Melecio Estrella

Artist Committee Member

Melecio (he/him) is a director, choreographer, and educator who has been a core artistic force with BANDALOOP since 2002 and now serves as its Artistic Director, bringing two decades of experience integrating vertical dance, dance theater, somatic facilitation, and ecological belonging into the company’s internationally celebrated work. His recent projects include major BANDALOOP premieres such as Momentum Curve (BMW, Munich), Bird Strike (Santiago a Mil, Chile; Sundial Bridge, California), LOOM:FIELD (international tour), Resurgam (St. Paul’s Cathedral, London), and vertical choreography for Tina Landau and Idina Menzel’s musical Redwood (La Jolla Playhouse 2024, Broadway 2025). Estrella also co-directs Fog Beast, is a longtime member of the Joe Goode Performance Group, and has held leadership and fellowship roles with CAST, APAP, and the Montalvo Center for the Arts. Deeply committed to creating sustainability and possibility for artists, he serves on the advisory boards of Artist Space Trust and Arts in California State Parks, and his work consistently bridges the personal, social, and imaginative realms to cultivate awe, connection, and resilience in a time of poly-crisis.