Arvin High School's Ballet Folklorico program, which started with just five students, is getting a new dedicated dance studio nearly three times the size of the one students currently use.
Ballet Folklorico teacher Brenda Ruiz said the program has gained popularity since it started at the high school.
"Space becomes a problem, so we have to, like, do groups instead of being able to run it all together. So we do fit about 20 students in here," Ruiz said.
Principal Gabriel Ramirez-Leyva said talks of moving to a larger classroom started last year due to the capacity of the current room.
"Right now we do have it's tight, so we do have like a wait list. Sometimes kids have to take other like this because we need to build more capacity or a bigger space to allow more students in there,"Ramirez-Leyva said.
Ruiz showed us where the program currently stores its costumes and shoes.
"So this is where we currently store all our costumes and our shoes. The new facility is actually going to have dressing rooms, a laundry room, and more storage spaces. So that'll be nice to have," Ruiz said.
Monday afternoon was the first time students saw the new room before it is transformed into their new dance space. Senior Noemi Lopez Gonzalez said she can't wait for the remodeling to be over.
"Looking at this place and, like, knowing that this is gonna be, like, our future practice place to do. It's so exciting," Lopez Gonzalez said. "In the other room, it's, like, so small, and it's frustrating because we can't do, like, much in there, and it's just so hot, and, like, with a lot of people, we struggle a lot."
Junior Eric Perez Espinosa said it's hard to believe the new dance studio will be almost three times the size of the one students use today.
"It's a really big upgrade from our small room that we had. But it's really exciting," Perez Espinosa said.
Ruiz said the new room will provide some perks, from extra storage to TVs on the wall.
"We plan to have mirrors all throughout this wall, and I think the length is pretty much similar to, like, the stage that we usually perform at, so students will be able to rehearse with the actual space that they have. We'll be able to do a lot more choreographies, a lot more formations," Ruiz said.
The project is slated for completion in early 2027.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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