Trading tackles for expression through dance

“From the age of two, I was playing on the football field. I liked it at first, but as I got older, I realized that it wasn’t my scene,” says Ricardo Salinas.

Although his family thought he’d follow in the same footsteps as his brothers in that sport, a dilemma arose during his teen years: How to tell his parents that his passion was actually dance?

Ricardo, who is currently studying Digital Business Transformation Engineering (ITD) at the Tec, began his journey as a self-taught dancer by watching tutorials and practicing alone.

“It was stressful because there isn’t much space in my house. I would dance in my garage and my feet were all sore because the floor wasn’t made for dancing on,” he shares.

Afterwards, he managed to get into a dance academy where he perfected his technique. He has taken part in international events, and thanks to a scholarship, he’s on the Monterrey campus Modern Dance Team.

Between the family tradition and his own dream

As a boy, Ricardo played as a defensive lineman for the Monterrey team Club Águilas A.C., one of the oldest sports clubs in the city. 

“My family was super involved with the team, so I was told ‘Your brothers played, now it’s your turn,’” he says.

His after-school activity was exclusively football. When he was in fifth grade, a new concern arose.

“My friends performed a dance at a talent show in my elementary school. When I saw those girls, I was like, ‘Wow! I want to get up on stage and do what they’re doing.’”

The first thing that came to his mind was that his parents wouldn’t like him trading American football for dance, so he tried to practice both activities at the same time.

“I had a break before going to football and that’s when I would practice in my room, trying to copy dance videos and improve my flexibility,” he says.

Once in middle school, a friend introduced him to the owner of a dance studio called Dance Academy Monterrey. She was the one who helped him convince his parents to let him train at the studio.

“They agreed, but on the condition that I didn’t abandon my football training,” he says.

(...) I would practice in my room, trying to copy dance videos and improve my flexibility.”

“I realized I had a long way to go.”

The day he arrived for his first taster class at the Dance Academy with his more experienced friends, he realized his dance journey was just beginning.

“I realized that I had a long way to go despite having trained for so long in my room,” he confesses.

Ricardo would study in the mornings, practice football in the afternoons, and learn the basics of ballet at the academy in the evenings.

One day, when leaving football practice, he found out what his first dance competition would be like. 

“I thought they weren’t going to choose me for any dance, and out of nowhere, a friend calls me: ‘Hey, have you seen yourself on the lists? You have a solo.’ And I’m there with shoulder pads and a helmet on. I was in shock,” he recalls.

Even though Ricardo didn’t get the results he’d hoped for in that competition, taking part helped him convince his parents that dance was what he wanted to focus on.

“I gave up football in my second year of high school. I didn’t hate it, I just wanted to improve my dancing,” he admits.

For the Tec student, that decision has meant personal growth. “It requires a lot of discipline. I was able to learn that and apply it at school. Thanks to that, I improved a lot academically,” he says.

“I was very shy, and I found a new family when I got to Dance Academy. Dance changed my life and I’m very happy to be who I am today,” he emphasizes.

Winning a scholarship thanks to dance 

Dance practice led Ricardo to win an Artistic Talent Scholarship from PrepaTec and to be on their Dance Team.

Both with the team and on his own, Ricardo began to participate in international dance events such as TDR Dance Convention, Jump Dance Convention, and Revolt Intensive. 

What he considers one of his most important experiences is the one he had with Intrigue Dance Intensive, a leading dance organization that has managed conventions and competitions around the world since 2007.

During his participation at Intrigue in 2019, in Monterrey, he won the True Performer scholarship in the senior age division, the highest award given to participants in improvisation. 

This gave him the opportunity to compete in the nationals to become an Intrigue Assistant, which would allow him to take part in other Intrigue events, take exclusive classes with the teachers, and be part of the staff, but he didn’t succeed on that occasion.

Ricardo waited a year to audition again to become an Intrigue Assistant in 2020. Because it was in the midst of the pandemic, he had to train from home, but this time he succeeded.

“A friend and I had to choose the competitions we could find cheap flights to, because we did have to pay for those, and I went to seven cities, including Houston, Cleveland, and Provo in Utah.

“Eventually, they gave me the chance to give a class at one of the locations in the United States. There were around 250 to 300 people, and it was an indescribable experience,” he points out proudly.

Winning at VibrArt, the Tec’s cultural festival

He took part in VibrArt 2022, the Tec’s Arts and Culture festival, as part of the Monterrey campus Modern Dance Team, where he continues studying under the Artistic Talent Scholarship.

He and his team won first place in the Modern Dance category from Tec Dance with their choreography to “Somewhere Only We Know.”

It’s only the second time Ricardo has taken part in the Tec’s national Arts and Culture Festival. The last time was before the pandemic, when he was still in high school.

At just 20 years old, Ricardo is already thinking about the future. He intends to take his participation in dance competitions to the next level.

“I want to keep improving, go to more competitions, continue representing my campus, and a new goal that I have is to take part in the next VibrArt with my own choreography,” he says.

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