@NMSU
Spotlight
A New Mexico State University dance instructor who started his college career as a wrestler and evolved into a flamenco dancer is now taking his students and the dance program at the university to the next level.
Paco Antonio, an instructor in the College of Education's Department of Human Performance, Dance and Recreation, grew up in Tulsa, Okla. His family was very involved in athletics, and he attended the University of New Mexico on a wrestling scholarship.
Antonio's roommate and fellow wrestling team member at UNM influenced his decision to become a dancer. Antonio accompanied his roommate to a ballet class one day, and after watching the class, decided to take modern and ballroom dance classes. From then on, he was hooked.
"Early on, I discovered dance was another way to focus. As a discipline, it made me feel complete in a way that was different from athletics. It's living art," Antonio said.
After working in dance for 10 years, Antonio was hired as an assistant instructor at UNM. From 1986 to 1998, he taught flamenco, jazz and other dance types.
"I realized I had something to offer and wanted to pursue it. I think dance is a process of creating yourself, and I wanted to help others create themselves," he said.
In 2003, a graduate assistant position opened at NMSU, allowing Antonio to teach flamenco classes. A full-time position later became available and now he has been at NMSU for nearly six years.
Antonio teaches several levels of flamenco and jazz, and also world dance and dance history. The students come from diverse backgrounds; some come into the program wanting to be a teacher or a performer and others just decide to take a dance class while pursuing another degree.
"At NMSU, we are getting the dance program to where we represent dance at a very high level that is viable to the community in the best way we can," he said.
In addition to teaching, Antonio's career has given him the opportunity to tour North and South America, and live and work in Europe and Japan. He has performed several times in Festival Flamenco Internacional, and has performed with major American and Spanish flamenco artists and had guest appearances with modern dance companies.
Written by Margaret Kovar.