The rhythmic sounds of tapping shoes blasted through the vast room. Skirts of bright orange and yellow fluttered in the air with every spin.
The dancers at Viva Arizona and Ballet Folklorico La Paloma are rehearsing for this month's Olympics in London.
"I'm really stoked," said Bruno Loya, 18, a dancer for Viva Arizona. "I'm excited to experience another culture."
Twenty-two dancers from both groups will perform at Warwick Castle and the Island Gardens near the Olympic Games on July 28 and 29. Several families and friends will travel with them.
The dancers will pay their own way, said Matt Straub, the producer for Performing Arts Educators, ia nonprofit organization that invited the Tucson dancers to London.
Both groups raised money with raffles, performances, food sales and help from their families.
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"It's hard to practice for this because we have so many other events," said Julie Gallego, the founder of Viva Performing Arts Center. "We're doing the best we can with the time that we have."
Dancers for both Viva and La Paloma have been practicing frequently. The La Paloma group has been to the Olympics before.
"We were fortunate enough to perform at the Olympics in Sydney, Australia, in 2000," said Bettina Montañez, La Paloma's director. "So that's how we got invited to go again to the Olympics in London this year."
Straub said he met the group in Sydney.
"I kept in contact with them on and off and I liked them," he said. "They were one of the first ones I thought of."
Montañez said she wanted another group to perform with La Paloma, so she contacted Gallego, who has been organizing dance groups for 25 years.
Viva Arizona and Ballet Folklorico La Paloma are the only two groups from Arizona that will perform in London, said Straub.
"I just want them to feel so proud and so good and get the recognition for all their hard work," Gallego said of her group.
The Viva Arizona show starts off in the 1800s and presents Arizona's history through the perspective of the Hispanic community. Each time period is complemented with specific dance styles, said Gallego.
"We tell the whole history of Tucson through music, a dance team and narration," Gallego said. "So I thought, 'Why don't we do a little tiny piece of our show in London?'"
The show will begin with the "railroad team," which will dance American hoedown, swing, the 1920s Charleston and the French can-can. La Paloma will stick to Mexican folcórico in typical regional costumes from Jalisco, Nuevo Leon and Veracruz.
"We are real excited to be representing Tucson again for the second time," said Montañez, who began La Paloma 30 years ago.
"It's kind of unreal and exciting."
On StarNet: Watch video of the dancers practicing and preparing for the trip to London at azstarnet.com/video
Marcella Corona is a student at the University of Arizona and an apprentice at the Arizona Daily Star. Contact her at 573-4213 or starapprentice@azstarnet.com
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