Today’s A Journey through Aesthetic Realms will be presented in Spanish, with subtitles in Arabic, Aulacese (Vietnamese), Aulacese (Vietnamese), Chinese, English, French, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Hungarian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Mongolian, Persian, Portuguese, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Thai.

Greetings enthusiastic viewers and welcome to A Journey through Aesthetics Realms on Supreme Master Television. Between June 16 and 19, 2010 the renowned National Folklore Ballet of the Dominican Republic staged a performance of “Creole Passion”

in four large Formosan (Taiwanese) cities. The event was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Formosa (Taiwan) and the Embassy of the Dominican Republic. Like a fresh breeze in mid-summer, the magnificent dances led to a true love and appreciation for Caribbean culture across this beautiful island.

Supreme Master Television had the opportunity to interview key members of this colorful group touring Formosa (Taiwan) including a representative from the Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Culture, Bernarda Jorge who serves as the nation’s Vice Minister of Creativity and Popular Participation, ballet director Professor Josefina Miniño, principal male dancer Gregorio Rodriguez, and principal female dancer Wanda Camilo. Let us now hear them introduce their production.

This show is called Creole Passion which was played for almost three weekends in the (National Theater’s) main hall in the Dominican Republic and it was a sell-out.

The word creole describes best that very mixture that we are. And what we are is a creole country, a mulatto country, a Caribbean country.

Passion is the strongest feeling you can have. It could be a passion for dancing, a passion for singing. Where does this passion come from? From the culture of our country, the passion of our folklore.

I want to convey to them how great we are as a country, as a culture, as a nation, the great love and the great heart with which we do things. With this Dominican delegation, we believe it is very important to have come here to Formosa (Taiwan), because through it not only Formosa (Taiwan) will be able to see the Dominican culture, but also a part of what is the rich cultural treasure of the Caribbean.

Professor Miniño now discusses the specific dances performed in Creole Passion. The opening of the show, we make a portrait of what the explorer finds as an island and what inhabited it at that time, our Indians, our Taino race. Those Indians who were highly sublime, dreamers, believers, very devoted to God, very religious and very passive, and very peaceful. Afterwards we see how the Spanish man comes to settle in our land, and then the blacks came and we have a mixture of Dominican, Spanish and African.

Some of our dances are of European origin, of Spanish origin, others of Dominican origin and the African-Spanish influence. From the black people we have very beautiful dances that are very energetic.

We have the “Origin” ritual, which shows the origin of our island. We have “Mangulina,” we have a merger of three very different genres as “Carabineza,” “Dominican foot stamping” and “Machaco.” “Machaco” is a dance which is performed after a successful planting and then these black people go to celebrate that year’s great harvest. Then we also have songs like merengue which we have in different forms; here we bring it in its most traditional form.

We very much preserve our merengue as the representative dance of the Dominican Republic.

We also have dances and kettledrums; we also have Carnival dances. Our Carnival is very beautiful. It is the euphoria of the people who pour into the streets once a year, for everybody to get dressed in costumes in a way and let off steam. And each one of those masks and those clothes, they are made as everyone wants it to be or has decided to invent, what he has sought to create, and that is a day to live it, with the mask that he wants to wear, and the Dominican very much like their Carnival.

The Dominican Republic is a very special place and her wonderful people truly have a vibrant culture.

Dominican Republic occupies three quarters of the island “Hispaniola.” It is at the heart of the Caribbean.

In general, foreigners who go to the Dominican Republic, what they praise very much is the joy of the Dominicans; the warmth with which they welcome foreigners. Our people are very generous, our people are very devoted to the best causes, our people traditionally have stood by their principles, they have heroes, and they have great noble people.

My country is very humble, very hardworking, but everything it does, it does it with great passion.

We are very humanitarian, polite, and we are passionate about wanting to grow and reach higher every day. We also have our rhythm and that is what identifies us as a nation.

I see that the dances are very different, but one thing in common is that they are all very happy.

Oh yes, we enjoy in a very natural way, so we address everything with a smile, with celebration, with dancing. We are very festive, we are not overwhelmed either by need or natural disasters or anything. We are only strong believers in God and we believe that God made us to smile, dance and enjoy.

