WEBVTT - Ballet Brothers 0:00:03.080 --> 0:00:03.360 Hi. 0:00:03.600 --> 0:00:08.360 This is Christopher Soudo, writer and prison abolitionist. I'm currently 0:00:08.560 --> 0:00:12.440 in the hills of San Salvador and wanted to wish 0:00:12.480 --> 0:00:15.760 a happy thirtieth anniversary to Latino USA. 0:00:19.160 --> 0:00:22.319 This is Latino USA, the radio journal of news and 0:00:22.440 --> 0:00:27.560 Curture Latino USA. Latino Latino USA. I'm Maria Inojosa. We 0:00:27.680 --> 0:00:31.319 bring you stories that are underreported but that mattered to you, 0:00:31.440 --> 0:00:33.800 overlooked by the wrestler media, and while the country is 0:00:33.840 --> 0:00:36.199 struggling to deal with these, we listen to the stories 0:00:36.240 --> 0:00:40.200 of black and Latinos. Do United Latino Front, a cultural 0:00:40.240 --> 0:00:45.040 renaissance organizing at the forefront of the movement. I'm Maria 0:00:45.120 --> 0:00:48.040 ino Jossayan. 0:00:48.720 --> 0:00:51.680 Decision making is so important to be able to put 0:00:51.840 --> 0:00:55.560 your ego aside and in a way to reshape your 0:00:55.640 --> 0:00:58.400 dreams as you go, and to be willing to listen 0:00:58.800 --> 0:01:01.520 to people that are trying to look out for you. 0:01:06.240 --> 0:01:11.119 From Futuro Media and BrX, It's Latino USA. I'm Maria Rosa. 0:01:11.280 --> 0:01:15.839 Today a conversation between Isak and Istevan Ernandez, the first 0:01:16.120 --> 0:01:20.440 siblings to become principal dancers for the San Francisco Ballet. 0:01:23.480 --> 0:01:26.880 Brothers Isac and Estevan Ernandez have performed on some of 0:01:26.920 --> 0:01:30.760 the most prestigious stages in the world, but their journey 0:01:30.840 --> 0:01:33.640 to the top rank of their industry had a pretty 0:01:33.840 --> 0:01:43.000 unique start. Originally from Guadalajara in western Mexico, Isaq and 0:01:43.120 --> 0:01:47.880 Estevan's first ballet teacher was their dad, Ector, and their 0:01:47.880 --> 0:01:52.960 first ballet studio was their own backyard. Ecto had a 0:01:53.040 --> 0:01:56.520 fourteen year career as a professional ballet dancer in Mexico 0:01:56.680 --> 0:02:00.320 and in the US, so he taught his eleventh children 0:02:00.720 --> 0:02:05.760 in his own makeshift studio, but it was his son 0:02:06.000 --> 0:02:09.280 Isak who was the first one to really fall in 0:02:09.320 --> 0:02:12.680 love with the art of ballet. 0:02:12.840 --> 0:02:16.600 He was really exciting when we would do something new. 0:02:16.840 --> 0:02:19.160 I remember the first time I did a triple tour, 0:02:19.400 --> 0:02:21.760 my dad came out running to look for my mom 0:02:21.840 --> 0:02:23.320 so that she could see it happen. 0:02:23.800 --> 0:02:28.240 Isak's younger brother is Stevan, soon shared in that passion. 0:02:28.440 --> 0:02:31.160 I would watch my siblings and my dad in our 0:02:31.160 --> 0:02:35.639 backyard doing classes, and then through that I think something 0:02:35.919 --> 0:02:39.040 sparked in me that made me want to also learn. 0:02:39.760 --> 0:02:43.800 Both brothers would go on to develop successful careers on stage, 0:02:44.240 --> 0:02:52.320 even surpassing their mentor Stevan continued his education at the 0:02:52.400 --> 0:02:56.080 Royal Ballet School in London. In twenty thirteen, he joined 0:02:56.080 --> 0:02:59.680 the San Francisco Ballet, which is the oldest professional ballet 0:02:59.680 --> 0:03:03.480 company in the US, and in twenty nineteen he was 0:03:03.520 --> 0:03:08.120 promoted to principal dancer in the company. Isak continued his 0:03:08.280 --> 0:03:11.919 training at the Rock School for Dance Education in Philadelphia. 