Calpulli Community
Calpulli Mexican Dance Company / Calpulli Community, 2512 77th St., East Elmhurst, NY 11370
About
Calpulli Community offers classes in folkloric dance, musical instrumentation, and performing arts training. The program is part of Calpulli Mexican Dance Company, whose repertoire and performances are a celebration of cultural legacy, past and current, telling stories using the languages of dance, music, and the Mexican-American spirit.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Price: The program is by voluntary donation for youth and low cost for adults.
Calpulli Mexican Dance Company is a not-for-profit organization founded in New York City in 2003. Its mission is to celebrate the rich diversity of Mexican and Mexican-American cultural heritage through dance-based programming including live music, professional performances via its international touring company, arts-in-education and cultural enrichment programming, and community outreach activities that are free or low-cost and target the underserved Mexican and Mexican-American community. Calpulli Community is a donation-based performing arts training program for youth, which now serves over 100 students weekly, and offers classes in folkloric dance and musical instrumentation as part of this community outreach.
The leadership team includes Juan Castaño, Executive Director and Co-Founder; Grisel Pren Monje, Artistic Director; and Alberto Lopez Herrera, Director of Arts in Education and Co-Founder. Juan Castaño holds a B.A. in Chemistry from Grinnell College and an MBA in General Management from Metropolitan College of New York. Grisel Pren Monje holds a Mexican Folk Dance teacher certification from El Ballet Folklorico de Mexico de Amalia Hernandez, a Mexican Folk Dance and Raza Technique training diploma from El Ballet Folklórico de la Universidad de Colima de el maestro Rafael Zamarripa, and has attended and completed Traditional Mexican Dance workshops and a Stage Production training program in La Escuela Nacional de Danza Folklórica in Mexico City. Alberto Lopez Herrera completed the National Dance Institute’s intensive Teaching Artist training in New York.
Community outreach activities by Calpulli Mexican Dance Company are free or low-cost and target the underserved Mexican and Mexican-American community, and Calpulli Community was launched in 2006 as part of this work. The New York Times wrote about the company, “The dance numbers keep coming - feet stamping, skirts swirling as narrative turns are woven in with easy-to-follow clarity.”
Last updated May 26, 2026.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Price: The program is by voluntary donation for youth and low cost for adults.
Calpulli Mexican Dance Company is a not-for-profit organization founded in New York City in 2003. Its mission is to celebrate the rich diversity of Mexican and Mexican-American cultural heritage through dance-based programming including live music, professional performances via its international touring company, arts-in-education and cultural enrichment programming, and community outreach activities that are free or low-cost and target the underserved Mexican and Mexican-American community. Calpulli Community is a donation-based performing arts training program for youth, which now serves over 100 students weekly, and offers classes in folkloric dance and musical instrumentation as part of this community outreach.
The leadership team includes Juan Castaño, Executive Director and Co-Founder; Grisel Pren Monje, Artistic Director; and Alberto Lopez Herrera, Director of Arts in Education and Co-Founder. Juan Castaño holds a B.A. in Chemistry from Grinnell College and an MBA in General Management from Metropolitan College of New York. Grisel Pren Monje holds a Mexican Folk Dance teacher certification from El Ballet Folklorico de Mexico de Amalia Hernandez, a Mexican Folk Dance and Raza Technique training diploma from El Ballet Folklórico de la Universidad de Colima de el maestro Rafael Zamarripa, and has attended and completed Traditional Mexican Dance workshops and a Stage Production training program in La Escuela Nacional de Danza Folklórica in Mexico City. Alberto Lopez Herrera completed the National Dance Institute’s intensive Teaching Artist training in New York.
Community outreach activities by Calpulli Mexican Dance Company are free or low-cost and target the underserved Mexican and Mexican-American community, and Calpulli Community was launched in 2006 as part of this work. The New York Times wrote about the company, “The dance numbers keep coming - feet stamping, skirts swirling as narrative turns are woven in with easy-to-follow clarity.”
Last updated May 26, 2026.
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