The Dominican culture is very rich; it has many manifestations in all the fields and all the areas. But the dancing and performing is where it has shone the most and is constantly enriched.

What a beautiful lineage! After these messages, we’ll return to learn more about the National Folklore Ballet. Please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television.

This exchange has been very beneficial, and with this tour, we look to strengthen those ties of friendship, of cooperation that exists between the Dominican Republic and (Formosa) Taiwan.

Welcome back to A Journey through Aesthetic Realms on Supreme Master Television. The National Folklore Ballet travels the world sharing the magic of the traditional dance arts from the Dominican Republic.

Let’s learn more about the group from its director, Professor Josefina Miniño and others. The National Folklore Ballet features 45 artists from Dominican folklore, between dancers and ballerinas, four soloists, an ensemble of 12 musicians, two very special singers from the choir of the Ballet and one who is our star of Dominican folklore, Ileana Reinoso, also the soloists are Wanda Camilo, Gregorio Rodriguez and Luis Tejada.

A very young group, with lots of energy to perform in each of the genres that we have brought over here. We train every day, daily. The training is very hard, we all work together and in that way we can perfect our techniques even more. We have teachers that come from other countries to give us classes to train us and also to learn more from other cultures and the work is quite arduous.

All the hard work pays off when Professor Miniño sees the troupe bringing her country’s precious national art, spirit and hospitality to the world.

We have walked many countries around the world, displaying our dances, our singing, with the same passion with which I have come here, so that you know, that little island which is called the Dominican Republic and when you feel that you do not have a place to be, that is your island which will wait for you, always with its love, with affection and a smile.

The National Folklore Ballet has received numerous accolades for the splendor of its artistic productions.

In Mexico, we were award winners in a big festival which is called Cervantino, which is very prestigious and we have been award winners in big festivals, in many countries, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, and New York (USA).

What has been the response from the audiences who have had the pleasure of watching these dancers?

Happy. I was at this last event that we did, I went to a neighborhood, very far away, we had 4,000 very underprivileged children, but they were calm, listening, and looking. The dances and everything we did that night, we did in a euphoric way.

Later, we were in the towns, in universities also and it was very successful. They are like sponges. What you are giving to them, they absorb it, and so we have to give them good things, so that the country keeps with its traditions.

Both Gregorio Rodriguez and Wanda Camilo have been dancers for years and are true exemplary professionals.

I am a Dominican folk dancer. I have been with the National Folklore Ballet for 18 years. I am 35 years old. I am the principal male dancer and master of the National Folklore Ballet. Apart from that, in my country I have my own dance company.

I started dancing at the age of five. I like it because it is the most renowned dance institution in the Dominican Republic.

I am a member of the National Folklore Ballet which is the institution which represents our country at the highest cultural level. I am the principal female dancer; I have been part of this institution for 16 years. I have attended the school of Fine Arts since I was nine, from which I graduated in folk dance, in modern and popular dances too, and I stayed to become part of the ballet, because of the passion I felt for dancing. For me the experience has been very big, very fulfilling to be able to represent in different countries with different cultures what we as Dominican people have. We have also learned a lot from other cultures with which we have had the chance to share.

So what is the attraction of dance that you are so passionate about?

The beauty of dancing is to be able to express what you feel through movement and to make the people in front of you feel what you want to express, to be able to share with them what we truly are as a people, our roots, such as the traditions we have. It is a great satisfaction that every artist has.

Bravo National Folklore Ballet for your stirring performances! Our heartfelt thanks Vice Minister of Creativity and Popular Participation Bernarda Jorge, National Folklore Ballet director Professor Josefina Miniño, principal dancers Wanda Camilo and Gregorio Rodriguez and other members of the dance troupe for sharing the lovely heritage of the Dominican Republic and your friendship.

May your mission of bringing people around the globe closer together through art be blessed with continued success! Finally, we would like to extend our gratitude to the tour organizers, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Formosa (Taiwan) and the Embassy of the Dominican Republic. Esteemed viewers, please join us next Monday on A Journey through Aesthetic Realms for part two of our program on the National Folklore Ballet.

