as Calpulli Community Dance Program Teaching Artist and leads various Dance Workshops and Arts in Education school residencies

Carbin Palafox joined Calpulli Community when she was 7 years old and has been with Calpulli for almost 13 years. She went to William Cullen Bryant High School where she joined a dance club for a few months and learned a little bit of jazz and basic ballet technique. Currently, she is attending Hunter College, majoring in film. She may minor in theater or dance and has taken ballet courses at Hunter where she is learning more about the technique.

Criis Vega is a dancer, actor and singer from Oaxaca, Mexico, raised in Mexico City. He graduated From Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes (INBA - EIA4). When he was 18 he received a scholarship to study at Joffrey Ballet School Musical theatre Program and months later at the Institute for American Musical Theatre (IAMT) NYC and Graduated as a Musical theater dancer. He has danced on important stages in Mexico City such as Teatro Metropolitan and Auditorio Nacional dancing with the National Dance Company of Mexico City and in New York City at Apollo theater and Off-Broadway at New Victory Theatre. Working with renowned artists on Broadway such as Andrew Drost (Phantom of the Opera), Justin Ramos (Here Lies Love and Dear Evan Hansen). His great passion is musical theater and his dream roles are Angel from the musical "RENT" and May from “& Juliet”. Criis Vega is also teaching Artist with Calpulli Mexican Dance Company and The Museum of Broadway. “I just wanna thank God, my mom, family, friends and teachers for helping me to achieve my dreams.” - Make it Shine.

     Yisel Xique is an NYC based dancer, specializing in Mexican folklórico. She started at her local church group in 2008 with Nueva Juventud, performing for community events and fundraisers. She continued her training with Calpulli Community in 2013, before joining the professional company in 2022. Yisel graduated from the American Musical and Dramatic arts Conservatory, Majoring in Dance Theater, with a Minor in Musical Theater. She has supplemented her training through summer intensives at Broadway Dance Center. Yisel is currently a Teaching Artist Assistant with Calpulli where she teaches students at both community classes and public schools about honored traditional dances of Mexico. 

Cindy Garcia started dancing at the age of seven at Callina's Classical School of Ballet in Astoria, NY. She went to CUNY, Queens College and earned a BA in Drama Theatre and Dance, where she had the opportunity to study with Professor Edisa Weeks and Yin Mei. She was part of the Queens College competitive dance team. In 2014, she participated in ACDFA (American College Dance Festival Association) representing Queens College with her choreographed flamenco piece "Cinco Flores," and was awarded The Farah Marcelus Award for Choreography at Queens College. 

Gabriel Sanchez holds a Masters in Dance Education from NYU Steinhardt and a dance teacher certification for the New York State Department of Education. He has been teaching dance for over ten years. He has worked at several after-school/summer programs in Queens and the Bronx as a Dance/Music/Theater Teaching Artist. Additionally, Gabriel has worked as a Teacher Assistant in classrooms for children on the spectrum. He currently also works as a substitute teacher for the NYC Department of Education. Gabriel has studied dance education in Kampala,

Uganda, where he had the opportunity to teach large classes of elementary and high school students. As a Mexican-American, Gabriel is very happy to be teaching with Calpulli Mexican Dance and starting a new chapter in his career with the company.

 Christopher Cortez is a California native who began his Folklorico training a around 17 yrs old in Righetti High's The Marimba Band and Ballet Folklorico group and then continued at Allan Hancock College where he graduated in 2011 with an AA in Fine Arts: Dance. In 2012 Cortez joined Calpulli for their 2012/13 calendar year, attended Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and graduated in 2015 with a Certificate in Dance. He continued in his professional career primarily with touring companies Calpulli Mexican Dance Co and Ballet Nepantla. Due to the pandemic, Christopher chose to return to the West Coast in 2020 and began studying the healing modality of Massage Therapy where he graduated in 2021 from San Diego's Pacific College of Health & Science and is also certified by the California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC). His return to NYC in 2022 also marked his return to dance but during his free time Cortez can be found enjoying a new spot to eat, exploring skincare, going to the movie theater, visiting a thrift store, enjoying the performing arts, finding inspiration for art projects and traveling when possible.