Ballet Folklorico Instituto Mazatlan Bellas Artes de Sacramento

Instituto Mazatlán Bellas Artes de Sacramento (IMBA), one of California' foremost Mexican dance companies, perform Ballet Folklorico, a set of dances reflecting Mexican folk traditions from the Aztecs.

Initially known as Grupo Folklorico Mazatlan, IMBA was founded in 1994 by Yolanda Colosio, who learned Mexican folk dance traditions while growing up in Calexico, just across the border from Mexicali. She started Grupo Folklorico Mazatlan with her son, daughter, niece, and nephew, in a small studio on Sacramento's Stockton Boulevard, teaching traditional folk dances of Mexico to about 20 students. The group's performances quickly found an audience and they became regulars at regional fairs and holiday celebrations. Artistic Director Steven Valencia joined the staff in 1998, and in 2000 the company changed its name to IMBA.

Since 2000, IMBA has toured throughout California and the southwest as well as in China and Mexico and has won national and international competitions including the Folklorico Festival 2006 at Texas Woman's University. The company has performed in many of California's most prestigious venues, including Sacramento Community Center Theater, Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts, and the Gallo Center for Performing Arts, often with well-known Mexican recording artists such as Mariachi Vargas, Mariachi los Camperos, Nydia Rojas, Pablo Montero, Yolanda del Rio, and Gerardo Fernandez.