During UF’s Spring Break this year, our volunteer, Stephanie McComber joined her mother and dance group to perform at a Mardi Gras dinner.  Below are some excerpts of her experience.  Thanks for sharing these great photos, Stephanie!

My mother’s group went to show the congregation at the Lady of the Bay chapel how Panamanians celebrate Mardi Gras.

The first photo shows all of us going down the floor as an introductory dance and myself, posing as a “reina” or queen, does not dance very much but moves down gracefully with the rest of the group.

This is a full shot of the Luxury Pollera I was wearing, along with Señora Linda wearing a white Pollera. I wanted to include this photo to give a good view of what the whole traditional costume consists of.

Here, the skirt of the Pollera is held out to show the audience what the Pollera looks like.

This is a photo of my parents performing “El Punto”, a traditional dance of Panama usually performed during a wedding reception with the newlyweds dancing. The dance itself is slow, passionate, and romantic. I wanted to include this also because it is one of my favorite dances from my culture.

The photo of my mom and me is a closer look at the make up and the different parts of the Pollera, including the Tembleques.

The last photo shows all of the dancers posing, the women in their Polleras at the top and the men crouching at the bottom. I wanted to include this to show the different colors of the Polleras, and include the traditional dress for the men as well.