Honoring Hispanic Heritage

Ballet Folklórico gives Austin High Hispanic students opportunity to shine

Austin High School Ballet Folklórico encourages participants to grow academically and socially.

Photo courtesy of KLRU Collective

Editor's note: CultureMap is proud to present the third installment in our partnership with KLRU Collective. Collective is dedicated to finding unique, creative and interesting stories about the Austin art scene.

KLRU celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month this September with a range of special programs and events that represent the Latino experience. Collective joins the festivities with our "Austin High Ballet Folklórico" playlist.

Stephen F. Austin High School's Ballet Folklórico program is more than a for-credit class. Through collaboration and leadership, it encourages participants to grow academically and socially.

"In the arts, whether it's folklórico or it's painting or it's drawing, [students] can shine," says Maura Patricia Masters, director of Austin High Ballet Folklórico.

"I sometimes miss Mexico," says Felipe Hernandez, folklórico captain, in the video above. "By dancing, it helps me remember."

Many of the students who participate in folklórico are English language learners, and they will be the first generation in their families to go to college. Whereas they may feel inadequate in the classroom among their native English-speaking peers, on the stage they can truly express themselves.

"In the arts, whether it's folklórico or it's painting or it's drawing, they can shine," says Maura Patricia Masters, director of Austin High Ballet Folklórico. "And I think it keeps a lot of them in school. It gives them a reason to come, where they feel like they can contribute."

Meet the students who proudly represent their art, culture and school, and watch their performances on this playlist.

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KLRU-TV, Austin PBS is dedicated to telling stories about our community. KLRU highlights what makes Austin unique — whether music, arts or public issues — by creating and distributing award-winning original content. As a nonprofit educational organization, KLRU also helps prepare children for success and creates lifelong learning opportunities for all.

Austin High School Ballet Folklórico encourages participants to grow academically and socially.

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Photo courtesy of KLRU Collective

Austin High School Ballet Folklórico encourages participants to grow academically and socially.

New

Historic Austin museum will close for more than a year for restoration

Elisabet Ney Museum Austin

Photo courtesy of the City of Austin

The Elisabet Ney Museum will close at the end of 2024 and reopen in mid-2026.

Every building needs some maintenance here or there, and the historic Elisabet Ney Museum needs some extra-special care. Formerly the art studio and residence of its namesake, it's been standing since 1892. It'll spend 2025 in relative solitude, as it undergoes renovation for a year and a half with no visitors allowed.

The museum will close to the public December 30, 2024, and open again in the summer of 2026 if all goes according to plan, a news release from the City of Austin shares. It'll be a quiet period compared to the 21,000 people visiting from around the world each year.

According to a museum overview on the city's website, Elisabet Ney, a European portrait sculptor, bought the property and called her new studio Formosa. She worked on sculptures depicting important Texans like Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston, and collected works of European contemporaries.

The building at 304 East 44th St. includes 3,700 square feet of museum space, which was converted by Ney's friends after her death in 1907. It retains its unique look that juxtaposes a Neo-Classical main studio from 1892 with a later addition from 1902 including a tower for her husband, Edmund, to write in. It is also on 2.5 acres of land, which has largely been restored to its natural state with native species.

A press release lists these tasks (verbatim) within the scope of the new work, referred to as the Capital Improvement Project (CIP):

Restoration of original exterior wood doors and windows
Upgrades and replacement of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system
Replacement of the exhibit and general lighting systems
Repairs to the roof, masonry, plumbing, and interior finishes.

There will also be work to do outside of the building. Workers will replace the pedestrian bridge across Waller Creek, stabilize a 20,000-square-foot portion of the bank, and make the grounds more accessible by adding new pathways.

Funding comes from several sources, according to a release: "the 2012 Bond, Proposition 14, the Parkland Dedication Fund, the Historic Preservation Fund, Partners in Preservation through the National Trust, and contributions from the Friends of the Elisabet Ney Museum."

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