0:03:12.240 --> 0:03:15.079 He's danced for the American Ballet Theater in New York City, 0:03:15.360 --> 0:03:19.240 the San Francisco Ballet, the Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam, 0:03:19.639 --> 0:03:24.040 and the English National Ballet in London. In twenty twenty two, 0:03:24.560 --> 0:03:28.480 Isak returned to the San Francisco Ballet as a principal dancer, 0:03:28.880 --> 0:03:32.120 where he joined Estevan, marking the first time in the 0:03:32.120 --> 0:03:37.280 San Francisco Ballet's ninety year history that siblings reached the 0:03:37.400 --> 0:03:38.960 rank of principal dancer. 0:03:39.600 --> 0:03:45.840 I admire how good my brother became so quickly. I 0:03:45.840 --> 0:03:49.360 had the luck also to have him around seeing me 0:03:49.480 --> 0:03:53.680 perform in different places, and then it made me want 0:03:53.720 --> 0:03:54.040 to do. 0:03:54.000 --> 0:03:55.080 It better as well. 0:03:57.800 --> 0:04:00.880 Today, thirty three year old Isak twenty nine year old 0:04:00.960 --> 0:04:03.560 is Steban sit down for a conversation at the San 0:04:03.600 --> 0:04:07.840 Francisco ballet in the city's bustling Civic Center neighborhood. They 0:04:07.880 --> 0:04:11.920 reflect on learning ballet from their father, the decisions young 0:04:12.000 --> 0:04:16.359 dancers face, and their work expanding access to ballet in 0:04:16.440 --> 0:04:20.719 their native Mexico. Here's izach Ernandez starting the conversation with 0:04:20.839 --> 0:04:22.320 his brother is Steban. 0:04:28.360 --> 0:04:31.640 My parents got the house when it was not finished yet. 0:04:32.000 --> 0:04:34.760 They set up in the garden this like circus tent, 0:04:35.839 --> 0:04:39.359 and then it had a backyard that was covered with 0:04:39.480 --> 0:04:42.600 wires to hang clothes, and then it had a slight 0:04:43.080 --> 0:04:48.200 slow towards draining for the water, and my dad set 0:04:48.240 --> 0:04:50.800 up a bar there. And then on the other side 0:04:50.800 --> 0:04:54.560 they had sliding doors that would go into the dining. 0:04:54.279 --> 0:04:57.080 Room, and we used to close those curtains to. 0:04:57.160 --> 0:05:00.760 Use the windows mirrors as the reflect and then we 0:05:00.800 --> 0:05:03.520 would move out all the loading out to the side, 0:05:03.560 --> 0:05:06.719 and we would bring blightwood together tape it in the middle, 0:05:07.560 --> 0:05:10.279 and we would do class there every day, and sometimes 0:05:10.279 --> 0:05:12.719 when it was too hot, we could go on the 0:05:12.800 --> 0:05:16.320 roof and hang some plastic bear or if it was raining, 0:05:17.640 --> 0:05:20.000 we would go inside to the living room and do 0:05:20.120 --> 0:05:25.599 class there. And when my father's former students from like 0:05:25.760 --> 0:05:28.600 twenty years before that heard that he was training us 0:05:28.640 --> 0:05:31.360 in ballet. They decided to put together some money and 0:05:31.440 --> 0:05:33.960 my dad to be able to redo the ballet studio. 0:05:34.240 --> 0:05:38.240 I mean, I definitely think having a more suitable space 0:05:38.600 --> 0:05:43.120 for dance rather than our patio where we hang the 0:05:43.200 --> 0:05:49.880 laundry really didn't make a difference. You're obviously older. 0:05:49.560 --> 0:05:50.000 Than I am. 0:05:50.320 --> 0:05:54.839 Obviously Obviously, Whenever you first started, I think I was 0:05:54.880 --> 0:05:57.240 around four years old maybe, and so when I was 0:05:57.279 --> 0:06:00.360 around seven, I asked my dad to teach me as well. 0:06:00.640 --> 0:06:02.960 I feel like by that point it had been what 0:06:03.040 --> 0:06:06.479 three years of you studying under him, and I feel 0:06:06.480 --> 0:06:08.560 like most of my other siblings had been like, it's 0:06:08.600 --> 0:06:12.760 not for me. Yeah, So it was really helpful when 0:06:12.760 --> 0:06:14.520 you came and joined us. He kind of gave us 0:06:14.680 --> 0:06:18.560 continuity to the classes. But at the same time, I 0:06:18.640 --> 0:06:21.960 know that it was hard, obviously because we were at 0:06:21.960 --> 0:06:25.440 a place already