DANCE LEGEND'S VISION GUIDES MEXICAN BALLET.

Byline: Vicki Smith Paluch Correspondent

AMALIA HERNANDEZ, the late founder of the Ballet Folklorico de Mexico, earned the reputation of being Latin America's most important choreographer with her dramatic and historically accurate depictions of Mexico's diverse culture and folklore.

Today, her daughter, Norma Lopez, ensures that Hernandez's artistic vision remains. As part of the company's 50th anniversary tour of the United States, Ballet Folklorico de Mexico de Amalia Hernandez is bringing nine of the company's most popular ballets to Universal Amphitheatre on Saturday and Sunday.

``This season we are bringing pieces that have been very successful and are very important,'' said Lopez, 64, who became the company's artistic director after her mother's death in November 2000.

Lopez grew up at the Ballet Folklorico, which is the resident dance company of the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City. She joined the company as a dancer when she was 22.

Hernandez remained the choreographer and artistic director of her company up until her death at age 83. Although she was trained in ballet and modern dance, the songs and dances of Mexico's native musicians and villagers mesmerized her. Over the course of her career, she choreographed more than 40 ballets drawn from Mexico's numerous regions.

To assist Hernandez, her son, Salvador Lopez, became the administrative director of the company. Lopez became the director of the dance school, which trains more than 300 students in classical ballet, modern dance and folk dance traditions.

``My mother's real passion was to create and investigate new works. She was not content to rest on her past successes,'' Lopez said. ``Later in her life, she did not want to plan rehearsals, run classes and select dancers. I did it well and enjoyed the organizing. But for my mother, it was more important to create new works.''

Lopez shares her mother's interest in choreography, but does not have the time to devote to it. Instead, she is concentrating on restoring and reconstructing many of her mother's works for the company's 2003 season.

``I want to perfect the works,'' she said.

This U.S. tour, which started on Sept. 13 in Cupertino, is a celebration of ``the best of the best'' of Ballet Folklorico, she said. The program spans pre-Hispanic rituals such as in the ballet ``Los Matachines,'' which reflects the ancient custom of dancing with one's gods; dramatic events such as the revolution of 1910; and dances representing the village life of Mexico's various states.

``Tunes of Michoacan'' is the first ``ballet folklorico'' Hernandez composed and the one she preserved as a symbol of love to Mexico and to youth. The ballet proudly features the rattle, used in the indigenous culture to make the rhythms of all dances.

Fancy footwork is on display in ``The Platform Dance from Tixtla (The Tarima).'' The echoes of the heel tapping represent the rhythms of joy of the people from Guerrero and the coquetry of its ballerinas. Through the bustle of skirts, a heel-toe dialogue takes place and romance is stirred.

In the four-segment work ``Revolution,'' Hernandez celebrates the Mexican revolution of 1910, during which women joined men in their political struggle. The ballet is dedicated to the women who bore arms in Mexico's fight for liberty. The ballet also includes the famous ``Rope Dance,'' in which spectacular roping tricks are performed.

``Guelaguetza From Oaxaca'' is a spectacular dance featuring the ``Feather Dance,'' in which performers execute intricate movements and manipulate richly adorned feather headdresses. As a suite of dances inspired by the ancient Zapotec custom of making an offering, the work expresses hospitality to the visitors and respect.

The melancholic and violent ballet ``Wedding in the Hausteca'' tells the tale of a young rancher's wedding that is interrupted when a rival of the groom appears unexpectedly and a fight with machetes ensues, and the rival is killed. But life goes on, and the wedding party continues.

The program concludes with ``Jalisco,'' which features a parade of mariachis, vigorous yet refined dances and lavish, multicolored costumes. The popular dances culminate in Jarabe Tapatio, the Mexican national dance, better-known in the United States as the Mexican Hat Dance.

Touring with the company last year, Lopez said that the audiences' enthusiastic response to the company has inspired her to work even harder to perfect the company's performance.

``Many people in our audiences are originally from Mexico but have been away from their country for a long time. We remind them of their country and traditions,'' she said. ``Their enthusiasm inspires me.''

BALLET FOLKLORICO DE MEXICO DE AMALIA HERNANDEZ

Where: Universal Amphitheatre, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City.

When: 8:15 tonight; 3:15 and 7:45 p.m. Sunday.

Tickets: $31 to $49. Call [phone], or online at www.HOB.com