Polaris

A New York-based Colombian dancer, choreographer, educator and producer, Daniel Fetecua Soto was a soloist member of the Limón Dance Company for 10 years, (2006-2016), dancing lead roles in Jose Limon’s masterpieces and has appeared as guest artist in Pina Bausch’s “Rite of Spring” and “Tannhäuser.” 

Fetecua is a master teacher of the Limón technique, reconstructor of Limón’s repertory and director of the Limón Professional Trainee Program. He is the founder and artistic director of two dance companies: Pajarillo Pinta’o, a dance company that preserves and promotes the Columbian traditional dances through dance performance, workshops and classes; and D-Moves, a contemporary dance project that combines Columbian traditions, Modern Dance and German Tanz-Theater. 

Fetecua is a longtime collaborator of Columbian composer and musician Pablo Mayor. Together, they have created Amalgama and El Barrio Project and the educational residency Cumbia For Kids/Cumbia for All. Since 2008, Fetecua has worked with Native choreographer DayStar/Rosalie Jones for her work “Wolf: A Transformation,” from whom Fetecua has the rights to the piece for its performance, preservation and promotion. 

Fetecua is a member of Movement Migration, an international collective of seasoned dance artists directed by Kim Jones. He is the producer and artistic director of Latitudes Dance Festival, a NYC based platform that promotes and presents Latin American and Indigenous companies and choreographers from around the world. 

His most recent project, “C.A.V.E.S,” with world renowned dancer Blakeley White-McGuire, is touring internationally in collaboration with local dance companies and artists. 

Fetecua is currently resident choreographer and board member of ID Studio Theatre, a not-for-profit organization led by Colombian actor German Jaramillo. Fetecua is also a resident choreographer at Teatro SEA, directed by Manuel Moran, for which he has choreographed “Sueno,” a Caribbean take on Shakespeare’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” and “La Gloria: A Latin Cabaret.”  He won a HOLA award for Best Choreography and an ATI award for “The Crazy Adventures of Don Quijote.”

Daystar/Rosalie Jones, born on the Blackfeet Reservation, acknowledges her ancestry as Pembina Chippewa-Cree from maternal lineage and specializes in “native modern dance” as seen through the perspective of ancestry, cultural values and a lifetime of experience in North American Indigenous dance and music. She is recognized as a pioneer in the field, being mentored by Mexican American choreographer Jose Limón and dance artist Barry Lynn.

In 1980, Daystar founded Daystar: Contemporary Dance Drama of Indian America, now considered to be the first native (Indigenous) modern dance company in the US. Her 30 choreographic works include “Wolf: A Transformation” (Anishinaabe), “Sacred Woman Sacred Earth” and the scripted dance-dramas “Legacy of the Dream” and “No Home but The Heart.” Recently published writing includes “Dancing the Four Directions: The Spirit of Intuition” (Intellect Journals, 2017), which she wrote in collaboration with Anishinaabe Elder Edna Manitowabi. 

In April 2016, Daystar received the First Annual Lifetime Achievement Award in Performing Arts from the Institute of American Indian Arts “in honor of her lifetime of creativity, inspiring others and service to the field.”  The Daystar Archive was created in 2004 at the UC-Riverside Special Collections. More information can be found at daystardance.com.