Thank you for being with us today on our show. Up next on Supreme Master Television is Vegetarianism: The Noble Way of Living, after Noteworthy News. May everyone across the world enjoy eternal peace and tranquility.

We’d like to thank the following organizations for allowing us to film the dance performances: *Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Formosa (Taiwan) * ICAA, IOV Taiwan *Embassy of the Dominican Republic

For more details on the National Folklore Ballet, please contact Ms. Josefina Miniño on

Today’s A Journey through Aesthetic Realms will be presented in Spanish, with subtitles in Arabic, Aulacese (Vietnamese), Chinese, English, French, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Mongolian, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Thai.

Greetings, enthusiastic viewers, and welcome to A Journey through Aesthetic Realms on Supreme Master Television. Today we present the conclusion of a two-part series introducing the National Folklore Ballet of the Dominican Republic.

Between June 16 and 19, 2010 this renowned dance troupe staged a performance of “Creole Passion” in four large Formosan (Taiwanese) cities.

The word creole describes best that very mixture that we are. And what we are is a creole country, a mulatto country, a Caribbean country.

Passion is the strongest feeling you can have. It could be a passion for dancing, a passion for singing. Where does this passion come from? From the culture of our country, the passion of our folklore.

The event was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Formosa (Taiwan) and the Embassy of the Dominican Republic. Like a fresh breeze in mid-summer, the magnificent dances led to a true love and appreciation for Caribbean culture across this beautiful island.

The Director of the Ballet is Professor Josefina Miniño, who is an accomplished artist and a wonderful cultural ambassador. In 2006, Professor Miniño received a commendation from the Congress of the Dominican Republic in recognition of her 50 plus years of contributing to the Dominican arts and for laying the foundation of modern dance in the nation.

I started on television in my country in 1952. Oh! Long time, yes. But I started at nine years old. Afterwards I went to study abroad. I studied in the United States with that great master of modern dance in the world, Martha Graham.

I have already had groups and groups and groups formed by me. It is my new generation already and today I am the director of the National Folklore Ballet, where we project what we are as a people, our identity, and a faithful portrait of the Dominican man in every aspect.

As a woman I feel very, very happy, very fulfilled, very privileged, because I’ve had in my hands a lot of youth, to which I’ve taught all my knowledge through 59 years of my artistic career. I’ve received high honors. I contribute to my country, in keeping youth healthy. Thanks to this kind of work that I’ve had, I keep them happy preserving and knowing and loving their folklore.

The folk music and dance of the Dominican Republic has a distinctive charm that has won the hearts of many, including those living far from the shores of this small Caribbean nation.

The culture of our country is very broad, very beautiful and very lovely. We have a lot of cadence. Our rhythm is a very contagious rhythm.

The spirit of the dance is a spirit that I would say is one of the strongest. But the dancer has to show it, has to feel it and has to convey it to the audience, all at the same time; it is the strongest and most beautiful thing that exists.

Nowadays it is the merengue, and the bachata taking off in the international market too. And los palos is a music that started just as the merengue did. It is a national rhythm but it has not been spread as the merengue has. Los palos is a really great rhythm that is literally played throughout the whole country.

The Dominican Republic’s northern countryside is home to “bachata,” a term that describes a style of music and dance which typically features a guitar. Bachata pieces are usually stories about romance, love lost and heartache. Merengue and bachata are the two music and dance genres most close identified with the Dominican Republic and that is why both are included in the Creole Passion production. Noted Dominican artist Juan Luis Guerra is credited with popularizing bachata abroad.

We also have something that our Juan Luis Guerra has made known to the world and it is the bachata. It is really easy for you to dance your bachata.

It is a rhythm that has appeal both worldwide and nationwide as well.

These amazing music and dance are derived from a unique blend of cultures.

The Dominican Republic has an extensive repertoire, like some 50 kinds of dance. The mixing of Spanish, Africans and Dominicans develops a frenzied, rather euphoric dance where really only the one who has a passion for something, can perform this type of genre.

About the dresses, they are very colorful?