after three years, and you were having 0:06:25.440 --> 0:06:27.719 to catch up, And it was amazing also to see 0:06:27.720 --> 0:06:30.559 how quickly you caught up. You know, at that point, 0:06:30.640 --> 0:06:33.640 we had barely any access to any sort of videos 0:06:33.800 --> 0:06:38.800 or any sort of context. Yeah, I remember that because 0:06:39.000 --> 0:06:42.240 the first time we got a VHS of a professional 0:06:42.279 --> 0:06:50.719 ballet company was abt Let, and also that other documentary 0:06:50.760 --> 0:06:52.440 they made, Born to Be Wild. 0:06:52.520 --> 0:06:55.640 Yeah, that's right. That was really funny. 0:06:55.640 --> 0:06:58.159 That was mind blowing because up until then it was 0:06:58.240 --> 0:07:01.840 my dad just describing steps and then trying to make 0:07:01.880 --> 0:07:04.719 it happen. Yeah, making it up as he went, using 0:07:04.880 --> 0:07:09.240 my dad's stories and his ideas of how ballet should be. 0:07:11.680 --> 0:07:16.320 My dad sometimes would start class and then after two 0:07:16.400 --> 0:07:20.760 combinations would give you a philosophical conversation that would take 0:07:20.760 --> 0:07:24.560 about an hour about how you needed to be responsible 0:07:24.560 --> 0:07:27.840 for your actions, or how the world was not the 0:07:27.920 --> 0:07:31.160 place that he thought it would be, or it could 0:07:31.160 --> 0:07:35.200 be anything really about politics or for morals, or so 0:07:35.280 --> 0:07:39.520 many things. So it was really interesting period because I 0:07:39.680 --> 0:07:41.600 had the chance to spend a lot of time with 0:07:41.720 --> 0:07:44.640 him and to get to know a little bit more 0:07:44.640 --> 0:07:48.160 of his past and his life in New York. He 0:07:48.280 --> 0:07:50.880 lived for fourteen years in New York when he was 0:07:50.920 --> 0:07:54.520 working for Dancity of Harlem, and then he had a 0:07:54.560 --> 0:07:58.160 really rough life in general. I got to really learn 0:07:58.680 --> 0:08:03.679 about resilience a sense from his stories, and how dance 0:08:03.760 --> 0:08:07.440 could also be so fulfilling to someone that they would 0:08:07.440 --> 0:08:12.200 be willing to leave everything behind. I think my dad 0:08:12.600 --> 0:08:16.320 was a very demanding teacher because he knew what he 0:08:16.400 --> 0:08:19.120 was talking about, and he knew that, but actually he 0:08:19.200 --> 0:08:20.920 said it from the beginning. He said, if you want 0:08:20.920 --> 0:08:23.280 to be a valid dancer, you have to be one 0:08:23.280 --> 0:08:25.520 of the best. If not, you're going to really struggle, 0:08:25.520 --> 0:08:27.640 and you're going to have a really hard time. And 0:08:27.680 --> 0:08:31.680 it's a very competitive feel and the life of an 0:08:31.720 --> 0:08:35.480 average dancer can be quite tough. So he said, if 0:08:35.520 --> 0:08:37.880 you really want to do this, you really need to 0:08:37.920 --> 0:08:40.080 be good, and we really need to take this seriously. 0:08:44.000 --> 0:08:46.760 When we decided with my parents that it was time 0:08:46.800 --> 0:08:49.520 to go and study abroad, I took it quite lightly. 0:08:49.600 --> 0:08:52.360 I thought I'll be back in a few weeks or months. 0:08:52.520 --> 0:08:53.360 It didn't really. 0:08:53.200 --> 0:08:57.360 Feel like that decision would mean that I would never 0:08:57.720 --> 0:09:00.920 again live with my parents or under my parents in 0:09:00.960 --> 0:09:04.360 a sense, because from then on I was making all 0:09:05.120 --> 0:09:08.600 my decisions professionally and personally, and I was all of 0:09:08.600 --> 0:09:12.280 the side and exposed to the United States of America. 