The AZTEC DANCE, as we know it today, has its origins in the cultures that were developed along the Mesoamerican ancient world. The splendorous and marvelous metropolis of Teotihuacan, Xochicalco, Tenayuca, Teotenanco, Calixtlahuaca, Tula, Tenochtitlan, and Cholula among many other ones. All these places had plazas and open spaces where amazing ceremonial rituals were developed, and the dances were one of the most important components of these sacred, ceremonial rituals.
All the ancient cultures original of Mexico, in large account, show their dedication to the Dance. We have a variety of samples in the ancient manuscripts, sculptures, murals, ceramics, oral accounts and chronicles. It is from these chronicles that we have a better idea of the importance of the dance in the ancient world.
There were special buildings dedicated exclusively to the learning of these traditions, called “CUICACALLI,” or "house of the singers," where the little children had the opportunity of getting an education in singing, music, and dancing . There is no doubt that this was a school of higher education in the ancient Aztec world. The fact that there was a sacred place dedicated to these arts, speaks of the social importance they had and have in a performance that is profoundly ceremonial and sacred.
