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Flamenco Dancer and Former Fulbright Scholar Brings Global Dance Experience to D
*By Larry R. Hygh, Jr., Ed.D.
“As a dancer copying will only get you so far,” says Chitli Ocampo, Assistant Professor in the Dance Department at California State University Dominguez Hills (CSUDH). She asks fellow dancers, “Who are you within the movement?” Born in San Diego, Ocampo says she “popped out of the womb” dancing and became a professional dancer by the age of 17.
Ocampo has been a professional Flamenco dancer for more than 25 years. At 17 she moved to New York City (NYC) to study at the world-famous Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and Steps on Broadway. It was during those 13 years living in NYC in which she expanded her knowledge of the modern techniques of dance.
In the CSUDH Dance Department she teaches: Introduction to Choreography, Advanced Choreography, Modern Dance I and II, and Latin Dance.
She is not a novice in the classroom teaching her first class at the age of nine and instructing her own classes at age 12 creating original choreography. Ocampo has taught in Europe, Mexico, and all over the United States leading master classes and guest lectures.
From 1999 to 2000, Ocampo was a Fulbright Scholar in Spain. The fellowship program allows United States citizens to go abroad to teach, conduct research, and carry out professional projects. More than 400 awards are granted annually with scholars deployed to more than 135 countries. Ocampo says she was not awarded the fellowship the first time she applied, but it is the Fulbright Scholars program that propelled her to excel in Flamenco. “That scholarship took me to Spain for the year all expenses paid. I was able to be fully immersed in Flamenco culture in southern Spain and that led to an 11-year residency in Spain,” she says.
In Spain there were 72 Fulbright Scholars that year with two of them being artists. “The other artist was a painter in the Prado Museum.” She brings this experience into the classroom. “I felt the responsibility to bring the knowledge back and expand it to college students. Here I could bring to them information from other parts of the world.” She added, “Every country’s movement practices are part of that culture.”
Since arriving at CSUDH in the fall, she has choreographed, Ignite, the faculty dance concert, and will be the choreographer for the Theater Department’s production of Twelfth Night in the spring. Her research agenda includes: collaborating on the creation of a bi-yearly master class series designed to bring master teachers of movement, dance, and theater to the student body; and, creating a bank of online dance instruction, rehearsal and performance videos designed to improve student engagement and retention. Ocampo is leading the university’s participation in the American Dance College Association’s (ADCA) conference in the spring. “The research I am doing now is piggy backing on an entire lifetime of teaching and performing,” she says.
Ocampo is a developer of “Steps Last Method” which is a unique approach to teaching dance rooted in the cultural understanding of an art form through rhythm, source of inspiration, improvisation, and history. In 2004, she founded a flamenco dance arts company with her husband that toured the world. That company started an international educational program producing theater shows eventually leading them into musical production.
She cites her family as her greatest influence saying, “I love that my family has definitely used whatever talents they have had to try and uplift. I’m very proud of that.” Her grandmother was a Spanish Civil War exile during the Franco regime. “She fled Spain and moved to Mexico. My whole family is in Mexico.” Ocampo says she has family members who lost their lives fighting for what they believed in. Her father was an Olympic swimmer for Mexico.
Ocampo earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a concentration of studies in Art History and Cinematography from New York University (NYU). Following NYU, she earned a Master of Fine Arts in Dance from Hollins University.
She has been a guest lecturer at University California Santa Barbara, Pomona College, and University of California San Diego. At Santa Monica College she was adjunct faculty and choreographer, and movement coach and choreographer at CALArts University.
What’s the best part of being at CSUDH?
“The students are amazing. The students in my classes are engaged and kind. They are insightful. They are present. They value the education they are getting, and making the most out of it. Some of them are handling a lot. They are really inspirational to me, to see how much they handle in their day including an education. I am energized and inspired by them. The campus is very inviting and inspires creativity. There is something about this campus that really attracted me when I came for the interview. There are a lot of collaborations in my department. As a little tiny bonus, this Farmer’s market.”
What advice do you have for students?
“Believe in yourselves. You are amazing! There is nothing that you cannot do and keep going with your projects and dreams and don’t hesitate. Don’t doubt yourselves.”
What do you like doing outside of being a professor/hobbies
“I have never had a hobby. All I’ve ever done is dance. I grew up in the ocean. I love swimming and going to the beach. Anything that takes me into nature is essential. There is a horse ranch near my house with many retired horses (race horses, polo ponies, rescues, etc.) and I go there and help take care of them. I feel like I have 50 horse friends. I love working with animals. I love being with my family, extended family, husband, dog. I spend time with the people I love. I love to read. I’ve started painting.”
What is your favorite quote?
“What’s interesting about you is you.” (Alonzo King, dancer and choreographer)
Website
www.CihtliOcampo.com
*Hygh is an Assistant Professor in the Communications Department teaching in the Advertising and Public Relations degree program. Prior to academia he spent 20 plus years as chief communications officer in The United Methodist Church. Visit him on the web at www.LarryHygh.com.