0:09:12.440 --> 0:09:17.640 Teenage years in Philadelphia. Yeah, I definitely think that people 0:09:17.679 --> 0:09:21.960 don't always tend to consider the amount of a big 0:09:22.000 --> 0:09:26.680 decision making that dance can often require of the people 0:09:26.679 --> 0:09:30.600 that pursue it, especially the people that pursue professionally. You 0:09:30.720 --> 0:09:33.640 left home when you were what thirteen? I left home 0:09:33.640 --> 0:09:36.520 when I was thirteen as well, And yeah, again, I 0:09:36.520 --> 0:09:38.440 think at the time, like you say, it seems like 0:09:39.240 --> 0:09:42.679 something that is trivial. It's not really going to affect 0:09:42.720 --> 0:09:44.880 the rest of your life in the way that it has. 0:09:45.520 --> 0:09:48.160 I also didn't think much about it. When I first 0:09:48.559 --> 0:09:51.679 got that chance to go study and live abroad. I 0:09:51.720 --> 0:09:53.640 was really excited about it. I was so yes, let's 0:09:53.640 --> 0:09:55.880 do it. It was what I wanted to do. But then, yeah, 0:09:55.920 --> 0:09:59.079 I think when you look back at it, you definitely 0:09:59.440 --> 0:10:03.120 realize that it was a much bigger decision than you thought. 0:10:03.840 --> 0:10:08.160 I remember before accepting my scholarship to London, to the 0:10:08.240 --> 0:10:10.880 Royal Balley School, I didn't even think about it. I 0:10:11.040 --> 0:10:12.640 was just like, yes, that's what I'm going to do. 0:10:12.800 --> 0:10:15.600 I want to see it through. But I remember having 0:10:15.600 --> 0:10:18.800 that conversation with my mom, her being kind of torn 0:10:18.800 --> 0:10:21.040 about it, and she was like, are you really going 0:10:21.120 --> 0:10:23.600 to go? Is this something that you really want to do? 0:10:24.000 --> 0:10:27.880 She was like, you've already moved to Philadelphia. Now you're 0:10:27.920 --> 0:10:29.720 going to move to a different part of the world 0:10:29.840 --> 0:10:33.280 where we're going to be truly responsible for yourself at 0:10:33.360 --> 0:10:36.360 age sixteen, you know, even though it's basically a boarding 0:10:36.360 --> 0:10:42.040 school and you're responsible for yourself in every way. One 0:10:42.080 --> 0:10:44.840 of the first things that I experienced there, and it 0:10:44.880 --> 0:10:47.600 was kind of like a big reality check, was first 0:10:47.679 --> 0:10:50.480 night at the dorms. You know, there's a big communal kitchen, 0:10:50.640 --> 0:10:53.360 and I arrived a week late, so everybody was already 0:10:53.440 --> 0:10:56.120 established and I was like, okay, so what time is 0:10:56.120 --> 0:11:00.559 dinner someone coming? And are they going to make dinner everybody? 0:11:00.880 --> 0:11:02.560 Or how does this work? I don't know, And so 0:11:02.600 --> 0:11:05.160 everybody just cut their food from their lockers, made food, 0:11:05.960 --> 0:11:07.400 and I was like, oh, I guess I'm supposed to 0:11:07.480 --> 0:11:12.840 do that too, So exactly went grocery shopping. It's like, okay, 0:11:13.600 --> 0:11:15.959 I think pasta seems easy enough that at the time, 0:11:16.080 --> 0:11:19.600 I was sorry, water first, water and pasta first together. 0:11:20.320 --> 0:11:23.600 I cooked that pasta for maybe thirty minutes, and it 0:11:23.679 --> 0:11:24.280 was still hard. 0:11:28.200 --> 0:11:30.719 It's a reality check. Yeah, it's hard to take on that. 0:11:30.880 --> 0:11:34.440 And then you are growing as a person and learning 0:11:35.000 --> 0:11:38.440 survival skills at the same time that you have to 0:11:38.480 --> 0:11:42.200 be fully committed to the valid and it's a really 0:11:42.240 --> 0:11:47.120 demanding schedule and you are constantly exhausted. I remember that 0:11:47.240 --> 0:11:49.760 something similar happened to me here in San Francisco, but 0:11:50.480 --> 0:11:54.400 for me was the amount of workload that I had 0:11:54.440 --> 0:11:57.200 my first season. I couldn't even make it back to 0:11:57.240 --> 0:11:57.800 my apartment. 