Yes, they have many colors, precisely because of the mixture of races. Because there are black colors, the very strong colors, the reds, yellows, greens, a combination of very strong colors, which is what really makes these dances vibrant. We also have things from Spanish origin mixed with Dominican customs that bring calm to every wardrobe, the laces, the flounces and the colors are softer.

And do the colors have any meaning?

Well, there is one that has a special meaning, and it is the color of our flag, that we perform a good merengue with the color of the Dominican flag as something as a tribute to our land. The colors are all strong, flying colors and many mixes of blouses with long sleeves, of collars; (it is) very pretty.

The folk dances of the Dominican Republic are truly expressive of passion! We’ll be back after this important message and continue our discussion of Dominican dance costumes. Please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television.

Welcome back to A Journey through Aesthetic Realms on Supreme Master Television. The National Folklore Ballet travels the world sharing the magic of the traditional dance arts from the Dominican Republic. Costumes are an integral part of this country’s dance heritage and well represent its national spirit.

For merengue, most of the time we use flag-dresses standing for the colors of our flag, which is a red, white and blue dress and we always decorate it with flowers as you can see on me right now. We always decorate it with white or red flowers depending on the prevailing color of our dresses. We use character shoes just as the ballet dancers and they also will depend on the color of our dresses.

And do these colors represent any spirit?

Well yes, red indicates strength, white purity and each one of these colors we wear them with a lot of pride and with a lot of love.

The music ensemble that accompanies the National Folklore Ballet plays a medley of instruments with different origins.

Our musical group consists of a guira, drum, accordion that is of European origin, to strengthen our group melodically, because in the past it was played with guitar, then the accordion came, and later the saxophone joined them.

Let’s take a closer look at merengue, the most popular dance style in the Dominican Republic.

Merengue was born in the region of the north of Santiago.

We have merengue because it is the national dance that truly identifies us.

The merengue is the most representative dance in our country and it was the first which spread outside our country. And it is, I would say, the window through which the world has seen us. It is the one that has been recorded the most by all these big Dominican artists. Juan Luis Guerra, Papa Molina, Jose Antonio Molina, many, many big stars, Rafael Solano, many big conductors have spread merengue far from the country.

To promote the beautiful Dominican artistic traditions, Professor Miniño has worked tirelessly over the years to share her passion for the arts with fellow citizens.

We have a program, maybe four or five galas a year, in the biggest auditoriums of Santo Domingo, and we also dance in squares, for the Dominican families for free, and the Department of Culture.

It is our point that the Dominican families watch and know about our folklore so that generation by generation they learn it, love it and preserve it.

We also have a television program. We have talks which we attend. I also have a program which will be in its 25th year now; it is called Folklore for the Schools. Schools go on their buses to the Palace of Fine Arts or the National Theater, and all those students will hear, on an educational level, a program where we say who we are as a people, our identity, our roots, our music, our singing, and that they must preserve and love their folklore more and more.

On behalf of the warm Dominican people, Professor Miniño has a sincere invitation to the world to come and experience Dominican hospitality and culture.

We want to present to the world that we are a people who sing, who laugh, who dance, who believe in God, and that thanks to God we are all very united. We want to tell the world that in the world does exist a small island called the Dominican Republic which is waiting for you, to dance for you, to sing for you, to smile at you, to offer you our beaches, to give you all this immense sun that we have. It is endless in giving you love, in giving you smiles and making you feel like you are in your very own house.

Our appreciation National Folklore Ballet director Professor Josefina Miniño and dancers Gregorio Rodriguez, Wanda Camilo and all other members of the troupe for sharing with us your loving and colorful heritage. Blessed be your effervescent nation with everlasting peace and prosperity!

We’d like to thank the following organizations for allowing us to film the dance performances: *Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Formosa (Taiwan) * ICAA, IOV Taiwan *Embassy of the Dominican Republic For more details on the National Folklore Ballet, please contact Professor Josefina Miniño at

or Gracious viewers, thank you for your heartwarming company today on A Journey through Aesthetic Realms.

Up next on Supreme Master Television is Vegetarianism: The Noble Way of Living, following Noteworthy News. May everyone across the world enjoy eternal peace and tranquility.