Maya's 2nd article in Atencion

Dancing with Doris
By Maya Trujillo June 6, 2008 San Miguel de Allende

Dance
Doris Van Bebber
Sat, June 7, 7:30pm
El Sindicato
Recreo 4

Dance
“The Audition”
Doris Van Bebber
Tue, June 24, 7:30pm
Mesones 82

Loud music coming from downstairs classrooms fills the building. Drums. Flamenco footwork, jumps and turns pounding on the wooden floors make it difficult for me to talk to Doris Van Bebber while sitting in the cafeteria.

She is a dance teacher at El Sindicato and also is the director of the educational and creative program of the Performing Art School which combines dance, theater and music classes. She has been dancing since she was four years old, but really became interested in dance at 23.

An average-sized woman in her forties with light brown hair and small green eyes, always very well dressed in high heels and fancy, colorful shirts, she walks up the stairs every day at 6pm waving to her students. “Listas? I’ll meet you girls in the classroom.”

I decided to interview her because of how interesting, dedicated, busy, full of life, fun and creative she is. She is doing a lot for San Miguel, such as giving opportunities to people who are interested in the arts and helping them by giving scholarships to those who can’t afford a class.

Maya Trujillo: Why do you like dancing?

Doris Van Bebber: It makes me feel good. I like to express myself through movement and I think dance is a universal language that can be understood everywhere. I can’t even listen to music without moving.

MT: Did you attend a dance school?

DVB: Yes, I did. I started when I was four and continued until I was a teenager in Germany. Then I stopped taking dance lessons, but was part of a group of young dancers and actors who tried to explore movement. Later on I again took dance classes when I was 18 or 19 years old. When I was 23 and living in Mexico City, I really started to do nothing else but dance. After that, my entire life was about dance.

MT: What is the difference between dance in Europe and dance in Mexico?

DVB: In Europe you have much more support. There are many dance schools all over the country and most of the time, they are pretty successful. There is much more work for dancers and it’s an accepted art form. In Mexico, there is little support and to get to perform is hard. The good thing here is pioneering in the dance world.

MT: Where were you born and what is your age?

DVB: In Giessen, Germany, an important university town 50 km from Frankfort. I’m 47 and I have no problem with people knowing.

MT: Did your parents encourage you to dance?

DVB: Not really. I actually chose another career because of them. I’m a chemical analyst. They didn’t like the fact that I came to Mexico, either. My parents felt it was too far away and we wouldn’t see each other often.


MT: How old were you when you came to Mexico?

DVB: I think I was 21 or 22. I came to Celaya because of my career and I stayed. I didn’t know Spanish, but I knew French and English. Because I had studied Latin in school, it wasn’t hard to learn Spanish. A year later I met my husband.

MT: What were your dreams before you became a dancer?

DVB: I actually wanted to be a singer when I was little.

MT: What are your dreams now that you are a dancer?

DVB: To be a better dance teacher because I love to work with children and teenagers.

MT: What is the age range of your dance students?

DVB: My youngest student is five years old and my oldest is 62.

MT: What is good about working with teenagers?

DVB: I love the energy they have. They are very creative and funny. If they really want to learn how to dance, they are interested in attending my classes. Working with teenagers is a big challenge for my personal growth as a teacher and professional.

MT: What is bad about working with teenagers?

DVB: Nothing. They can be challenging though.

MT: Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

DVB: “Five, six, seven, eight” and “From the top!” and “Ready?”

MT: What has been your most embarrassing moment on stage?

DVB: It happened when a choreographer decided to present a dance piece at a poetry festival that had nothing to do with the festival theme, so the audience was openly hostile. They even stood up, threw things and yelled at us. It wasn’t only embarrassing for me, but for all the other dancers, too.

MT: What is your greatest fear?

DVB: Being paralyzed, I guess. Ha ha!

MT: What do you dislike about yourself?

DVB: I don’t like myself when I’m angry.

MT: Which living person do you most admire?

DVB: I don’t think I can select only one person. I admire great writers. I admire people who fight for ecology and those who make a difference in the social environment.

MT: What would you consider your greatest achievement?

DVB: I can’t say that there is one big achievement. It is all the sum of small ones. Professionally, some of the shows I’ve put together with my students have been great achievements. In my private life, raising three wonderful children is also another great achievement.

MT: What is your idea of perfect happiness?

DVB: To find a balance between my professional life and my private family life.

MT: When and where were you happiest?


DVB: One of my happiest moments was riding on a wonderful horse in the middle of an open field. I had a tremendous moment of freedom and liberty. Also when my children were born. Some of the performances I’ve given. Actually I have had many happy moments in my life.

MT: Where do you see El Sindicato in five years?

DVB: I would like to see it filled with lots of students interested in the arts—dance, music and theater—and would like to be able to give scholarships to the ones who want to dance but can’t pay for it.

MT: When are your next performances?

DVB: June 7 in the El Sindicato and June 24 at Ángela Peralta. The second performance is called “The Audition.” I had the idea that auditions can be funny and the idea of our show is that everyone can participate.

Doris Van Bebber is my jazz dance teacher and I admire her. She has taught me to clean all my dance moves and control my turns. Her programs will surely attract many more people to El Sindicato in the future.

“And five, six, seven, eight!” Doris yells out.

Maya Trujillo is 16 and attends the Victoria school. She rides a moto named Billy Bob Thornton Mackenzie and has taken jazz dance classes twice a week since age 12 from Doris Van Bebber.