0:11:57.840 --> 0:12:01.559 I had to take minute breaks to sit down. 0:12:02.480 --> 0:12:04.760 I was living in Russian Hill here, and then I 0:12:04.800 --> 0:12:07.640 would get home, and you're to do You're too tired 0:12:07.679 --> 0:12:10.840 to cook, You're too tired to do anything, and you 0:12:10.960 --> 0:12:14.400 have to kind of find a structure and a routine 0:12:14.440 --> 0:12:17.640 that allows you to continue to perform your best year. 0:12:18.040 --> 0:12:22.440 And I think people don't usually see that side of yeah, 0:12:22.559 --> 0:12:25.920 or don't consider that side of life when you're making decisions. 0:12:25.960 --> 0:12:27.600 You just want to be a start, yeah. 0:12:27.640 --> 0:12:30.360 And also the fact that these decisions are being made 0:12:30.400 --> 0:12:34.160 by people that are developing as human beings, you know, 0:12:34.280 --> 0:12:35.840 like seventeen eighteen. 0:12:35.600 --> 0:12:36.960 Year old kids. 0:12:37.000 --> 0:12:41.040 Literally that often they're not thought of as kids because 0:12:41.360 --> 0:12:48.200 they're maybe brilliant on stage. Decision making is so important 0:12:48.280 --> 0:12:51.800 to be able to put your ego aside and in 0:12:51.840 --> 0:12:54.959 a way to reshape your dreams as you go, and 0:12:55.000 --> 0:12:58.200 to be willing to listen to people that are trying 0:12:58.240 --> 0:13:00.080 to look out for you. Yeah. But I also have 0:13:00.120 --> 0:13:02.320 to say I think one thing that I feel like 0:13:02.559 --> 0:13:05.840 always made a difference was also the support around you 0:13:06.320 --> 0:13:09.240 for the decisions that you make. I remember actually wanting 0:13:09.240 --> 0:13:13.360 to leave school a year early before finishing my three 0:13:13.400 --> 0:13:16.960 years of school over there in London. I remember when 0:13:17.240 --> 0:13:19.319 I started my second year, was like, let's say I'm 0:13:19.360 --> 0:13:21.480 ready to be a professional. I actually went to Russia 0:13:21.559 --> 0:13:24.560 at seventeen years old. I went to Saint Petersburg to 0:13:25.000 --> 0:13:28.440 audition for the Marine Ski and for the Mikailovski Theater. 0:13:28.760 --> 0:13:32.079 Ended up a whole week of not knowing what was 0:13:32.120 --> 0:13:34.199 going on because I didn't speak the language and nobody 0:13:34.280 --> 0:13:37.880 spoke English to me, and taking classes with the school 0:13:38.040 --> 0:13:41.080 and taking classes with the company, and everybody referring to 0:13:41.120 --> 0:13:43.920 me as a kid, being like what is this kid 0:13:44.000 --> 0:13:46.520 doing here? And the one conversation that I had in 0:13:46.600 --> 0:13:50.480 English throughout my entire trip was with the director of 0:13:50.559 --> 0:13:53.920 the Marine Ski, Judifateev, and he said, Okay, so I've 0:13:53.960 --> 0:13:58.000 been hearing throughout the week that there's this Mexican kid 0:13:58.760 --> 0:14:02.360 that is one thing to audition for us. And he 0:14:02.559 --> 0:14:05.480 was like, Russia does not feel like it's a place 0:14:05.520 --> 0:14:07.560 for you. You have to understand that I would offer 0:14:07.600 --> 0:14:09.600 you a job, but I don't want to limit you 0:14:09.679 --> 0:14:14.160 to doing only certain roles or certain things. I'm five seven, 0:14:14.559 --> 0:14:17.839 I'm not particularly considered tall in the ballet world, or 0:14:17.880 --> 0:14:18.640 I think tall in. 0:14:18.720 --> 0:14:20.240 Under any circumstances. 