Biographies:

Víctor's dance career started at age 12, when he learned the basic steps of the traditional dances of Panamá.  He participated in high school folkloric groups which were part of the Teatro Nacional de Panamá's cast.  During his teenage years in Panamá, he founded his first dance company.  In 1991, in Los Angeles, he founded his second dance company, Ballet Folklórico VIVA PANAMA, with the idea of setting an example for his three children and helping them connect with their Panamanian heritage and culture.   Under the inspiration and guide of Prof. Elisa de Céspedes, director of the most important folk dance company in Panamá, he refined and improved his style and techniques, which later he shared with his dancers. 

Jairo started dancing under the instruction of Professor Maritza Palacios in his hometown of Boquete, Chiriquí, at the age of 10.  He continued dancing until he immigrated to the U.S.A., where he participated in a folkloric group sponsored by Santiago Torrijos, Consul of Panamá in Los Angeles.  Meanwhile, he performed contemporary dance on T.V. on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand" until 1986.  Jairo graduated from Glendale College and CSU-Los Angeles, where he earned a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration and a minor in Music.  In 1993, Jairo joined Ballet Folklorico VIVA PANAMA. 

Loira started dancing at age 15, in Escuela Secundaria Pedro Pablo Sanchez's folkloric group.  Later, she continued dancing under the direction of Lucho "Perico" De La Cruz until she immigrated to Los Angeles.  She joined Ballet Folkórico VIVA PANAMA in 1995. Loira graduated from Universidad San Carlos de Guatemala where she obtained a Bachelor degree in Nutrition.  Currently, she works for the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Attracted by the charm of the traditional dances of Panama, Laura got involved in Panamanian folkloric dancing in 1997 when  she joined the  Ballet Folklórico Nacional de Panamá.  In 1998, she performed for José Alberto Sosa's Compañía Nacional de Danzas Folklóricas de Panamá, and later became a performer and organizer for Ballet Expresiones Folklóricas Panamá, directed  by Euclides Castillo.  During her College years in Panama, Laura studied Modern Dance at Escuela Nacional de Danzas, and later took classes and performed with the dance groups of Physical and Bailo's dance academies.   She also learned tango and performed with Academia de Tango Argentino in Panama City during 1999-2000.  Laura joined Ballet Folklórico Viva Panamá when she moved to Los Angeles in December of 2000.   She holds an Associate's Degree in Dance from Glendale Community College and a Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California.

Javier Ramos

Javier is a second generation in our dance company, born in Panama, and he enjoys his participation in the dance.  He graduated from Birmingham High School and finished his service for the Coast Guard in the east coast.  He is currently attending to Pierce College pursuing his career. He joined Ballet Folklórico Viva Panamá in October 2001.

Paula Constable

Paula was born in Los Angeles, CA, grew up in Riverside, CA. and graduated from Sacramento University with a B.A. in Liberal Studies.  She the moved to Panama City, Panamá in July of 1998.  Paula lived there for approximately 1 year with a four month return to the states and then back to Panamá.

Paula got interested in folk dances of Panamá from seeing a few performances there and wanted to learn.  In Nov. 1999, she returned to California and joined Ballet Folklórico Viva Panamá in March 2002.   She got her teaching credential/Master in cross-cultural education from National  University.