Elvia Lima Espinoza
Mariachi & Folkloric Dance Teacher/Paraeducator, Wenatchee School District
Elvia Lima Espinoza is a paraeducator at Pioneer Middle School in Wenatchee, WA. When she was 12 years old, her family moved to the Wenatchee Valley from Mexico. She was enrolled at Pioneer Middle School and was pleased to find the mariachi dance program that allowed her to connect to her culture and heritage. Today, Elvia teaches the class herself and shares the love of mariachi and folkloric dance with students in the Wenatchee School District.
Part 1 – Introduction
Meet Elvia Lima, a paraeducator at Pioneer Middle School in Wenatchee, WA. She incorporates culture and history when she teaches mariachi and folkloric dance to the middle school students.Elvia moved to the Wenatchee Valley from Mexico when she was 12 years old.
Part 2 – Teaching Mexican Dance
Elvia talks about the process of creating a dance, teaching it to the students, and the performance itself. Elvia talks about the subjects that are found in her dance lessons including storytelling and math.
Part 3 – Celebrating Culture Through Dance
Elvia shares her background as a Pioneer Middle School student herself and how she started teaching dance to others.
Part 4 – Who and what influences you and your work?
Elvia talks about how her family holds a lot of influence in her work. She shares how her grandparents used to tell her stories of her culture from a young age and taught her the importance of knowing your history.
Part 5 – A Look at Performance Attire
Elvia talks about why she loves what she does and then shows us examples of the attire students wear during performances.
The NCESD Early Learning team has prepared a lesson plan for you to use in your classroom that was inspired by Elvia’s work. You can view the document below or click the “pop out” button in the top right corner to open it in a new tab to download the PDF file.
