Roy Lozano (above photo center, in Tee-shirt) Founder and Artistic Director of the Ballet Folklórico de Texas, was a second-generation Mexican-American who spent his adult life performing, researching and staging folk dances representing Mexico's vast cultures and traditions.

Lozano’s fascination with Mexican folk dance began during his childhood in Corpus Christi, just outside the town of Alice, where he was born.  Each summer his family traveled throughout Mexico to watch his father play professional baseball in the Mexican League.  But it was the regional music and dance, more than baseball, that Lozano enjoyed most.  It was after several of these trips into the interior of Mexico that he soon realized that he had been missing the significance of his culture and the identity of his heritage.  He found new meaning to the enormous volume of music and its relation to the traditions and customs of the Mexican people.  After witnessing his first dance performance at the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City, he knew that dance was to be his life's ambition and love.

Roy began folklórico dance classes at the age of fifteen while attending Christ the King Hiigh School and continued his dancing while studying biology at the University of Texas in the mid-70s.  He, along with a small group of like-minded students, founded the UT Ballet Folklórico troupe in 1975 as a performing outlet for Hispanic students interested in Mexican folk dance.

Lozano originally planned a medical career, but during his senior year at UT and on a dare from a friend, he bluffed his way backstage after an Austin performance of the Ballet Folklórico de México and demanded an audition from the company’s director.  His audition was granted - on the spot in the director’s dressing room - and, two weeks later, Roy was dancing in Mexico City with the world’s finest ballet folklórico company.  What began as a temporary break from college soon turned into his life’s work.  After dancing around the world with the Ballet Folklórico de México and witnessing audiences’ appreciation for ballet folklórico, Lozano decided to return to Texas and form his own folklórico company.

In 1982, with the help of Gonzalo Barrientos, the state senator who was then a state representative, Lozano founded Roy Lozano ‘s Ballet Folklórico de Texas in Austin.  At first, he supported himself as a waiter and financed the company’s wardrobes from his tips and savings account.  In founding his company, he made it his commitment to create a program of high quality dance training as well as to develop a vehicle which provided dance history and performance possibilities for Austin's and Texas' youth.  By 1985, Lozano’s company and its associated school had become cultural representatives of Austin’s Hispanic community.  Over the years, the company grew steadily, expanding both its performance schedule and community-outreach programs.  Roy's commitment is still reflected through the entire Ballet Folklórico de Texas organization as today, the company is recognized as one of Texas’ leading ballet folklórico troupes, noted for its talented performers, detailed costumes and varied, authentic repertoire.

Lozano was a stickler for details, and he traveled to Mexico at least three times per year to research new dances.  He took great care to preserve the authenticity of each folk dance’s music, steps and costumes.  Roy viewed his work as a way to preserve the rich cultural heritage of Mexico and to educate Hispanics and non-Hispanics alike about Mexican history and traditions.  He always tried to represent as many different Mexican states and regions as possible through dance.  In a 1992 interview, he said, "I would have to live three or four lifetimes to show all of Mexico’s folk dance; it’s that diverse.  One lifetime is not enough."

In February, 1994, he was given the first "Toma Mi Corazón" award from the La Peña arts organization.  At the same time, he received proclamations from the Texas House of Representatives, the Texas Senate, Gov. Ann Richards and the Austin City Council praising him for preserving the history of Mexican American culture through Ballet Folklórico.

Through his dance career, he studied under Beatriz Rincón, Alura Flores, Sanjuanita Martinez-Hunter, Sylvia Lozano, Tizóc Fuentes Yaco, and Amalia Hernandez.  He also conducted master workshops in London, Hong Kong and Mexico City.

Roy Lozano died early on March 4, 1994, just 10 days after his 40th birthday, of AIDS related pneumonia that had hospitalized him several times during the preceding six weeks or so.

  Para más informaciónes
  La Escuela
  Itinerario
  Programas
  Repertorio
  RLBFT Home Page