0:14:22.360 --> 0:14:24.280 But in Russia, you know, he said, all of the 0:14:24.320 --> 0:14:27.680 ballerinas are very tall. He was like, I could hire 0:14:27.680 --> 0:14:30.000 you right now, but he was like, I'm going to 0:14:30.040 --> 0:14:33.480 have to limit you to certain roles, soloist roles where yes, 0:14:33.480 --> 0:14:35.040 you're going to get to dance, but you're never going 0:14:35.080 --> 0:14:38.280 to get to fully develop your abilities to do the 0:14:38.280 --> 0:14:41.760 things that you should get to do. So he said, 0:14:41.840 --> 0:14:44.160 find a place that is going to appreciate you for 0:14:44.320 --> 0:14:47.960 who you are and what you can bring to the company, 0:14:48.400 --> 0:14:50.760 and dance everything. He said, dance everything that's as much 0:14:50.800 --> 0:14:53.200 as you can, which I really appreciated it because I 0:14:53.200 --> 0:14:56.560 was like, ah, yeah, maybe I am being impatient also 0:14:56.600 --> 0:14:59.920 about what it is that I need to do right now. 0:15:00.920 --> 0:15:04.040 I think I need to see through my education and 0:15:04.120 --> 0:15:09.480 finish my training as a dancer. I remember arriving in 0:15:09.520 --> 0:15:12.800 many places and so of being like, you're here from Mexico, 0:15:13.880 --> 0:15:14.480 but are you? 0:15:14.760 --> 0:15:16.440 Are you sure you don't really look Mexican? 0:15:17.560 --> 0:15:22.040 Excuse me, how am I supposed to look like, and 0:15:22.120 --> 0:15:27.560 so it was definitely uncomfortable sometimes having to be the 0:15:27.600 --> 0:15:32.760 only one, often also feeling responsible for representing a whole 0:15:32.760 --> 0:15:36.360 country in a professional ballet school. But it was also 0:15:36.720 --> 0:15:39.920 good whenever you were able to find people from similar 0:15:39.960 --> 0:15:45.400 backgrounds other Spanish speaking countries. I had classmates from Colombia 0:15:45.440 --> 0:15:47.720 from Spain, and even just being able to speak the 0:15:47.760 --> 0:15:52.120 same language in a country that often wouldn't feel super 0:15:52.160 --> 0:15:56.560 welcoming was really refreshing. And also feeling like that you 0:15:56.600 --> 0:15:58.360 were not the only one that had gone through the 0:15:58.440 --> 0:16:02.880 challenges to get to these places was comforting and supported 0:16:03.440 --> 0:16:06.840 the idea you've been talking about that even though there 0:16:06.880 --> 0:16:11.920 might not always be the opportunities so obviously present for 0:16:12.160 --> 0:16:15.200 people that were, there's a will there. There often is 0:16:15.240 --> 0:16:17.760 a way to make it happen. I took it in 0:16:17.800 --> 0:16:22.400 a more aggressive way in a sense. I was really 0:16:22.400 --> 0:16:24.160 happy to be the first one there, and I was 0:16:24.200 --> 0:16:27.200 really happy when people wouldn't believe me that I was Mexican, 0:16:27.360 --> 0:16:30.840 and I was like, yeah, and I trained in my 0:16:30.920 --> 0:16:34.480 backyard yeah as well. And I really enjoyed that, especially 0:16:34.480 --> 0:16:36.840 when I went to Paris, for example, that it's this 0:16:37.120 --> 0:16:40.960 huge amazing school, and there is a code of conduct 0:16:40.960 --> 0:16:44.640 that is really strict, and everybody has these uniforms. And 0:16:44.720 --> 0:16:48.360 I realized earlier on that all of that was protocol, 0:16:48.560 --> 0:16:52.440 that it didn't influence you being a better dancer or not. 0:16:52.760 --> 0:16:55.920 So I really understood that it was not about being 0:16:55.960 --> 0:16:58.400 at a place like that, but it was down to 0:16:58.840 --> 0:17:01.600 individual work, work that you would put in every day. 0:17:01.720 --> 0:17:06.840 And actually, I am not officially valid graduated from any organization. 0:17:07.359 --> 0:17:10.280 That didn't prevent me from having a great career and 0:17:10.760 --> 0:17:13.359 dancing for the best theaters around the world. And like 0:17:13.400 --> 0:17:17.399 my brother was saying, you start meeting people that share 0:17:17.480 --> 0:17:20.600 some of the stories or challenges that you've faced, and 0:17:20.640 --> 0:17:24.320 you really learned to appreciate companionship. And that's really important 0:17:24.480 --> 0:17:27.480 in the valid world, because I feel like Hollywood has 0:17:27.520 --> 0:17:32.160 really damaged a reputation in that sense and how awful 0:17:32.480 --> 0:17:35.560 valid dancers are to each other, and that hasn't been 0:17:35.600 --> 0:17:40.000 my experience, and true excellence really has to be accomplished together. 