About
Calpulli Community is a program that offers classes in folkloric dance and musical instrumentation. The program includes dance classes that draw on Mexican folk traditions and live music elements.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Price: The program is by voluntary donation for youth and low cost for adults.
Calpulli Community is part of Calpulli Mexican Dance Company, a not-for-profit organization founded in New York City in 2003. Calpulli Community began in 2006 as a donation-based performing arts training program for youth and now serves over 100 students weekly. The organization’s mission is to celebrate the diversity of Mexican and Mexican-American cultural heritage through dance-based programming that includes live music, professional performances, arts-in-education and cultural enrichment programming, and community outreach activities that are free or low-cost and focus on the underserved Mexican and Mexican-American community.
The leadership team includes Executive Director and Co-Founder Juan Castaño, Artistic Director Grisel Pren Monje, and Director of Arts in Education and Co-Founder Alberto Lopez Herrera. Juan Castaño has over 25 years of experience as a dancer of Mexican folk traditions and dance theater. 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 completed Traditional Mexican Dance workshops and a Stage Production training program at La Escuela Nacional de Danza Folklórica in Mexico City. Alberto Lopez Herrera has over 30 years of experience in Mexican folk dance and storytelling and completed the National Dance Institute’s intensive Teaching Artist training in New York, and he shares his knowledge of Mexican dance traditions with younger generations through Calpulli Community.
A New York Times review of Calpulli Mexican Dance Company noted, “The dance numbers keep coming - feet stamping, skirts swirling as narrative turns are woven in with easy-to-follow clarity.”
Last updated January 20, 2026.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Price: The program is by voluntary donation for youth and low cost for adults.
Calpulli Community is part of Calpulli Mexican Dance Company, a not-for-profit organization founded in New York City in 2003. Calpulli Community began in 2006 as a donation-based performing arts training program for youth and now serves over 100 students weekly. The organization’s mission is to celebrate the diversity of Mexican and Mexican-American cultural heritage through dance-based programming that includes live music, professional performances, arts-in-education and cultural enrichment programming, and community outreach activities that are free or low-cost and focus on the underserved Mexican and Mexican-American community.
The leadership team includes Executive Director and Co-Founder Juan Castaño, Artistic Director Grisel Pren Monje, and Director of Arts in Education and Co-Founder Alberto Lopez Herrera. Juan Castaño has over 25 years of experience as a dancer of Mexican folk traditions and dance theater. 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 completed Traditional Mexican Dance workshops and a Stage Production training program at La Escuela Nacional de Danza Folklórica in Mexico City. Alberto Lopez Herrera has over 30 years of experience in Mexican folk dance and storytelling and completed the National Dance Institute’s intensive Teaching Artist training in New York, and he shares his knowledge of Mexican dance traditions with younger generations through Calpulli Community.
A New York Times review of Calpulli Mexican Dance Company noted, “The dance numbers keep coming - feet stamping, skirts swirling as narrative turns are woven in with easy-to-follow clarity.”
Last updated January 20, 2026.
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