Madeline Peña (BF, ‘14) graduated from Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) and immediately began her career as a professional dancer. With her talent and unique background in the ballet folklórico dance form, she has found success touring throughout Mexico and in blossoming cultural celebrations like the ¡Viva Navidad! Street Party at the Disneyland Resort.
Peña began dancing at the age of three and quickly fell in love with the intricate footwork and movement of ballet folklórico. Inspired by her mother, a dancer and the Director of the Ballet Folklórico Dance Conservatory Marlene Peña-Marin, she set her sights on attending OCSA. Dancing everyday and being trained in various styles of dance was her dream, so she spent hours each week practicing in order to meet her goal. Peña did eventually attend OCSA as a Ballet Folklórico Dance Conservatory student, and said she is grateful for the experience.
“I 100% believe the Ballet Folklórico Dance Conservatory prepared me for my career. The training I received in conservatory was incomparable to any other program. The technique and discipline learned in conservatory has helped me tremendously throughout my career,” Peña said.
Today, her entire life still revolves around dance, both teaching and performing. Peña is currently an instructor for the Ballet Folklórico Dance Conservatory and the nonprofit cultural arts organization, Relampago del Cielo. She also performs in A Musical Celebration of Coco in addition to the Disney ¡Viva Navidad! Street Party—both very popular entertainment offerings that highlight the holiday traditions of Mexico and Brazil at Disney California Adventure.
“I have actually been part of ¡Viva Navidad! since I was a senior at OCSA. The show has been running since November 2013 and we are currently in our eighth season,” Peña said.
Peña understands the immense importance of having a cultural performance at such a popular venue, somewhere ballet folklórico can be showcased to a much larger audience. She said that her favorite part is seeing the audience reaction to her group’s dancing and singing along to “Feliz Navidad” at the end of each show.
“You can feel the pride radiating from our Latino audience members when they are watching the show and it is truly a one-of-a-kind experience that I will forever be grateful for,” she said.
Up next for Peña: She plans to focus on teaching, training and performing. She knows that if she dedicates her time to her dance training, more career opportunities will arise and she will be ready for them.