Vanessa Mix came to the United States from Panama eight years ago, and for most of those years she’s taught Spanish at Meridian High School.

“I just love to share with (students) the Hispanic culture in general,” Mix said, “and I’m still learning myself because I’m from just one of those 21 countries.”

Mix is the sponsor of Sociedad Honoraria Hispanica — the Spanish Honor Society — at the high school, and she co-sponsors the Spanish Club with teacher Sandra Simpson.

Mix is also helping to coordinate a performance by Ollimpaxqui Ballet Company on Thursday. The company, based in Texas, is performing at Meridian High School with two shows. The first, from 10 to 11:15 a.m., is called “Dances of Mexico,” and the second, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., is called “Dances of Latin America.”

A ticket for one show costs $15, and tickets for both shows cost $20. The performance is sponsored by the Spanish Club, and proceeds will help to pay expenses for students who travel to Spain on a school trip in 2019.

“The students will be participating all the time,” said Eduardo Gutierrez, the company’s director. “It’s not only seeing the performance; it’s being part of the performance.”

Gutierrez said students will be invited on stage to learn dance steps and to sing along.

The event accentuates the whole process of reaching out to other cultures — something that Mix described as a key goal in the Spanish program.

“Some of my students do not have the opportunity to get out of Meridian,” she said. “I’m trying to help them to experience (Latin American cultures) while they’re here. That’s one of the reasons we are bringing this show to our school. We’re trying to connect with that community.”

Mix described the process of seeing beyond the immediate community — or piecing together, imaginatively, the portraits of cultures through the details students absorb in their classes and activities.

“What we’re doing is trying to make the community aware that there are other cultures around us,” she said. “In the past, we went to an elementary school and celebrated Christmas with them, doing Spanish-speaking countries’ dances and (introducing) the pinata to the little children.”

Mix said she’s also taken students to area churches that offer services in Spanish.

About 10 students, in all, participate in the Spanish Club and the Spanish Honor Society, Mix said. Those students keep on learning about Spanish-speaking culture after their courses, and they also pass that learning along.

“Last year,” added Amber Branch, a junior at MHS, “we went to Ross Collins and taught a class of pre-K kids their numbers (in Spanish), and we taught them about Cinco de Mayo.”

Branch said she and other students also go to Mexican restaurants and other places where they might be able to engage in conversation.

“It’s just basic stuff,” she said, “like ‘How are you doing?’ or names, or weather.”

Branch said the people who work in the restaurants tend to be patient with people striving to learn, and who in some ways may still be in the early stages.

Adora Norman, also a Meridian High junior, said she could envision speaking Spanish for a long time, particularly in her professional life.

“I want to be in the medical field, and I know there will be times when I encounter someone who doesn’t speak English,” she said. “Their first language may be Spanish, and it will be a necessity to converse with them and to know what’s going on with them.”

Branch and Norman participate in both the Spanish Club and the Spanish Honor Society.

The Ollimpaxqui Ballet Company has come to the school before, Mix said, and she said students from other area schools will be attending, as well.

The first show focuses on Mexican dance, and the second creates a broader canvas, featuring various kinds of Latin American dance. The company draws its name from “ollimpaxqui,” which means “joyful movement” in Náhuatl, the language of the Aztecs. Mix recalls past performances delving into culturally rich depictions of marriage and other themes.

People interested in the shows can contact Mix at vmix@mpsdconnect.org or Simpson at sgsimpson@mpsdconnect.org.

More information

The Mission of Ollimpaxqui Ballet Company is to increase awareness and promote the traditional and folkloric music and dances of México, Central and South America by providing educational dance programs, public performances and artistic enrichment events to the community.

Online: http://mexballet.com/