0:17:40.320 --> 0:17:44.240 Like I am a really good dancer because I had 0:17:44.280 --> 0:17:47.399 really good colleagues and because we all wanted to be 0:17:48.160 --> 0:17:50.600 really good and we would learn from each other, and 0:17:50.640 --> 0:17:53.280 one day somebody would come up with a new step 0:17:53.440 --> 0:17:55.480 and we would be like, Oh, I'm going to come 0:17:55.560 --> 0:17:57.800 up with my new step, or I'm going to do 0:17:57.880 --> 0:17:58.600 your step and. 0:17:58.600 --> 0:17:59.800 I'm going to add my step. 0:18:00.280 --> 0:18:05.240 And that really is what makes a brilliant dancer, the 0:18:05.280 --> 0:18:09.600 ability to share, to see, to copy, to be inspired by. 0:18:10.119 --> 0:18:13.240 And then at the end, I've loved to see how 0:18:13.320 --> 0:18:17.080 my generation has gone into having careers and doing all 0:18:17.119 --> 0:18:19.680 of this, and then you realize that it is them 0:18:20.000 --> 0:18:23.960 that will be running the organizations by the time you retire, 0:18:24.080 --> 0:18:27.080 that they'll be teaching the new generations of dancers. 0:18:27.119 --> 0:18:28.960 So I really am. 0:18:28.880 --> 0:18:32.960 Hopeful that the future of dance it's being shaped by 0:18:33.000 --> 0:18:34.800 people that are passionate about it. 0:18:35.000 --> 0:18:36.520 That like the art. 0:18:36.400 --> 0:18:40.719 Form in Mexico, and there is a lot of people 0:18:40.800 --> 0:18:43.359 that believe if you're an artist, you're going to starve, 0:18:43.480 --> 0:18:46.359 that if you're an artist, you are wasting your life, 0:18:46.440 --> 0:18:49.359 your time, etc. Yeah, it's like that's great as a hobby, 0:18:49.440 --> 0:18:51.600 but what are you going to really do. We wanted 0:18:51.640 --> 0:18:56.560 to create and portray an idea that the arts are important, 0:18:56.600 --> 0:18:59.800 and they are important too for social mobility. We were 0:18:59.800 --> 0:19:04.639 able to create a platform that creates those opportunities. My 0:19:04.760 --> 0:19:08.480 dad and my mom started this project in Mexico of 0:19:08.680 --> 0:19:11.920 free balot schools around our state and they have seven 0:19:12.000 --> 0:19:15.159 locations and they have three hundred kids studying balid for free. 0:19:15.840 --> 0:19:19.639 So we made a deal with English National Ballet School 0:19:19.680 --> 0:19:23.240 to come to Mexico to audition for free. For the 0:19:23.280 --> 0:19:27.480 first time ever, we had over five hundred people apply 0:19:27.920 --> 0:19:31.640 for the audition. They had the intention of giving five 0:19:31.760 --> 0:19:36.240 scholarships and they gave out about nineteen scholarships. We also 0:19:36.280 --> 0:19:39.880 focused on skill development. We wanted people to learn how 0:19:39.920 --> 0:19:43.280 to make costumes and to tos and make a living 0:19:43.280 --> 0:19:47.240 out of it, and to learn about stage management and 0:19:47.880 --> 0:19:52.280 even with the motion captioning and stop motion workshops all 0:19:52.320 --> 0:19:56.119 around creative industries and so we've had thousands of people 0:19:56.160 --> 0:19:58.879 participating that. And what I loved about that it was 0:19:58.920 --> 0:20:03.960 that all of it was free of charge. I do 0:20:04.080 --> 0:20:07.400 think that, like they say, it takes a village. Yes, 0:20:07.920 --> 0:20:11.640 we have worked very hard and developed ourselves as dancers 0:20:11.640 --> 0:20:15.320 and artists, and we have also developed our technique with 0:20:15.359 --> 0:20:18.920 the help of our colleagues or teachers, but also our parents, 0:20:19.320 --> 0:20:22.399 are friends, the people that have supported the decisions that 0:20:22.400 --> 0:20:24.960 you've made, or maybe also the ones