The Festival of the Artes was full of color, music and dancing. Kids ranging from 6-16 years old participated in showing off their talents. There were three acts in particular that caught my attention: a modern dance by a pair of 8 year old cousins, a traditional Colombian dance by two high school students, and a modern dance by a group of 12 year old girls from one of our partner communities in El Cocal.

The first dance was amazing! These kids looked like professional dancers. They danced to at least 4 different genres of music including swing, salsa and disco. It was a cute, appropriate and upbeat mix of music and dancing. Then, the regaton came on. While many Costa Ricans do consider the hip shaking and grinding dance moves of regaton to be part of their culture, it was a little shocking to see 8 year olds performing the same moves for their parents, teachers, and strangers. All of a sudden, these children looked like adults flaunting their sexuality. I asked some of the teachers about it and they felt it was normal. And, maybe it is?

The second dance was a traditional dance from Colombia and was danced by an attractive pair. The dance began with the girl (wearing a revealing top and long traditional skirt) shaking her chest at the boy sitting in a chair. As the dance continued, the boy got up and danced around the girl as she shook her hips and chest. The music that accompanied the dance asked the question, “You are so beautiful for what?” My co-worker from Spain commented to me that sometimes we forget what we teach children. Curious, I asked our Colombian volunteer if that was an accurate portrayal of the dance. She said it was, but the girl would usually cover her stomach. Again, I was a little surprised by how sexual the dance and lyrics were, but the rest of the audience took it as completely appropriate and normal.

The last dance was performed by a group of 12 year old girls from El Cocal. They didn’t have enough money for a costume, so the volunteers made them beautiful tie-die t-shirts, put glitter in their hair, and painted their faces to look like butterflies (their team name). This dance was not as coordinated as the others, but it was wholesome and cute and something I would expect girls their age to perform. However, the audience was much less interested. I wondered, is this event placing a higher importance on sexuality than creativity? I think it is actually something much simpler. All three dances were very entertaining and it was clear a lot of time, energy and practice went into presenting them. In the end, these kids moved past their everyday lives and tried something new, which should always be applauded.