Ballet Folklorico de Mexico

Amalia Hernandez founded her company in 1952 with eight dancers and an idea - that Mexico's regional dances belonged on the grandest stage in the country - and the Ballet Folklorico de Mexico has been resident at the Palacio de Bellas Artes for decades, with thousands of performances behind it. The program is a whirl through the republic: the Yaqui deer dance, a solo of extraordinary stillness and burst; Jalisco's swirling ribboned skirts and mariachi brass; Veracruz harps and white lace for La Bamba; Michoacan's shuffling old men; northern polkas and revolution-era soldaderas. Costumes run to the hundreds, the live musicians move between son, harp and full mariachi, and the staging is unabashed spectacle in the Hernandez tradition - folk sources choreographed to theater scale. Seeing it at Bellas Artes adds the setting: the art deco hall, and on many nights the raising of the million-piece Tiffany glass curtain before the lights drop.

What you actually see

• The deer dance - the Yaqui solo that anchors the repertoire.
• Jalisco in full skirt - the ribboned finale with live mariachi.
• Veracruz lace and harps - La Bamba as concert piece.
• Bellas Artes itself - the deco hall and Tiffany curtain as overture.

When to go

Performances run typically Wednesday evenings and Sunday morning and evening - the Sunday matinee suits day-trippers. Book ahead for center-orchestra seats; the hall's balconies are steep but clear-sighted.

Honest expectations

This is theatricalized folklore, polished to a high shine - purists seeking village authenticity are in the wrong room. Two hours with interval. Photography during the show is barred, and the curtain is displayed at the staff's discretion, not guaranteed.

Nearby

The Alameda, Palacio Postal and Madero street make the natural pre-show promenade.