that have said actually, 0:20:25.000 --> 0:20:26.520 I think that was not right and. 0:20:26.560 --> 0:20:27.960 Maybe you should try something else. 0:20:28.040 --> 0:20:31.040 All of those things have helped shape who we are 0:20:31.560 --> 0:20:34.080 and that eventually gets put out on stage and you 0:20:34.119 --> 0:20:36.959 see it. It's a recollection of everyone that has been 0:20:37.000 --> 0:20:39.520 a part of our lives that eventually people get to 0:20:39.560 --> 0:20:45.520 see on stage. And I think that's what makes an artist. Essentially, 0:20:45.560 --> 0:20:48.280 like you were saying, you are trying to build yourself 0:20:48.320 --> 0:20:51.560 as a person, as an artist, and you need experience 0:20:51.640 --> 0:20:55.320 for all that happened. And it's quite a visual art form, 0:20:55.520 --> 0:20:59.520 and it's about creating feeling, and it's about exposing yourself, 0:21:00.040 --> 0:21:04.800 about being able to be at a place that sounds 0:21:04.800 --> 0:21:08.120 a little bit weird, but that very few people can 0:21:08.160 --> 0:21:14.440 achieve because it requires an understanding of space, a rhythm, coordination, strength, 0:21:15.119 --> 0:21:18.679 but also it requires you to expose yourself to another 0:21:18.800 --> 0:21:22.119 person to be able to create something on that moment 0:21:22.160 --> 0:21:26.080 that exists only for a few seconds for the audience 0:21:26.200 --> 0:21:30.280 to experience in the most personal way. 0:21:31.720 --> 0:21:33.280 And now when I come back. 0:21:33.040 --> 0:21:36.359 To San Francisco, can I get to see achieve those 0:21:36.440 --> 0:21:39.879 moments on a stage that go beyond technique and the 0:21:39.960 --> 0:21:43.640 practicalities of dance and create this amazing experience. 0:21:43.880 --> 0:21:46.520 I realize that we are incredibly. 0:21:46.119 --> 0:21:50.240 Lucky to have shared this profession so closely and learned 0:21:50.280 --> 0:21:53.399 from each other and also live through it. 0:21:53.400 --> 0:21:55.560 It's quite quite remarkable. 0:22:00.080 --> 0:22:03.639 That was Isac and Estevan Ernandez the first siblings to 0:22:03.720 --> 0:22:06.760 hold the top rank of principal dancers at the San 0:22:06.800 --> 0:22:26.240 Francisco Ballet. This episode was produced by Elizabeth loandl Torres 0:22:26.280 --> 0:22:29.760 and edited by Andrea Lopez Gruzado. It was mixed by 0:22:29.920 --> 0:22:34.760 gabriel Le Biez special thanks to Tamilo Garson. The Latino 0:22:34.880 --> 0:22:39.800 USA team also includes Marta Martinez, Mike Sargent, Daisy Contreres, 0:22:39.960 --> 0:22:44.479 Victoria Strada, Renaldo Leanos Junior, and Patris s Lubran, with 0:22:44.560 --> 0:22:49.160 help from Grii mar Marquez. Our editorial director is Fernanda Santos. 0:22:49.320 --> 0:22:53.280 Our director of engineering is Stephanie Lebau. Our senior engineer 0:22:53.320 --> 0:22:57.600 is Julia Caruso. Our associate engineer is jj Carubin. Our 0:22:57.640 --> 0:23:01.520 marketing manager is Luis Lunap. Our theme music was composed 0:23:01.760 --> 0:23:04.800 by Sean Ruinos. I'm your host and executive producer Maria 0:23:04.920 --> 0:23:07.600 no Josa. Join us again on our next episode and 0:23:07.680 --> 0:23:11.600 in the meantime, find us on social media and remember 0:23:12.480 --> 0:23:14.560 yes Este La Proxima. 0:23:14.520 --> 0:23:23.640 Chao Latino USA is made possible in part by California Endowment, 0:23:23.960 --> 0:23:27.280 building a strong state by improving the health of all Californians, 0:23:27.840 --> 0:23:31.879 The John D. And Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the 0:23:31.960 --> 0:23:38.400 Heising Simons Foundation unlocking knowledge, opportunity, and possibilities. More at 0:23:38.600 --> 0:23:40.360 hsfoundation dot org. 0:23:44.320 --> 0:23:46.600 This is the way, and I will live my dream 0:23:46.680 --> 0:23:48.359 and this is the way.