Omar Román De Jesús
"I am a queer, puertorriqueño choreographer and company director who creates rhythmic narratives through classical and contemporary dance forms, improvisation, and dance theater techniques."
Photo by Stefano Altamura
Omar Román De Jesús (Bayamón, Puerto Rico) is a Queer Puertorriqueño choreographer and director of NYC-based dance company Boca Tuya. He is a 2023 Baryshnikov Arts Center inaugural fellow at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, a 2022 Princess Grace Award Winner in Choreography, a 2022 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellow in Choreography, and a 2020 Recipient of The Ann & Weston Hicks Choreography Fellowship (Jacob’s Pillow). He has been commissioned to create work on over 20 companies and pre professional schools including: The Baryshnikov Arts Center, The Paul Taylor Dance Company, Ballet Hispánico, Ballet Collective, Limón 2, MOVE NYC, Bruce Wood Dance, Jacob Jonas The Company, Joffrey Ballet Concert Group, Whim W’him, Parsons Dance, The Ailey School, Kennesaw State University, James Madison University and Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.
Omar’s stage work has been awarded top recognition through the Joffrey Academy of Dance's Winning Works Choreographic Competition, Whim W’him’s Choreographic Shindig, The Dance Gallery Festival, Reverb Dance Festival, and the International Dance Festival of Puerto Rico where he was awarded the Ambassador of Dance medal. Most recently, Omar’s work Los Perros del Barrio Colosal brought home first place from the Palm Desert Choreography Festival. Originally created for the screen in 2021, Los Perros del Barrio Colosal, has been viewed by audiences in over 20 countries and was awarded Best of Screen Dance International and Best Choreography and Best Narrative of ReThink Dance Film Festival. Since 2021, Omar’s work has additionally toured to ENDANZANTE (Colombia), Chop Shop: Bodies of Work (Seattle), PRISMA International Dance Festival (Panama), Masdanza (Canary Islands).
Omar is currently teaching as faculty at The Ailey School. He is fond of education and has experience teaching workshops and master classes all over the world for professional dancers, students with special needs, people with physical disabilities, and marginalized communities.
Dance Background
Omar began his formal training at the School for the Performing Arts in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. Omar was a member of Balleteatro Nacional de Puerto Rico from 2006-2011. During this period, he won the Championship Cup and Gold Medal at the National Dance Competition in Puerto Rico. He received a scholarship to the Ailey School in 2011, and after two years, he began his professional career in the modern and contemporary dance world. He has toured nationally and internationally with Yin Yue Dance Company, Ballet Hispánico, Parsons Dance, Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company, and Sleeping Beauty Dreams featuring Diana Vishneva. He has performed and led works by Gustavo Ramírez Sansano, David Parsons, Robert Battle, Trey McIntyre, Kate Skarpetowska, Jennifer Archibald, Carlos Pons, Ephrat Asherie, and Yin Yue. Omar had the honor of performing at the 2018 TITAS Gala representing Ballet Hispánico, and he is proud to have danced at BAM Fisher, NY and the 2019 Schrittmacher Festival in Germany, where he performed an evening-length show by Yin Yue. Omar collaborated with Erin Sullivan on an Interactive Projection Workshop titled Spine Lines, which was presented at Yale University - Center of the Collaborative Arts and Media.
